Welcome to Ctrl, Alt, Access, a new video / audio Podcast series hosted by LauraKBuzz and Arevya, a pair of accessibility consultants and advocates, discussing video game accessibility news and opinions.

Join us every other Thursday for an hour of news and opinions, alongside guests, and contributions from listeners and viewers.

Available on all audio podcast platforms.

Episode 00 - Welcome to Ctrl, Alt, Access

We're finally here, debutting our brand new video game accessibility Podcast. 

Hosted by LauraKBuzz and @Arevya.

00:00 – Intro
01:40 – Who is Arevya
03:20 – Who is Laura Dale
05:30 – Arevya update; Princess Peach Showtime, Stardew Valley update, Palia and Haven
10:35 – Laura update; Hades 2, Another crab’s Tressure, Balatro
27:34 – NEWS UPDATE
28:42 – World of Warcraft arachnophobia mode
33:50 – GaaJ – Game Accessibility Association of Japan
39:20 – Overjoyed accessibility controller app
41:55 – Autocraft Minecraft AAC interface
45:00 – Access Ability Summer Showcase date and time
47:27 – Another crab’s Tressure
49:29 – Tales of Kenzera: ZAU accessibility portal
52:00 – Switch 2 rumours
55:42 – Stitch showcase accessibility during Nintendo Indie World Showcase
59:30 – Rounding up

Episode 01: Gun Crabs, One Handed Controls, and Hades 2 - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Laura Kate Dale and ‪@Arevya‬ record a special live episode of Ctrl, Alt, Access live from GAConf, discussing all of the panels during day one of the conference.

Intro - 00:00
Disney Illusion Island - 00:40
Game Accessibility Association Japan - 02:44
Cari Watterton Rebellion Workshop - 04:43
Multiplayer Accessibility Panel - 06:13
Quiet Space and Conference Accessibility - 07:00
EA Open Source Tools - 08:07
Sea of Thieves Audio Aim - 11:56
The Heroes Journey and Neverending Story - 11:36
Bloody Cheats - 16:07
Content Creation with Mollie Evans - 19:30
Outro - 21:09

Ep 1.5: Reporting Live From GAConf - Day 1 - Ctrl, Alt, Access

It's time for another dose of accessibility reviews, news, listener / viewer feedback, and a giveaway for a controller. Everything you need to know about Accessibility from the past few weeks.

00:00 – Intro
01:05 – Arevya update; Little kitty, big city, Botany Manor, Brain Camp and game accessibility debate
12:50 – Laura update; Pine Hearts, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, Kizazi Moto, Iwaju
23:13 - Hades 2 Early Access (light spoilers)
26:14 - Vampire Survivors Operation Guns DLC
27:00 – NEWS UPDATE
27:36 – Pine Hearts
29:08 – Xbox is closing two studios - Arcane Austin and Tango Gameworks
32:50 – a11yNYC
34:38– Fishbowl
36:30 – Cryptmaster
40:30 – Bang Average Football
41:47 – Abiotic Factor
44:53 – Wonder Woman and Warner Brothers
47:08 – GAconf day 2
54:43 – GAAD
56:40 – GIVEAWAY
59:25 – Comments form the viewers

Episode 02: Pine Hearts, Little Kitties, Fishbowls, And #GAAD - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Laura helped a duck solve a crime, while @Arevya visited a controller company, and they've both got accessibility insights to bring back and share.

00:00 – Intro
01:15 – Laura update; Pine Hearts, Ducktective The Salami Bandit, Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door, Indika, Hellblade 2 Senua’s Saga
21:45 – Byowave first impression 
40:22 – NEWS UPDATE
41:25 – Xbox Adaptive Controller update
46:03 – Byowave Proteus Controller
48:09 – Nothing Without Us events announced
51:34 – Rebellions Collection of accessibility feature usage data
56:37 – Accessible Gaming Wiki
58:20 – Xbox Adaptive Controller update
01:00:11 – Next Week Access-Ability Summer Showcase 2024
01:03:00 – GIVEAWAY winner announcement 
01:05:40 – Next weeks question

Ep 03: Hands-On With The Proteus Controller - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Laura and ‪@Arevya‬ watched a bunch of Summer Games Fest Trailers. What cool looking games can we remember, a few sleepy days later?

