Player Research, a Keywords Studio, today announced the launch of their new accessibility initiative. The initiative, called Advancing Accessibility, aims to support developers and publishers wherever they are in their accessibility journey. From concept, during development, to marketing.
The new initiative is spearheaded by Améliane Chiasson, who recently joined Player Research as their first Games Accessibility Lead. She has years of experience in accessibility, including setting up an accessibility department at a previous employer. This makes her uniquely familiar with the processes and needs of studios the initiative aims to complement. Providing these services externally allows more studios to incorporate accessibility in their productions. Especially when this knowledge or capacity is lacking within their own teams.
Partnerships across different Keywords Studios enable Advancing Accessibility to support several aspects of accessibility. From feature co-development with Climax Studios and UX (user experience) and UI (user interface) concepting through SPOV. On the marketing end, Keywords studio TrailerFarm is able to make accessible cinematic trailers, while Descriptive Video Works is specialized in audio descriptions for games and marketing materials.
Consulting and playtesting
Building on the extensive experience they have, Player Research is able to provide accessibility awareness training and strategic workshops. Through playtests and collaboration with experts they bring disabled players into the production process.
To grow their capabilities, Player Research is also actively searching for people to expand their database of consultants. Independent consultants and specialists in the accessibility space can sign up to collaborate with Player Research here. Meanwhile disabled players are welcome to apply to participate in playtesting on the Player Research website.
In the future, Player Research will reach out to content creators and reviewers in the accessibility space as well. So keep your eyes out if collaborating on the Advancing Accessibility initiative is something that interests you!
