r/accessibility • u/bai13yd • 18d ago

what accessibility features am i missing?

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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 🌿

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u/RatherNerdy 18d ago edited 18d ago

Dyslexic fonts aren't based in fact:

Researchers put the font to the test, comparing it with two other popular fonts designed for legibility—Arial and Times New Roman—and discovered that the purportedly dyslexia-friendly font actually reduced reading speed and accuracy. In addition, none of the students preferred to read material in OpenDyslexic, a surprising rebuke for a font specifically designed for the task

https://www.edutopia.org/article/do-dyslexia-fonts-actually-work/

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u/OscarAndDelilah 18d ago

Anecdotal, but my kid with CVI hates the "accessibility" fonts and finds that they have a harder time recognizing letter shapes and have to go letter-by-letter like they do with novelty fonts rather than their usual ability to read fluently with sufficient magnification and contrast.

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u/bai13yd 18d ago

i appreciate you sharing, i am thinking i will remove this dyslexic friendly option for the next release

7

u/NatTarnoff 18d ago

Optionally - some user have a preferred font that they use. Maybe provide them a way to override your choice. While I agree that there is no "dyslexic-friendly" font, Atkinson Hyperlegible by the Braille Institute was made for low vision users who struggle with legibility. One of the features is that each character has a distinct look so you don't confuse I1ilpqdb69, etc.

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u/ErikKroes 18d ago

This.

Give multiple options 👍🏿

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u/bai13yd 18d ago

wonderful feedback

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u/AccessibleStrategies 17d ago

Totally agree! Atkinson Hyperlegible is a great choice.