Low vision – what we are trying to address

Low vision generally refers to impairment that impacts a person’s vision. Difficulty reading screen output is often the most common complaint regarding low vision. Problem associated with lighting is another (hesitancy in bright light or low light…etc). Color blindness is also quite common.

There is the concept of contrast ratio. This ratio is for distinguishing screen object. A gamer who needs high contrast to distinguish between objects has low contrast sensitivity, and vice versa. When the contrast ratio of screen objects and background are at the limits of the gamer’s contrast sensitivity then the objects will become hardly legible. The problem will be worsen when these objects are moving too fast while the gamer is having trouble seeing movement.

Screen brightness is another issue. When the display is too bright or too dim a low vision gamer will for sure experience a problem. Many low vision gamers have extreme sensitivity to light. Too much light can lead to eye pain and headache. Exacerbated glare can lead to additional distraction. To solve this problem it may be necessary to invert light and dark! On the other hand, those with peripheral field loss would not be able to see well without sufficient light.

Most gamers with low vision have low contrast sensitivity as well. Our strategy is to design game objects with elevated contrast ratio. Sufficient brightness may be necessary to sustain higher contrast. For gamers with special sensitivity to light, we offer an option to mitigate problems of blurred and hazy vision through reversed polarity – that is, to have light objects over dark background.

Color blindness is another concern. There are four types of color disabilities exist due to the inability to see red, green, blue, or all colors! To deal with this we have to be very careful in picking the colors to use for display.