Accessibility, for example, isnt the right term to use when it comes to gameplay.
Allow me to explain.
What does accessible mean?
It’s free, every week, in your inbox.
Lets start with first principles.
As an industry, video games continue to struggle with establishing standard accessibility features.
So, let me be very clear: accessibility is never a bad thing.
However, its not the correct term to use when talking aboutgameplay.
What does playable mean?
Playability touches many different areas when it comes to game design.
Knowledge of UI design matters when thinking about guiding players and giving them relevant information at the right time.
There are many other disciplines involved in building a great video game.
By now, the fuzzy line between accessibility and playability might be coming into sharper focus.
Its for this reason the discussion around difficulty and accessibility doesnt make sense, in my view.
But the same cannot be said about playability.
Unseen Aid and dragonrot only matter when youre repeatedly failing to beat enemies.
Once you know how to deal with each fight, those systems will never matter to you again.
As I said earlier, games with great playability can ideally.
This stands in stark contrast to previousSoulsbornegames.
Celestewas designed around the idea of an assist mode that can be turned on at any time.
The game itself is fundamentally built on challenging platforming that expects a lot from the player.
Rather, the game was built entirely around hardcore platforming the assist mode is simply layered onto the design.
Many people will argue that hard games are a sign of bad design in and of themselves.
But Id argue that the very same can be said of easy games.
Playability might sit as a vital fulcrum between these two extremes.
Does easy make things worse?
Designing a gameplay loop that keeps everyone interested in playing is obviously much more difficult than it sounds.
When considered in this context, multiple difficulty settingscanbe something of a shortcut to achieving a more playable experience.
This game features multiple modes and options for players of all skill levels to enjoy.
So how to summariZe this?
I hope my argument has clarified what may seem like a very subtle distinction on the surface.
Inaccessible, playable games
Ultimately, what does all this mean?
This means, by definition, they are going to be inaccessible tosomeone.
SuperJump was founded by games journalist and product designer James Burns, and can be be found onTwitterandFacebook.
