Accessibility in "A Mending" Game
Here is a very astute approach to accessibility issues in gaming: instead of trying to think of and solve all possible problems personally, the designer simply set aside a fund to compensate other folks who found problems and solutions. It capitalizes on the wider experience, needs, and ingenuity of a large audience. This approach would work for many types of project, especially in crowdfunding but not necessarily limited to that. I encourage people to use it and spread it, and credit the designer. Especially, add it to lists of accommodations: it's a lot easier to fix things in a project or group if accessibility is a line item in the budget and is referenced in the list of possible solutions. Here are some more resources for improving accessibility in gaming.
"A Mending" game by Shing Yin Khor
ACCESSIBILITY GRANTS
I initially wanted to offer two accessibility
grants of $1500 each to two people or groups working on improving
accessibility on my game, A Mending. However, instead of creating an
formal application process(which in this particular instance, feels like
it might be more gate-keepy than useful), I have decided to simply put
aside $3000 to properly compensate people working on accessibility issues
if they choose to work on a more accessible version of A Mending, which
can include smaller targeted projects.
I will write more about this soon,
but if you've been thinking about ways A Mending could be more accessible,
and would like to work on that, let me know - I'd like to pay you.
Proposals(these do not need to be formal) can be emailed directly to
me(shingkhor@gmail.com); please include your budget/pay-rate and an
outline of what you might want to make or do. If you are an independent
designer and would like to self-fund a more accessible version of A
Mending, and only need a commercial license to make money on your version,
email me. The license will allow you to produce a commercial version of
the game with your accessibility changes, whether digital or physical. If
you would like to produce a non-commercial version of the game, you can
already do so under its current license.
After the Kickstarter has been fulfilled, remaining physical copies of the
game will be available at my store.
Regarding my own work, my Transformative Works Policy encourages podcasts and translations precisely to make things accessible to a wider audience. I have updated it to encourage other suggestions or contributions toward accessibility.
"A Mending" game by Shing Yin Khor
ACCESSIBILITY GRANTS
I initially wanted to offer two accessibility
grants of $1500 each to two people or groups working on improving
accessibility on my game, A Mending. However, instead of creating an
formal application process(which in this particular instance, feels like
it might be more gate-keepy than useful), I have decided to simply put
aside $3000 to properly compensate people working on accessibility issues
if they choose to work on a more accessible version of A Mending, which
can include smaller targeted projects.
I will write more about this soon,
but if you've been thinking about ways A Mending could be more accessible,
and would like to work on that, let me know - I'd like to pay you.
Proposals(these do not need to be formal) can be emailed directly to
me(shingkhor@gmail.com); please include your budget/pay-rate and an
outline of what you might want to make or do. If you are an independent
designer and would like to self-fund a more accessible version of A
Mending, and only need a commercial license to make money on your version,
email me. The license will allow you to produce a commercial version of
the game with your accessibility changes, whether digital or physical. If
you would like to produce a non-commercial version of the game, you can
already do so under its current license.
After the Kickstarter has been fulfilled, remaining physical copies of the
game will be available at my store.
Regarding my own work, my Transformative Works Policy encourages podcasts and translations precisely to make things accessible to a wider audience. I have updated it to encourage other suggestions or contributions toward accessibility.