With video games becoming more and more popular, everyone is always trying to make their titles accessible to as many people as possible around the world. On the other hand we are talking about a medium capable of entertaining yes, but also of dealing with the most disparate themes in infinite different ways. Precisely for this reason Electronic Arts has recently declared its willingness to commit itself more and more to improving the accessibility of this fantastic and important medium.
In view of the forthcoming International Day of Disabled Persons on December 3rd, Electronic Arts, giant in the world of videogame entertainment, has decided to announce six new patents aimed at massising its commitment to make video games accessible for everyone. This commitment provides developers with free access not only to these patents, but also to technologies related to accessibility, so as to reduce or eliminate as many barriers to access in video games as possible.
Six new patents will make it easier for more gamers to play a video game or device. Among these patents is a machine learning system for improving a player's experience and performance by automatically recommending and applying controller configuration settings on player-specific skills and tendencies. This technology in particular will allow disabled gamers to discover the accessibility settings that best suit their needs .
In addition to adding other patents, Electronic Arts is opening Fonttik , a tool that automatically identifies text in video content and determines whether it meets the specified size and contrast ratio criteria, making it easier to ensure that text can be read by players with different visual conditions. The software code is available here.
“Innovation, creativity and inclusiveness are key to us and when we kicked off the Accessibility Patent effort last year, we were delighted by the positive feedback we received, both from sector than by our players. Everyone at EA truly believes that nothing should come between our players and our shared love of gaming, and so we are delighted to be able to continue adding our latest pioneering accessibility solutions,” said Chris Bruzzo, Chief Experience. Officer of Electronic Arts.