Dyslexic Accessibility

[tormyb]

<p><img alt="Qk6PFw9" data-src="https://ibb.co/Qk6PFw9" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p>

Hello – to preface this, I’m very much still getting used to the game (which hasn’t even being fully released yet), and so I’m reluctant to make any sweeping suggestions when I don’t even entirely understand how the game functions yet. I am also not a game designer, a graphic designer, or even someone with particularly good taste in anything.</p><p> </p><p>

However, my work as an educational researcher (particularly regarding dyslexia), does mean that I have a couple of points to make about the section of the UI that I have screenshotted and attached (can be viewed from either the roster or workers screens. I fully understand that my suggestions won’t resonate with everyone, and I’m sure that those working on the game have more pressing things to attend to, but given Adam’s announcement in which the game’s release was delayed for further work, I thought I might as well take the opportunity to give my input.</p><p> </p><p>

I’m sure that making such a text based game dyslexic friendly is incredibly challenging – and am also aware that most people won’t be up to date on the latest developments in the learning theory – however, there are a few small tweaks which could make this section far more accessible to many with dyslexia and similar moderate cognition SEN.</p><p> </p><p>

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<strong>The first thing</strong> is the white on black text. While it can vary from case to case, the current research suggests that light coloured text on a darker background makes reading significantly harder for many with dyslexia. Instead, pastel coloured backgrounds are ideal. I do recognise, however, that there are a lot of these “white on black” sections in the game and replacing them may not be a viable option at this stage. That being said, if those doing all the hard work to make the game could consider this when designing new screens, that would make one fan very happy. Even tweaking the white text to just be very slightly further off-white could go a long way.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Secondly</strong>, the spacing/distance behind the attribute labels (e.g. “Brawling”) and the values (e.g. “74”) is quite far. This can make cognition much more challenging for dyslexic users – similar to the river effect which occurs when reading justified or badly spaced text. While I am not dyslexic, I actually find that this distance between attribute label and value makes it harder to read and interpret quickly myself. If possible, reducing this spacing could be beneficial for some.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Thirdly</strong>, I really appreciate the colouring of the attribute values on the right-hand side. This gives a good visual representation, which I personally appreciate, and I would suspect many dyslexic users will too. It would be useful if the left-hand side (the attribute labels – e.g. “Brawler”) utilised colour more too.</p><p> </p><p>

I am not advocating for them each being their own colour, which would look more like a firework display than a game, but perhaps the use of two colours could work well. To clarify, I don’t think that this would work best with two colours alternating every other line:</p><p>

e.g.</p><p>

Colour One</p><p>

Colour Two</p><p>

Colour One</p><p>

Colour Two</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Rather, I would prefer</strong> to see one colour used for the first group of attributes – the primary skills – then the second colour used for the next group – the mental skills – and so on, alternating between the two colours for each group of attributes.</p><p> </p><p>

The benefit of this for dyslexic users would be to break up the “wall of text”. Even (in some cases especially) when not reading the entire wall of text as a single paragraph – and trying to dip in and out – it is beneficial for dyslexic readers to have clear breaks in chunks of text. This is especially important as the lines around the text are the same colour as it – which already makes it harder for people with dyslexia to identify words/letters or to locate things within the text. I also think it would make quickly identifying attributes quicker for some other users.</p><p> </p><p>

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I had a lot more thoughts regarding this topic, but thought I’d leave it there because a) I’m tired, and b) I don’t want to rattle on any further, in case anyone is actually reading my boring and overly wordy thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>

It may well be that my suggestions are unworkable, undesirable, or foolish in a manner I have not yet spotted, however, I hope they help in some small way.</p><p> </p><p>

Thanks very much for taking the time to read this. Thanks even more for taking the time to develop a game which I am sure will bring me a lot of joy in the coming months.</p><p> </p><p>

Tom.</p><p><a class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image" href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2020_04/1406834627_TEW20Suggestion.jpg.0a15cb834213a49e4d4dfb09c1cbb6c3.jpg" data-fileid="4302" data-fileext="jpg" rel=""><img data-fileid="4302" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt="1406834627_TEW20Suggestion.jpg.0a15cb834213a49e4d4dfb09c1cbb6c3.jpg" data-src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2020_04/1406834627_TEW20Suggestion.jpg.0a15cb834213a49e4d4dfb09c1cbb6c3.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></a></p>