Links Below Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
02:14 - Summer Games Fest Chat
02:48 - Access-Ability Summer Showcase
04:30 - Whitethorn Games
04:58 - Magical Delicacy
06:20 - Slime Heroes
07:36 - Videoverse
09:14 - Dawnfolk
10:29 - Elsie
11:26 - Upheaval
13:02 - Wholesome Direct
13:18 - Crab God
14:06 - Culibra and the Souls of Limbo
14:41 - Rooster
15:52 - Latin American Games
16:49 - Dungeon Drafters
17:04 - RKGK
17:28 - Desvelado
18:02 - Despelote
18:31 - Mexico 1921 A Deep Slumber
19:24 - Xbox / Fable
20:22 - South of Midnight
21:08 - Dragon Age The Veilguard
21:34 - Mixtape
23:25 - A Winter Burrow
24:16 - The Crush House
25:06 - Ubisoft
26:35 - Call of Duty
29:11 - PC Gaming Show
29:21 - Among the Wild
29:51 - Ale Abbey
30:11 - Crescent County
32:12 - News Roundup
32:45 - Star Wars Outlaws Accessibility Spotlight
36:36 - Tiny Bookshop
39:14 - Luke Child PHD
41:40 - Tomba Remaster
48:18 - Research Summit
51:58 - Powers and Pistols
53:12 - Question
57:10 - Dungeon Clawler
57:44 - Outro

Ep 04: Our Picks From Summer Games Fest Season - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Sorry folks, no more Nintendo games for boys anymore, that's just the rules.

Featuring ‪@Arevya‬.

00:00 – Intro
01:15– Arevya update: Travels, Byowave video, Super Market Simulator, Vampire Survivor
09:20 – Laura update: Thank Goodness You're Here demo, What the Car Demo, Schim Demo, Arranger Demo, Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree
27:57 – NEWS UPDATE
28:30 – Diablo 4 is getting new navigation assist features
32:17 –  Rebellion shares Atomfall accessibility info
36:05 – Grant Stoner piece about accessible hardware in Game Informer magazine 
39:27 – MARVEL vs. CAPCOM Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics! bans simplified inputs for ranked play
45:47 – Nintendo is for Girls Only Now, Sorry! 
49:57 – Next weeks question

Ep 05: Nintendo is For Girls Only Now, Sorry - Ctrl, Alt, Access

On this special episode of Ctrl, Alt, Access, Laura chats with Grant Stoner, Disabled gamer and accessibility reporter, about Elden ring's pros and cons in terms of accessibility.

00:00 - Intro
03:05 - The Death of Brandon Cole and Milan Patel
06:45 - Elden Ring Discussion

Ep 06: Accessibility and Elden Ring (Ft. Grant Stoner) - Ctrl, Alt, Access

We're back from a mini hiatus. Come learn about physical event accessibility, new accessible video games, and important updates about reasonable workplace disability accomodations.

00:00 – Intro
01:26– Arevya update: Sudoku and Magical delicacy
09:40 – Laura update: Clickolding, Concord, Bokura
21:35 – NEWS UPDATE
22:03 – Gamescom commits to event accessibility 
30:44 –  Accessibility talks run by Jozef Kulik and Cari Waterton at Develop
38:25 – Nothing without us
40:35 – Star Citizen devs discriminated by refusing work from home 
47:20 – TwitchCon
01:01:07 – Question of the week

Ep 07 - Concord, Magical Delicacy, and Accessible Events - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Laura learns about Arevya's favourite childhood video game, Arevya folds magical paper, and both hosts discuss the current voice actor strikes.

00:00 – Intro
01:35– Arevya update: Tomba special edition, A little to the left, Paper Trails and Accessibility work streams
17:35 – Laura update: Thank goodness you're here, TMNT Splintered fate, World of goo 2
29:47 – NEWS UPDATE
30:23 – Sea of thieves new accessibility website 
33:43 – State of Decay 2 update adds 37 accessibility improvements 
36:35 – Star Wars Outlaws, Accessibility Hands-On Impressions
40:53 – Demo for Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is discontinued
44:58 – Yet more layoffs...
51:22 – Video game SAG aftra voice actor strike
56:50 – Question of the week

Ep 08: Tomba, Voice Actor Strikes, and British Bum Slaps - Ctrl, Alt, Access

00:00 – Intro
01:40 – Arevya update: Fileds of Mistria, Ocarina of Time
5:47 – Laura update: Atomfall,  Date Anything / Everything, All Will Rise, Project Timi: Sasha's Curse, Monster Hunter Wilds,
18:06 – Laura has the Proteus Controller
29:05 – Arevya has newly announced Xbox adaptive joystick
41:46 –  Laura has tried the new Xbox 8bit do lite SE
47:44  – Xbox booths World of Warcraft VR motion simulator experience
50:50  –  GamesCom ASL opening show
53:00  – Gamescom kind of has a virtual queuing system
57:18  – IGN "A Prominent Accessibility Advocate Worked With Studios and Inspired Change. But She Never Actually Existed."
1:10:00  – Where you can find us

Ep 09: The New Controller / Gamescom Special - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Let's catch up on the news, before drowning in new releases and hardware imminently!

