Hi! I am disabled and I have a few friends who are also disabled and there are different aspects that affect each of us. I have a few suggestions on how to make potterworld more accessible based on mine and my friends experiences. There may be others ways as well that I haven't thought of.
1. Change team colours in quabbleball (and any other activity that relies on distinguishing red-green colours).
Red-green colour blindness is one of the most common types of colour blindness. This makes it near impossible to play quabbleball (unless you are the searcher) because it is difficult to distinguish between the different teams and goals. I understand that red and green represent griffin and serpant - the biggest 'rival' houses, and also that, to people with typical vision, it is very distinguishable, but why not use another pair of contrasting colours? This means that quabbleball is more accessible.
2. Encourage players to use tone indicators in chat.
It is very difficult for anyone to tell tone from text. It is even more difficult for autistic players to tell tone from text. Whilst there are very rarely any malicious conversations in chat, austistic players can get very confused when jokes or sarcastic comments are made, leading to a confusing and sometimes unpleasant experience of the game. All players should therefore be encouraged to use tone indicators. An example of this could include: "That questwas sooooo easy! /s" (/s indicating sarcasm). Similarly to how staff members redirect a player to the appropriate channel if the wrong channel was used in chat, they could also say things like "should you add /s" or "was that supposed to be sarcastic" to clarify for any autistic players who might've been confused by what was going on. This would make chat more accesible.
3. Make parkour easier. Or make an option to skip a section.
Yes yes, I know. It is SUPPOSED to be a challenge, I understand. But potterworld has quite hard parkours, harder than lots of other server's parkours. What is quite challenging for typical people can become incredibly challenging, near impossible, for players with mobility or pain issues, such as Arthritis or CP. Some of the more difficult aspects of parkour, that require multiple things done at once or in quick succession, such as shifting upon landing, or turning tight corners quickly whilst not stopping, are very difficult for people with mobility or pain issues. I think Potterworld should either make the parkour easier, or give an option to skip a section. Yes, there are other ways to level up without completing that exact quest that they are having difficulty with, but it is unfair that a disabled player should have to miss out on completing a quest, when other players don't.
Now, I know that skipping a section means that some, able bodied people might exploit this option. But I believe that a disabled player's experience shouldn't be compromised, for the sake of preventing people from exploiting the system. I have a friend who was stuck on a certain quest requiring parkour, for several weeks. In the end, another friend had to log on to her account and do it for her. Though I have thought of a way that might prevent exploitation. Put a "disability" page clearly visible on the website. If a disabled person saw that this page existed, they would probably click on it, to see how it might affect them. But if an able bodied person were to see a tab labelled "disability" they would probably think "doesn't apply to me" and won't bother reading it. Located on this page could be information about skipping a section of parkour, that the disabled player would discover, and the able-bodied player would not know existed. The disabled player could then PM a staff member, with a generic phrase such as "Hi, I'm disabled, and I'm really struggling with ____ parkour challenge. Could I please skip it/a section of it?" The staff member should then allow them to (somehow, IDK technically how this could work. Teleportation?).
On another note, nobody should have to PROVE that they are disabled. A staff member should not ask for proof or further information regarding a player's disability, that is personal information which they should not have to give out. A staff member should just believe them when a player asks to use the system. Yes, this will inevitably lead to exploitation by some, but I believe preventing disabled players from receiving help in order to stop players exploiting the system is unfair on the disabled player.
4. On a similar note to the previous point, make the time limit for steps in potion brewing longer.
Some of the steps in some potions have very few seconds given to complete it, before the potion brewing is failed. This means that some players with a mobility issue, slow reaction times, will continuously fail because they are incapable of completing the activity fast enough. I don't have a mobility issue, but there was one potion that I had to brew over 15 times because I continued to run out of time. Imagine how long it would take someone with slower reaction times? This would also help players with a processing disability. The very short time limit on some steps makes it very overwhelming and difficult for players with a processing disability. What might seem straight forward to a typical player is much more complicated and long process in someone with a processing disability. By the time they have read the words indicating what needs to be done, processed this information, and found the appropriate ingredient/ empty hand in their inventory, the time limit has run out and they have failed. This is unfair.
5. This suggestion isn't specific, more suggesting you go and do specific research. There is a minecraft server specifically designed for autistic players. I won't name it, because I don't know if that is allowed, but a quick google search will probably lead you to it. I suggest looking at the server, maybe contacting some of their staff members on specific things that they do in that server, to make it more friendly to autistic players, and maybe implement some of their ideas into this server, if it is applicable to this game. I can't tell you exactly what you should do because I don't know which of their ideas would work in this server.
6. Get rid of nausea, in any situation where a player might get it (e.g. crashing the broom).
I mean, does it really impact the game that much/ prevent you from doing things etc? Getting rid of it stabilises the view, which is beneficial to some players. You can still prevent players from remounting their broom for a short while "You are too stunned to fly" but getting rid of nausea won't make much difference to the game play, but will make a lot of difference to some disabled players.
7. Change colour of the particles in "invisible" blocks etc.
Green is used for quest related stuff, yes I know. But white can be very difficult to see for some people with vision impairments. Possibly use yellow?
This is all I can think of. By doing these suggestions I believe that Potterworld will become a more accessible, inclusive, inviting and fun place for disabled players. Potterworld, and most minecraft servers, needs to be more inclusive.
Edit:
8. I have thought of one other thing. Don't make sounds useful to a quest. Apparently, in some quests, you hear a certain sound if you did the right thing, and a different sound if you hear the wrong thing. Though I dont know how much this impacts the game, I always have my sound turned off anyway, and haven't noticed it impact me. But if this is a thing, I would suggest getting rid of it, maybe, replacing it maybe with a visual? so that people who have their sound turned off, sometimes for sensory issues, don't miss out on important information.
