Two years ago, Ubisoft Massive launched efforts to improve accessibility in its games, including The Division 2 and other projects, like Uplay. One crucial part of that journey began with Björn Jönsson, an avid gamer who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (a disorder that causes muscle degeneration). Jönsson was brought into an early workshop at the studio to collaborate with Mikkel Colbe Nielsen, Massive’s lead on the project, by providing initial feedback on accessibility options.
The feedback from Jönsson, along with another accessibility expert named Sanna Hedlund, helped shape the studio’s approach to accessibility. Thanks to gTV, you can get a behind-the-scenes look at how Björn and Sanna worked with the studio, how their different perspectives influenced the approach and thinking of the team, and why these kinds of workshops are so important in allowing more people to play games.
“As one of the largest publishers in the gaming industry, it's our social responsibility to make sure that we don't unintentionally exclude anyone from interacting with our universes; being part of the conversation and hype around our games; and generally taking part of the social phenomenon that games have become,” says David Tisserand, senior manager for accessibility at Ubisoft. “It’s also a great way to provide more customization for everyone, as those efforts benefit not only disabled players, but the entire population by allowing everyone to tweak their experience to their needs.”
For more on Ubisoft’s recent accessibility efforts, be sure to check out the detailed accessibility options in Immortals Fenyx Rising and Watch Dogs: Legion. Want to see other documentaries and videos on gaming culture? Head over to gTV for more.
