AbleGamer talks to Blizz about 3.1 accessibility
by Mike Schramm 
Mar 31st 2009 at 3:00PM
AbleGamers has a conversation with Jeff Kaplan about the upcoming accessibility changes to the game in patch 3.1. We saw in the patch notes already that there would be a new colorblind mode added to the game, but Kaplan goes into more detail here -- Blizzard is making sure that even when the interface depends on color to get information across (as in, how difficult your quests are or whether you'll get a skill point from making a crafting recipe or not), there will be other text and symbols in there that relay that information without color.Unfortunately, while the changes that are going in the game will be helpful. AbleGamers points out that the game isn't perfect for those with colorblindness yet -- mob levels are often shown to the player in a certain color, and there's no option yet for players to see that information in any other format. Additionally, Rogue combo points are shown by filing those little circles in with colors, and colorblind players who aren't able to see that color will have difficulty with that mechanic as well.
The good news is that, while Blizzard does want to make sure their core game is as accessible as possible, there's lots of room for addon authors to do more. Colorblindness is surprisingly prevalent, and everything coders can do to make the game easier to play will be welcomed by those who need it.
Filed under: Patches, Analysis / Opinion, Virtual selves, Odds and ends, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
McRaider Mar 31st 2009 3:09PM
Gosh it's easy to play wow when you see properly when compared to colorblindness..
Radiophonic Mar 31st 2009 3:24PM
Obvious post is obvious.
Eric Mar 31st 2009 3:18PM
I've played as a rogue for the longest time. I found that using colorblind addon was helpful for combo points - until I discovered ArcHud. Showing combo points as nice, visible numbers is great!
Now if only I could tell the differences between blues and purples.
Uhntiss Mar 31st 2009 5:43PM
I am not colorblind but I still use an addon called Hearkitty. turns those combo points into sounds. I love not having to even look at my combo points because I use another sense (hearing) to track my points.
Stages Mar 31st 2009 3:19PM
I can't even tell you how thankful I am that this is happening. My husband is colorblind, and he has a really hard time leveling professions- he can't tell the difference between orange and green.
Kakistocracy Mar 31st 2009 3:42PM
The professions do seem like the area where the greatest trouble might arise, unlike enemies where the colour is linked to an actually number, or a drop, whose stats should be some indication of its value.
krisby Apr 1st 2009 5:42AM
ME EITHER!!!!!!...sigh also when a BOE epic drops I always have to ask....is that purple? or blue? because honestly I can not tell the difference.
I am green-red colorblind and its a pain have these struggles. Thank you so much blizzard for this.
And btw colorblindness doesnt mean you cant see color!!!! Each type is different. I for instance have trouble with colors of the same hue. IE Dark green Dark blue Dark anything looks the same.
McDie Mar 31st 2009 3:23PM
It will be nice to finally have an easy way to distinguish purples from blues, but I have not heard whether my biggest annoyance will be addressed. I play on a pvp server and when I see a player name I have no idea if it is red or whatever the other color is (probably green?). It takes me extra time to identify friend from foe and on a pvp server that often means I end up on the losing end.
AyaJulia Mar 31st 2009 4:42PM
There are all sorts of things you could do to fix this yourself, from using addons to turning off one side's names. There's no need to feel like some kind of victim to Blizzard's color choices.
For the wolves waiting to jump on me about this, note that I never said anything about whether you should have to. Just that you could.
mochabear Mar 31st 2009 3:25PM
this really is going over the top.. i am very much colorblind. the only thing i have ever had problems differentiating in wow are blue and purples which is really a non issue seeing as how if you aren't a complete idiot you will be looking at the stats, not just the color of the text.
i do occasionally have trouble telling between the green and yellow quest or item creation text but again, it can be discovered with a little simple thought or experimentation rather quickly.
im just a little confused by this because it seems they are assuming colorblind is more synonymous with "stupid" than a little hard of sight.
how about less tailoring to colorblind people and more results in the new druid form department? i, as a colorblind druid, fully support this idea.
Panaçea Mar 31st 2009 3:55PM
There are multiple types of colorblindness as different people are more blind to various parts of the color spectrum. You seem to have a red colorblindness(blues/purples) while others are green colorblindness(greens/oranges/blues).
I wholly applaud Blizzard for doing this. There are few enough games that recognize the limitations that are prevalent in this world. The fact that they are so aware of it is very, very nice.
Xpyre Mar 31st 2009 3:25PM
I am partially colorblind and all this stuff they are doing is awesome. Ive always had trouble telling between epic/not, what will give me a skill up, stuff like that.
I think its cool that blizzard has recognized the fact that we are out there.
Treason of Farstriders Mar 31st 2009 3:32PM
This is awesome. 3.5% of all adults and 7% of all males are color deficient in one way or another (in the US). For many people, shades of yellow and blue are all they can see.
While I personally have normal color vision, I have written software for the military (which has requirements often about this) and can't believe the difference that this can make for those people who have abnormal color vision.
Now if they'd only make that stupid, hard to see green gas animation also give you a debuff, then the game would be much more assessable (from grobbulus, last boss in DTK, and others).
Magma Mar 31st 2009 3:41PM
When you're standing in a cloud taking damage you shoulnd't need a debuff to tell you to get the hell out when your health is rapidly dropping. Also, floating combat text.
Treason of Farstriders Mar 31st 2009 4:31PM
Well if that's the case magma, why don't we make it invisible for color normal people too?
AyaJulia Mar 31st 2009 4:37PM
It -is- invisible for more people than you realize. If you don't have your spell effects turned up pretty high, they don't show up at all. People with low-end computers with those things turned off seem to manage just fine... have to yell at them to move on Grobbulus once in a while, but it's really not difficult to manage.
Clint Apr 1st 2009 10:02AM
lol, invisible spell effects.
I remember doing Nightbane on my laptop with all video settings at minimum. I never even saw the 'fire' on the ground til I got a new computer - just knew, 'dont stand in the middle, switch sides occasionally'
Quickshiv Mar 31st 2009 3:31PM
This is a great step and I appreciate it greatly. There are only two things I hope they add. Being able to change the target circle color, I loose that thing all the time, and turning off spell effects that are not yours or you are not being effected by. Being able to Remove most of the spell effects would help greatly.
Kryxx Mar 31st 2009 3:39PM
Yeah, I wish you could turn spell effects even lower than the slider allows; or even turn some of them off. AOE spell effects in 25 mans are a drain to a lot of systems.
Charizard Mar 31st 2009 3:43PM
I like that removing other people's spell effects, or maybe even just being able to turn them down. I mean, sometimes it's distracting seeing all that other green-purple-yellow-blue-red-orange shit flying at the same thing you're throwing your shit at. And especially on 25 man, it can really affect your framerate.