00:00 – Intro
01:22 – Arevya played: Outer Wilds, Zelda Ocarina of time, Ace Attorney
19:45 – Laura played: Astro Bot, What the Car, Peglin, Full Throttle
37:56 –  NEWS UPDATE
38:15 – Concord removed from sale after 2 weeks - Taking with it accessibility stuff
48:18 – Proteus will refund / replace GamesCom units + an updated impressions
55:17 – Question of the week
59:53  – Where you can find us

Ep 10: The Calm Before the Storm! - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Sometimes, we just need uncomplicated, joyous, fun factory games in our lives.

00:00 - Intro
01:21 - Arevya Chat
01:31 - Outer Wilds
05:44 - Astro Bot
11:37 - Thank Goodness You’re Here
16:56 - Mobile Gaming
25:45 - Laura Chat
25:48 - The Plucky Squire
32:27 - Zero Zero: Perfect Stop
34:26 - News Headlines
35:01 - God of War Ragnarok Audio Descriptions and Hints
37:31 - Tales of Kenzera: Zau Update
39:41 - Easy Surf Cabernet Assessment
44:06 - Satisfactory Arachnophobia
45:36 - PS5 Pro
1:00:29 - Outro and Question

Ep 11: Pure, Wholesome, "Game Games" - Ctrl, Alt, Access

We both had a pretty chaotic time this week if we're honest haha

00:00 – Intro
01:15 – Laura consulted on Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Life is Strange Double Exposure
12:12 – Arevya called out SpillExpo
19:00 – Arevya talks Mario Party Jamboree,I'm on Observation Duty 7, and Corekeeper
25:20 – Laura talks Life is Strange Double Exposure 3-5, Slay the Princess, and Dragon Age: The Veilguard
36:50 –  NEWS UPDATE
37:20 – Correction Call of Duty Black Ops 6 audio accessibility
41:53 – Monster hunter wilds accessibility
45:20 – Diablo 4 vessel of Hatred accessibility
47:00 – Just Dance 2025 continues with its Seated choreographic
48:30 – Dragon Age: The Veilguard accessibility
53:30 – Where to find us

Ep 13: An Eventful But Accessible Week in Gaming - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Sometimes, fluctuating disabilities mean you have to pivot plans, and that's okay x

00:00 – Intro
03:52 – Arevya played Super Market Simulator, Botany Manor 
05:30 – Steven Spohn and Mark Barlet are leaving AbleGamers
08:40 – FDG 2025 will have the theme "Accessible Worlds, United Through Play"
10:35  – Laura and Arevya have consulted on Sorry, We're Closed 
12:05 – Arevya consulted on Life Below
14:43 – Lauras take on the PS5 PRO
19:15 – Laura has played Mario & Luigi Brothership, Super Mario Party Jamboree, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and LEGO Horizon Adventures 
36:25 – Where to find us

Ep 14: We're Tired, and Consulted on More Games! - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Telling people that your game "May contain elements dangerous to photosensitive players" doesn't really help photosensitive players to make informed decisions about their health. Could we do better with more specific warnings?

Generic Photosensitivity Warnings Protect Liability, Not Users - Access-Ability

Took us a month to catch up, but here's a recap of 16 hours of accessibility talks and panels worth knowing about.

