Leveling the Playing Field: Toward Equivalently Accessible Video Game Worlds

Important note for in-person attendees

This event will be online and in-person. The speaker and live stream starts at 7:30 pm ET. In-person attendees may arrive as early as 7 pm ET.

Description
Video games offer entertainment and a sense of community for many, yet for people who are blind or have low vision (BLV), these experiences are largely inaccessible. Most video games are not designed with BLV players in mind. And games specifically created for BLV players tend to lack the depth and complexity found in mainstream titles.

The challenge is not just about creating accessible games but ones that are *equivalently* accessible — ensuring that BLV gamers can dive into the same vibrant worlds and enjoy equally enriching experiences as their sighted counterparts.

In this talk, Vishnu will share insights from his journey in designing, building, and testing video game accessibility tools for BLV players to navigate and engage with 3D game worlds in a fun and independent way. Through a deep dive into three of his major Ph.D. projects, he will highlight feedback from BLV gamers and discuss what these projects reveal about the next steps within game accessibility and beyond.

What attendees will get from the talk:

• Learn about strategies to enhance accessibility within 3D virtual environments for BLV users, applicable to video game development and VR world creation.
• Gain insights into the preferences of BLV users regarding assistive tools that improve their gaming experiences.
• Explore the broader implications of these projects on accessibility within video games, expansive virtual environments, and the real world.

There will be time for your questions.

Presenter bio
Vishnu Nair is a Ph.D. Candidate in Computer Science at Columbia University, focusing on designing, building, and testing interactive systems that aim to enhance how people experience the world. His work primarily focuses on accessibility in various domains, from indoor navigation systems during his undergrad, to video games and digital media in his Ph.D., to virtual collaboration during a recent stint at Microsoft.

His work has been published at top-tier human-computer interaction (HCI) conferences, and his NavStick project is the subject of a pending patent. A lifelong New Yorker, Vishnu enjoys reading, volunteering, listening to live music, and roaming around NYC's many museums.

Accessibility
The presentation will have human captions [CC], not automatic captions. Please let us know about accessibility requirements two weeks before the event.

Livestream
Link coming soon

Provided by Internet Society Accessibility SIG.

Location details
The event is on the 4th floor. Attendees can enter on the third floor and go up the staircase, or request accommodation to go directly to the 4th floor. (They will need to be accompanied.) Thanks to Ben Ogilvie for making this possible! Let us know if you're coming!

The building is near several transit stops:

6 train

• Spring Street (non-accessible stop): 100 feet
• Canal Street (accessible stop): 0.4 miles

NQRW trains

• Prince Street (non-accessible stop): 0.2 miles
• Canal Street (accessible stop): 0.3 miles

M1 / M55 Bus lines

• Broadway/Spring Street stop: 500 feet

Cabs and rideshares can let passengers out right near the building entrance

Accreditation
All A11yNYC meetups are pre-approved for IAAP Continuing Accessibility Education Credits (CAEC).

Sponsors
Thanks to Asana, Evinced, Equal Entry, and Fable for sponsoring. Want to be a sponsor? Contact meryl@equalentry.com