Week 6: Accessibility in VR

Virtual Reality Has an Accessibility Problem / Designing Accessible VR Experiences

I admit, I have not used any VR technologies before, however, I am familiar with it as I watch a lot of gameplay videos of VR games. So as an observer of VR and not a consumer, it was very interesting and eye-opening to read this week's readings (and watch the video). I knew that VR was the future of technology, but I didn't know about the shortcomings of this new technology. After reading this article, it seemed like an obvious thing to keep in mind when designing experiences for new tech, but I never thought of it. As someone who wants to enter the gaming industry, this week's readings (and video) gave me a lot to think about. I agree that technology should be inclusive for all users, especially as a game designer I like to see people experience my game and see their reactions. Therefore, to me it makes sense that new technologies should also be inclusive. To be inclusive and show empathy, designers should include and work with these communities to help include them into the experience as well.

The video Designing Accessible VR Experience was also very educational to me. I first read the article and then I watched the video, and this was the best for me because after reading the article, I was thinking about ways to be more inclusive. Watching the video gave me some examples and ideas on how VR technology has implemented certain features to be more inclusive, such as different colors and shapes for color blind users and haptic feedback. Also, as a consumer of video games, I have experienced some of the features mentioned in the video, but never paid it much attention, not knowing that even to normal users these features were useful. Going forward, I will definitely pay more attention to these implementations in games I play and look to add them into my own games and videos.