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Practice "nothing about us without us"

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In this unit, learn about the importance of collaborating with the gaming and disability community.

What is the meaning of "nothing about us without us?"

The slogan "nothing about us without us" represents the message that technologies used by people with disabilities should be developed in collaboration with the disability community. In other words, accessible products and experiences should be designed with the disability community, not for the disability community.

Engaging these communities to develop bespoke accessibility settings or features is crucial.

Note

There are about 429 million gamers in the world who have disabilities. That's almost 20 percent of the total population of gamers worldwide. Including the perspectives of individuals with disabilities for all development efforts helps inform results that are accessible for a sizable portion of the gamer market.

How can community collaboration inform accessible design?

Players with disabilities are the experts in their own experiences. As you build your understanding of game accessibility, game elements and design features that are likely to introduce accessibility barriers might become more obvious.

Only people who actively experience these barriers and try to use the accessible features or solutions can accurately weigh in on factors like:

• What makes the element or mechanic inaccessible to someone with their specific experiences?
• What can be done to support these players as they encounter these barriers?
• How can these barriers be eliminated altogether?

Players who have lived experience gaming with a disability can help identify barriers that weren't apparent to the development team.

The following video contains examples of how game developers from The Coalition have actively collaborated with members of the gaming and disability community during development.

Making gaming for everyone real (audio-described version):

Making gaming for everyone real (non-audio-described version):

Check your knowledge

1.

How should the disability community participate in the development of game experiences?

Individuals with disabilities should play an active role in the development of bespoke accessibility efforts, such as new accessibility features or gaming assistive technologies.

Individuals with disabilities should play an active role in the development of all gaming products and experiences.

Individuals with disabilities should develop their own accessibility features and support for each unique platform, game, and hardware device to ensure that each of these experiences is truly accessible for each individual player.

2.

Why is active collaboration with members of the disability community a critical part of creating accessible products and experiences?

These players have lived experiences that can't be replaced through simulation or assumptions.

Marketing your team's efforts to work with the disability community is the best way to increase positive PR and sales.

Working with these community members is not an important part of creating accessible products and experiences, and it can be avoided.

You must answer all questions before checking your work.

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