Tekken 8 is implementing a host of features intended to help colorblind gamers, but instead has garnered controversy from some disabled players. Bandai Namco released a Tekken 8 demo earlier in December, giving gamers the chance to try out some of its new features. One of the features that was under the radar until fans tried out the free demo was the implementation of filters designed to help players who are colorblind.

The industry has been pushing for more accessibility features in gaming, with these tools and features allowing for easier navigation and differentiation of on-screen information. For example, Spider-Man 2's accessibility features include the ability to disable uncomfortable sounds or display on-screen captions with audio descriptions. In Tekken 8's case, its filters are meant to help make the on-screen action and menu UI elements clearer. However, the implementation of these filters has been criticized by some members of the disabled

The first footage and screenshots of Tekken 8's new filters were first posted by Twitter user SJS | Gatterall, who shared a brief match with the filter activated, which had an uncolored background and horizontal and vertical black lines over its characters to clarify who is who. While some believed this to be a great feature, Electronic Arts' Game Accessibility Lead, Morgan Baker, criticized how it actually made it hard to see. "Please stop tagging me in the Tekken 8 ‘colorblind’ stripe filters," she posted, "It’s already induced an aura migraine for me, and I can’t afford to get another one right now, or worse. Appreciate y’all."

📢 IMPORTANT

The Tekken tweet doing the rounds is NOT showing something that is good for accessibility. It has already actively harmed multiple people. DO NOT share it. If you know that you are in any way photosensitive, don't view it.#gamedev #accessibility #tekken #tekken8

— Ian Hamilton (@ianhamilton_) December 27, 2023

Not really, if you have achromatopsia then you're sensitive to brightness and contrast. Filters aren't how to approach colourblindness in general, the other filters have issues too, e.g. the tritanopia one changed everything to green and purple with isn't helpful for tritanopia.

— Ian Hamilton (@ianhamilton_) December 27, 2023

Another gaming accessibility consultant and advocate, Ian Hamilton, shared his thoughts on the new Tekken 8 filters, asking fans to stop sharing the video as it can cause photosensitive viewers harm. He also went into detail regarding the ineffectiveness of colorblind filters, stating that various sensitivities can't be solved by applying a different filter, such as tritanopia or achromatopsia. Other users who viewed the Tekken 8 gameplay video by Gatterall also cited similar concerns, receiving migraines or vertigo from viewing it for even a few seconds.

A few people, albeit very few, have either misunderstood the accessibility options we are trying, or have only seen the video without actually trying them out in the demo play.

We have "multiple types of color vision options" for players with different color vision, not just… https://t.co/cEdcUTI8n3

— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) December 28, 2023

In response to the critiques, Tekken 8 director and producer Katsuhiro Harada posted on his Twitter account addressing the game's accessibility options. In an extensive post, he noted that this colorblind mode had been in development before Tekken 7, and that the developers had consulted with different research institutes and communities as well. Harada notes that the striped pattern isn't the only accessibility filter in the game, stating that there are multiple options to choose from. Harada closes his post by saying that while the team received positive feedback from demo players, he understands that this option does not address all players in the world who have certain color vision impairments.

Posted: Jan 02, 2024 10:51 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://gamerant.com/tekken-8-accessibility-features-color-blind-controversy-explain/