1. Change team colours in quabbleball (and any other activity that relies on distinguishing red-green colours).
Red-green colour blindness is one of the most common types of colour blindness. This makes it near impossible to play quabbleball (unless you are the searcher) because it is difficult to distinguish between the different teams and goals. I understand that red and green represent griffin and serpant - the biggest 'rival' houses, and also that, to people with typical vision, it is very distinguishable, but why not use another pair of contrasting colours? This means that quabbleball is more accessible.
2. Encourage players to use tone indicators in chat.
It is very difficult for anyone to tell tone from text. It is even more difficult for autistic players to tell tone from text. Whilst there are very rarely any malicious conversations in chat, austistic players can get very confused when jokes or sarcastic comments are made, leading to a confusing and sometimes unpleasant experience of the game. All players should therefore be encouraged to use tone indicators. An example of this could include: "That questwas sooooo easy! /s" (/s indicating sarcasm). Similarly to how staff members redirect a player to the appropriate channel if the wrong channel was used in chat, they could also say things like "should you add /s" or "was that supposed to be sarcastic" to clarify for any autistic players who might've been confused by what was going on. This would make chat more accesible.
3. Make parkour easier. Or make an option to skip a section.
Yes yes, I know. It is SUPPOSED to be a challenge, I understand. But potterworld has quite hard parkours, harder than lots of other server's parkours. What is quite challenging for typical people can become incredibly challenging, near impossible, for players with mobility or pain issues, such as Arthritis or CP. Some of the more difficult aspects of parkour, that require multiple things done at once or in quick succession, such as shifting upon landing, or turning tight corners quickly whilst not stopping, are very difficult for people with mobility or pain issues. I think Potterworld should either make the parkour easier, or give an option to skip a section. Yes, there are other ways to level up without completing that exact quest that they are having difficulty with, but it is unfair that a disabled player should have to miss out on completing a quest, when other players don't.
Now, I know that skipping a section means that some, able bodied people might exploit this option. But I believe that a disabled player's experience shouldn't be compromised, for the sake of preventing people from exploiting the system. I have a friend who was stuck on a certain quest requiring parkour, for several weeks. In the end, another friend had to log on to her account and do it for her. Though I have thought of a way that might prevent exploitation. Put a "disability" page clearly visible on the website. If a disabled person saw that this page existed, they would probably click on it, to see how it might affect them. But if an able bodied person were to see a tab labelled "disability" they would probably think "doesn't apply to me" and won't bother reading it. Located on this page could be information about skipping a section of parkour, that the disabled player would discover, and the able-bodied player would not know existed. The disabled player could then PM a staff member, with a generic phrase such as "Hi, I'm disabled, and I'm really struggling with ____ parkour challenge. Could I please skip it/a section of it?" The staff member should then allow them to (somehow, IDK technically how this could work. Teleportation?).
On another note, nobody should have to PROVE that they are disabled. A staff member should not ask for proof or further information regarding a player's disability, that is personal information which they should not have to give out. A staff member should just believe them when a player asks to use the system. Yes, this will inevitably lead to exploitation by some, but I believe preventing disabled players from receiving help in order to stop players exploiting the system is unfair on the disabled player.
4. On a similar note to the previous point, make the time limit for steps in potion brewing longer.
Some of the steps in some potions have very few seconds given to complete it, before the potion brewing is failed. This means that some players with a mobility issue, slow reaction times, will continuously fail because they are incapable of completing the activity fast enough. I don't have a mobility issue, but there was one potion that I had to brew over 15 times because I continued to run out of time. Imagine how long it would take someone with slower reaction times? This would also help players with a processing disability. The very short time limit on some steps makes it very overwhelming and difficult for players with a processing disability. What might seem straight forward to a typical player is much more complicated and long process in someone with a processing disability. By the time they have read the words indicating what needs to be done, processed this information, and found the appropriate ingredient/ empty hand in their inventory, the time limit has run out and they have failed. This is unfair.
5. This suggestion isn't specific, more suggesting you go and do specific research. There is a minecraft server specifically designed for autistic players. I won't name it, because I don't know if that is allowed, but a quick google search will probably lead you to it. I suggest looking at the server, maybe contacting some of their staff members on specific things that they do in that server, to make it more friendly to autistic players, and maybe implement some of their ideas into this server, if it is applicable to this game. I can't tell you exactly what you should do because I don't know which of their ideas would work in this server.
6. Get rid of nausea, in any situation where a player might get it (e.g. crashing the broom).
I mean, does it really impact the game that much/ prevent you from doing things etc? Getting rid of it stabilises the view, which is beneficial to some players. You can still prevent players from remounting their broom for a short while "You are too stunned to fly" but getting rid of nausea won't make much difference to the game play, but will make a lot of difference to some disabled players.
7. Change colour of the particles in "invisible" blocks etc.
Green is used for quest related stuff, yes I know. But white can be very difficult to see for some people with vision impairments. Possibly use yellow?
This is all I can think of. By doing these suggestions I believe that Potterworld will become a more accessible, inclusive, inviting and fun place for disabled players. Potterworld, and most minecraft servers, needs to be more inclusive.
Edit:
8. I have thought of one other thing. Don't make sounds useful to a quest. Apparently, in some quests, you hear a certain sound if you did the right thing, and a different sound if you hear the wrong thing. Though I dont know how much this impacts the game, I always have my sound turned off anyway, and haven't noticed it impact me. But if this is a thing, I would suggest getting rid of it, maybe, replacing it maybe with a visual? so that people who have their sound turned off, sometimes for sensory issues, don't miss out on important information.
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