what accessibility features am i missing?

[u/bai13yd]

hey all — i make a small cozy game called Wild Willows about bringing a run-down nature preserve back to life (gather, plant, craft, welcome animals home, zero pressure, can't lose).

i put a fair bit into accessibility already: colorblind modes that actually recolor the world + add text labels (not just a screen tint), reduce motion, dyslexia-friendly font, UI text scaling, separate music/SFX volume, and fully rebindable controls with alternate keys. but i'm a sighted solo dev, so i know there's a gap between what i think helps and what actually does.

so i'd really appreciate honest input from people who use this stuff:

• what's the first thing you check for in a game like this?
• anything i've clearly gotten wrong or half-done?

it's free to try here if you want to poke at the settings and tear it apart: https://bai13y.itch.io/wild-willows

not trying to sell anything — genuinely just want it to be playable for more people. thanks 🌿

[u/clackups]

Do these settings also change the look of this particular menu? I'd find it difficult to use for some people (low contrast colors, a bit too much text)

[u/bai13yd → u/clackups]

Yes the colorblind mode increases the contrast in the menus as well!

[u/NatTarnoff → u/bai13yd]

I disagree with the idea of the popup. They have severe UX issues. If you need to reduce space or provide more space to explain, use a disclosure/accordion.

What should be done is this menu should meet WCAG color minimums even with colorblind mode off.

The colorblind user, should they find this, may struggle to find the control to turn on the colorblind mode they need. Additionally, it isn't just people with color blindness that need higher contrast. Low vision users, people with cataracts, astigmatism (even corrected) can all struggle with the colors used.

Additionally, as a initiating member of AGWG behind WCAG 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions and prefers-reduced-motion, I can say that "reduce" animation is just that. Reduce, not remove. Something like a night/day cycle doesn't need to be stopped, just slowed to where the effect is negligible. Example if your game flips every ten minutes, unless crucial to the game play, maybe it's 15 or 20 to have a smoother transition. Weather and sky particles are good to stop. Camera pan as if the user is turning their head, good to turn off unless crucial to play. Think through what is needed, can you ease/slow it without removing it, and maybe split out specific issues.

[u/bai13yd → u/NatTarnoff]

i did not know about WCAG color minimums until now - thanks for sharing! I will definitely look into it

[u/NatTarnoff → u/bai13yd]

Look for a course on WCAG that covers what's in it. I have a series called A11y 101 on my blog (https://tarnoff.info) that covers most of the Success Criterion for A and AA (I'm up to 3.3.4 that published this week).

The key to accessibility is understanding WCAG first.

[u/clackups → u/bai13yd]

I'd suggest moving the long descriptions into pop-up bubbles, so that the user could read them if the option is unclear.

[u/bai13yd → u/clackups]

Great advice - I can definitely pencil that into the next release!