AbleGamers Foundation is an organisation that deals with games for the disabled. It has today announced that EA’s chart topping FIFA 13 will be awarded with the AbleGamers Mainstream Accessible Game of the Year Award. FIFA 13 allows most severely disabled gamers to be able to play and enjoy a game that really was made for the masses.
The President and Founder of the AbleGamers Foundation, Mark Barlet, spoke about the FIFA 13, “AbleGamers was amazed by the accessibility of FIFA 13. EA enabled gamers with severe motor and cognitive disabilities by including remappable keys, an unheard-of mouse only mode and game settings that allow the entire game to be tailored to the unique abilities of each disabled gamer.”
Barlet went on to say how delighted and honoured they were by how approachable EA has been. He was very thrilled to see ‘big-name studios’ allow disabled gamers to enjoy their game after having taken their game accessibility guidelines to heart.
Games are extremely popular right now and FIFA 13 provides easier access for disabled individuals. This sets it apart from a majority of the market that includes games that needs quick reflexes or thousands of buttons to play. FIFA 13 has features such as the Mouse Only Mode which allows those with muscular dystrophy to play, or the ability to slow down the entire game for those who are cognitively impaired. This set of features is surely something other developers should look towards, to allow everyone a fair shot at playing a game, no matter their situation.
EA will be presented the award later on this year at a gaming conference. There were other games in the running for the award also. Mentions should also go to XCOM: Enemy Unknown and the indie game Colour Blind for also reaching out to the disabled gamer market.