Diablo IV has a new video to mark Global Accessibility Awareness Day. Called “Hell Welcomes All,” we follow members of the team and members of the community discuss how accessibility features were integrated as a result of much feedback.
Diablo 4 features a long list of accessibility features, more than 50 of them at launch, and for that has received praise. Early in the video, we meet some gamers who have been able to enjoy Diablo IV due to these accessibility options and the overall design integrating them from the start. The players features have a range of experiences and disabilities, from blindness to dyslexia, to hearing and processing difficulties, and nods to many more.
Diablo’s accessibility lead, Drew McCrory, sought out and had discussions with community members, including a clan called Sightless Slayers, among other efforts to include the disabled player in the accessibilty discussion.
One of the featured players, Ross ( known as ross_r) puts it plainly, “When you include people with disabilities, they're experts on their disability. They can tell you exactly what they need.” and McCrory affirms this, using an oft-repeated phrase within the disability community - “nothing about us without us”.
Overall, for years now, Blizzard has been working with the community and consultants to add more accessibility options to its games. Whereas we once would see things like colorblind mode be one of the few accessibility options, now we have new ways to play through dungeons in World of Warcraft in ways that are less likely to trigger motion sickness.
The Diablo IV video goes really in-depth as to the process of how they decided to come up with and refine the dozens of accessibility options the game has. additionally, they also make it clear that the accessibility conversation is ongoing and that it doesn't just benefit disabled people, but ultimately involves having more options on the table that anyone can benefit from.
