“Dead Space” developer Motive has made the latest version of the game very accessible.
Electronic Arts
In a blog post published this week, video game industry captain Electronic Arts (hereafter EA) outlined several of the accessibility features included in Motive’s popular horror title Dead Space. The announcement from Redwood City-based EA coincided with the release of the updated game later this week.
As noted on the game’s website, the story of Dead Space revolves around “the dark secrets behind the events aboard the USG Ishimura through the final journals of the ill-fated crew and your encounters with the few remaining survivors.” The new version of the game, available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, is a remake of the classic version with what the developer calls “stunning visual fidelity, intense atmospheric audio and gameplay enhancements.”
“Dead Space is a classic that changed the way horror games were perceived when it was released,” lead senior experience designer Christian Simon said in a statement included in the post. “[It] it makes sense to revive this game and share it with a whole new generation. But the game came out 15 years ago, when accessibility features were less common. Things like subtitles, menu voiced text, control redirection and the like are pretty much expected now [by the disability community]so we wanted to make sure the remake lived up to today’s highest standards.”
EA notes that Motive has made Dead Space more accessible and inclusive by building in a number of “customization options with a bit of finesse.” Among many others, these include settings for color blindness, control customization and aiming assistance. There’s also the ability to narrate the menus, much like a screen reader, as well as options to reduce motion effects, enable subtitles for dialogue, and display content warnings in anticipation of more gruesome moments.
There is a video demonstrating accessibility in Dead Space on his YouTube channel.
Overall, Motive is aware that maintaining accessibility is a perpetual endeavor that never ends. The company is committed to making Dead Space even more inclusive going forward, with Cimon astutely noting that inclusion ultimately benefits gamers, but also helps business. Accessibility features, he said, help the game feel more accessible and accessible, making it appealing to the widest possible range of potential players. Therefore, more players means more business for the development studio to feed into future innovations.
As the axiom goes, a rising tide lifts all boats.
“[Working on accessibility is] about addressing and removing the barriers that come between our players and games,” said EA’s Game Accessibility Program Manager Morgan Baker in the post. “Accessibility improves experiences for people of all abilities and backgrounds, enabling better products and ensuring more players can have an enjoyable experience. And the work done by the Dead Space team shows that increasing accessibility continues to be a priority for us.”
It’s encouraging for Baker to see Motive so committed to accessibility.
“It’s so motivating to see a studio like Motive so invested in giving players more choices about how they consume horror content,” Baker said. “It’s inspiring. And we hope to see more studios consider the same.” Because at the end of the day, when we can all play games, we all win.”
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