The TransMedia Catalonia research group took part in the first edition of the FIVI, which bestowed the “most accessible game” award to the first video game that allows blind people to drive.
There are more than 400 million gamers with disabilities worldwide, according to Microsoft. However, it wasn't until the summer of 2020, with the release of The Last of Us II, that a AAA video game –a video game produced by a major publisher– was developed making all its features accessible to create an equally complete user experience, regardless of how people accessed it.
This commitment was groundbreaking, and it switched the video game industry’s approach to accessibility. Even so, the 2020 Game Awards (informally known as “the 'Oscars' of video games”) created an accessibility category in which The Last of Us II was the sole winner.
That is why The Last of Us II was honoured at the inauguration of the International Festival of Inclusive Video Games (FIVI), which held a historic first edition in Cuenca on 18, 19, and 20 January 2024, and where the research team TransMedia Catalonia also participated, both as speakers and members of the jury that handed out awards to the most accessible games.
The TransMedia Catalonia researchers who participated were Carme Mangiron, with the presentation "Games without barriers: Current overview of accessibility in video games", and María Eugenia Larreina, with the presentation "How to measure the accessibility of a video game. A quantitative and qualitative analysis", both available online.
The jury bestowed awards in three categories:
- Best video adventure to start in video games: Brok the InvestiGator (COWCAT Games).
- Most accessible video game for the visually impaired: Mortal Kombat I (Warner Bros Games & NetherRealm Studios).
- Most inclusive video game: Forza Motorsport (Forza Motorsport & Turn 10 Studios).
Forza Motorsport, winner of FIVI's Most Inclusive Video Game award, has also won the accessibility category at the Game Awards for the achievement of being the first game that allowed blind people to drive digitally. In total, there were more than a dozen nominees in the three categories, which the jury highlights as a success. As Larreina stated, "we are very happy to have had so many accessible video games from which to choose the winners."
