XR for Everyone: How Owlchemy Labs Extends Accessibility Beyond Our Games

Hey Shifters, Jazmin from the accessibility team here checking in for Global Accessibility Awareness Day! I want to share what's been going on behind the scenes around physical and digital access at Owlchemy Labs. I believe in XR for everyone, and that means having accessibility at our foundation. Our commitment to XR for everyone requires us to consider everybody, including people with disabilities. This consideration doesn’t solely live just in our games, but also in every opportunity for interaction with someone, whether they’re an attendee at an expo, a player looking for information on our website, or just someone who comes across any of the content from our brand online. 

This blog will offer a look at how our partnership with 5 North Studios ensures our public presence is as inclusive as our games. We want people to see we go beyond our games when it comes to accessibility, and hopefully inspire other studios to do the same, contributing to a more accessible industry for all.

Bringing Accessibility to the Physical Space

When we get the opportunity to show our games on expo floors, we begin these conversations about accessibility in the early stages of designing the physical space. We think about what people may need from us to have a comfortable experience, and weask ourselves these questions:

1. Is the booth flat with the ground? If there’s a platform that would require a step up, include a ramp that is comfortably usable for people using wheelchairs and other mobility aids.
   Tip: Have a space large enough for players using mobility aids to navigate to and out of the play zones comfortably.

2. Is the floor navigable? If we want people to line up in a specific queue, mark on the floor where someone’s play area is, or where to keep clear from, use high contrast markers that would help show what part of the floor someone should pay attention to.
   Tip: Use brightly colored duct tape or other tools to designate physical areas clearly.

3. Is there enough seating for people to play our games while seated, comfortably? Can we provide seating for their friends or family? Sometimes they will have companions that tag along and just watch. They may benefit from having a place to sit. They could be someone who experiences chronic fatigue, or maybe they’ll leave the booth feeling pleased because sitting helped give them more energy for their day.
   Tip: Increase the contrast of furniture to make it easier for people to see.

4. Are we providing the same information and opportunities that may exist on a high counter surface, to people who may not be able to reach the height of the counter, either because of shorter stature or they are in a wheelchair?
   Tip: Use a shorter table, short stand, or a chair to place pamphlets, QR codes, and swag!

This collaborative mindset where we work together to make experiences accessible led to a simple solution when a friction point was noticed.  When we initially set up the booth, 5 North Studios' founder and president Emily Movahed saw that the counter would be too tall for attendees to reach.  So she came up with this great last-minute idea to offer the same information and goodies in more than one way. Pictured here is our swag and a promotional flyer on a chair that held the same swag as our taller counter next to it. It was 16” tall and we saw attendees of all sizes and abilities gravitate towards it.

Extending to Digital Accessibility

When we post on socials, we do our best to make the content available to as many people as possible. Some of you may have already noticed in our latest videos we made audio described versions, adding alt text to images, adding subtitles and captions to videos, and we try to make our videos as photosensitive friendly as possible, and more. 

With a team of amazing partners, we have continuous accessibility vetting. For our websites, we check that the pages are navigable with the keyboard, are screen reader friendly, have proper headers and hierarchy for the information provided, that images have alt text, and that moving images are as comfortable as we can make them. These ongoing reviews and efforts demonstrate our commitment to XR for Everyone.

Here are some takeaways.

1. Bring accessibility goals and requirements to projects as early as possible.

2. If you are at a game studio and collaborate with vendors, see them as a partner in making your content accessible as well.

3. Accessibility should be everywhere, whether online, in person, and in games!

We look forward to continuing this journey with all of our partners and ensuring every touchpoint makes us proud when it comes to our pillar of XR for Everyone, so that we can work towards an accessible XR future for all.

Interested in some of the new accessibility features available now? Shift on into Sporelando today on Meta Quest and Android XR!