Joystiq

BioShock 2 hacking minigame could cause issues for colorblind gamers

Ben Gilbert — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST

Allow me to break from the usual third-person writing style we employ at Joystiq to address my personal stake in writing this post -- I'm part of the approximately 10 percent of human males with colorblindness. I had to return Super Puzzle Fighter for GBA and turn on the symbols in Hexic (the price I pay for the love of puzzle games). Like Russ at MTV Multiplayer, I (quite likely) have the most common form of colorblindness: Deuteranopia.

Personal info aside, Negative Gamer put together a bit of an analysis of BioShock 2's hacking system -- a system which applies color matching to various rewards/punishments (green = hack, blue = reward, red = alarm, white = electric shock) and one which could be problematic for those suffering from colorblindnesses many forms. The piece takes a program called "Colour Contrast Analyser" (yes, it's a British-born application) and runs an example image of the hacking program through it, pointing out how the colors would appear to people with a variety of types of colorblindness -- the image you see above is but one example.

So! If you've ever wondered what it's like to deal with the frustration of being colorblind and not being able to play a game because of it, now's your big chance. If you want to start a petition to "fix" the situation like these folks did for Modern Warfare 2, I'd really appreciate it.

[Via MTV Multiplayer]

BioShock 2 hacking minigame could cause issues for colorblind gamers originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Petition asks for colorblind options in Modern Warfare 2

Alexander Sliwinski — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:03:00 EST

With plenty of actual controversy surrounding Modern Warfare 2, the issues of colorblind gamers seem a relatively innocent (and common) oversight. An ongoing petition and Facebook group is requesting a patch for the game. According to the petition, those with a particular type of red/green color blindness "cannot tell friend from foe in the online matches, as their names appear in these colors, and the radar uses the colors too." Infinity Ward's community manager has acknowledged that he will bring up the concern to the team.

Our very own red/green color blind Ben Gilbert, who doesn't have a particular issue with MW2's spectrum decisions, noted, "I can think of about 20 other games that need a solution for this before MW2. How about every puzzle game ever made that depends on color matching -- I'm looking at you especially, Super Puzzle Fighter, you heart breaker."

Considering color blindness is relatively common, especially among males, it's surprising that it isn't tested for more regularly. Any QA folks who can give better insight into whether color blindness is tested for (and how) should feel free to drop a note in the comments.

[Via Escapist, Evil Avatar]

Petition asks for colorblind options in Modern Warfare 2 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Plight of the color blind gamer

Ken Weeks — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: News

Joystiq has an interesting post on the unique challenge facing color blind gamers as they strive to conquer Rockstar Presents Table Tennis.

Plight of the color blind gamer originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 30 Jul 2006 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Colorblind gaming or: Table Tennis is impossibly hard!

Conrad Quilty-Harper — Sun, 30 Jul 2006 13:00:00 EST

Filed under: Culture, Features, Business

Around one in ten males and one in two hundred females are unable to discern the difference between some or all colors that other people can distinguish. Like most other people with the disability, I've been colorblind (or, to use the politically correct term, have had color sight deficiency) since birth. I find it hard, and sometimes impossible, to tell the difference between shades of red, green and brown, blue and purple and oranges and yellows. As my optician told me when I was young, this disability means that I can't work in a paint factory or be a pilot. What he didn't tell me was that I'd have trouble playing friggin' computer games!

As you probably know, the Xbox 360 features several colored buttons. Usually I can tell the difference between these buttons (the problem isn't so bad that I can't tell the difference between the equivalent of red and green at traffic lights). However, there's one game that has caused a problem: Rockstar's Table Tennis. A fundamental part of the gameplay is being able to respond to the opposing player's spin on the ball. This is represented by one of the colors which are also found on the gamepad. Blue for left spin, red for right spin, green for forward spin and yellow for back spin. Unfortunately, I can barely tell the difference between the red, green and yellow on a standard definition display. On a high definition screen the green and yellow are still nearly identical to my eyes.

This isn't usually much of a problem during normal play (besides, I can always just press the green button), but on the training levels where you are taught how to spin the ball, I found the task physically impossible. I literally had to guess which spin the computer was giving the ball! Table Tennis has the hardest training level of any game, at least for me. Since completing the training levels is an Xbox 360 achievement, it's also possibly the hardest achievement there is. It took me around 3-4 hours and dozens of reattempts to get the 5 points given to you after you complete training.

Continue reading Colorblind gaming or: Table Tennis is impossibly hard!

Colorblind gaming or: Table Tennis is impossibly hard! originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 30 Jul 2006 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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