00:00 – Intro
02:00 – DAY 1 
02:10 – Update from the industry
04:55 – Accessible DOOM mod
08:15  – Servers up, Everyone is welcome
18:25 – Tourettes IRL
22:40 – Developing in the dark
26:46 – Cheat codes for all
28:25 – Forgetting is frustrating 
30:25 – Overanalyzing and Syntezysing 
33:12 – Accessibility to burnout 
41:24 – DAY 2
41:50 – Seeing into your future, developing an accessible game for later today
45:30 – Open world and ADHD, a cautionary tale about love, pain and opportunity
48:13 – Cognitive accessibility UX in Star Wars Jedi Survivor
57:55 – #OpenForNaughtyDog
59:40 – More than a saving throw
1:03:05 – Skill tree unlocked, from consultant to inhouse
1:05:30 – Hell welcomes all
1:05:50 – How to line break subtitles
1:06:50 – Accessible gadget for gamers
1:08:40 – Developing the latest hardware accessibility offerings at Xbox
1:14:30 – Where to find all the talks
1:15:45 – Where to find us

Ep 15: GA Conf USA 2024 Panel Discussions - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Ctrl, Alt, Access reaches the end of its first year. Let's look back on a year of accessibility updates.

00:00 – Intro
00:50 – Looking back at the podcast
02:00 – Looking back at the accessibility year of 2024
02:20 – Game Awards 2024
05:35 – Year of High Contrast Mode
07:15 – Year of Cognitive Accessibility
12:50 – Year of Audio Description
16:30 – Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
19:00 – Indie Games of 2024
24:40 – More Accessibility controllers 
27:15 – Year of Remakes
29:45 – What we look forward to in 2025
30:11 – What we hope Nintendo will bring with Switch 2
31:05 – Audio Description outside cut scenes 
31:50 – PS Access Controller for PC
34:05 – Nintendo have Co-controller support and Accessibility tags in store
35:00 – Access Controllers work on all consoles
35:50 – Mental Health as the sixth accessibility category
38:20 – Tone indicators in games and BSL in captions 
40:40 – Communication accessibility
45:20 – "Design for ever gamer" and "Best practise in gaming" for blind gamers
46:50 – IRIS plugin
48:00 – Where to find us

Ep 16: CAA's 2024 Accessibility Retrospective - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Who would ever have expected we'd have so much possive to say about cognitive accessibility in a From Software game?

00:00 - Intro
00:40 - How we are doing
07:00 - Abletop
09:25 - Elden Ring Nightreign
16:00 - Dawnfolk
24:50 - Lost Records: Bloom and Rage - Tape 1
32:10 - Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
32:50 - Cabernet 
33:20 - Avowed
47:30 - Sea of thieves update
52:00 - Develop:Star Award and MCV Awards
54:30 - Microsoft Ability Summit - Accessibility and AI
01:03:00 - Where to find us

Ep 20: Accessible Souls, City Building, and AI Scepticism - Ctrl, Alt, Access

00:00 - Intro
01:08 - Text Clarity
11:01 - Iconography
20:06 - Large Print & QR Codes
28:19 - Braille & Tactile Components
36:52 - Contrast
42:31 - Colourblindness & Dual Coding
48:48 - Visual Overwhelm
52:21 - Outro 

Quick Points
🔤 Use a clear sans serif font and avoid all caps, underlines and italics.
📝 Use good text formatting, like left-aligned paragraphs, good spacing, and line breaks.
🅰️ Highlight keywords using bold and/or a different high contrast colour.
⬆️ Indicate orientation for numbers and text, considering table layout and where people will be trying to read from.
🔍 Check symbols for readability and similarity at all angles, especially on dice.
🗑️ Favour skeuomorphic icons to boost comprehension and understanding.
⭐ Consider using iconography in place of text to reduce reading, make components more language-agnostic and reduce localisation.
🌍 Check regional meanings for your icons and colours to ensure they translate accurately across locations.
↕️ Print text and icons at the largest size possible, even consider using a bigger font for components with less text.
📕 Move flavour text to the rules or another booklet to save space on components. 
🍎 Function over flavour always! If something helps someone to play the game more easily it should take priority over flavour text.
📱 Use QR codes on components to link to an app/webpage to work towards assisted tabletop gaming.
📄 Provide larger print versions of your game or components, for free or as upgrades / editions.
♟️Make components of different types, different shapes and sizes so they can be distinguished through touch.
🦯 Consider additional tactile elements like bumps, pips, embossing/debossing.
🔄️ Make good use of the reverse side of components where art would be duplicated or left blank.
👁️‍🗨️ If your game has an open state of play, consider how it could be played through just descriptions and how you can facilitate that.
🖨️ Make and provide 3D print files for tactile components.
🏁 Use a contract checker, but keep in mind digital versus printed contrast is different! Print is usually always darker. Use pantones and prototypes to check.
🧙‍♂️ Provide clear differentiation for miniatures, like coloured rings or 3D flat icons on the bases which can be easily painted for quick recognition.
🎨 Don’t use colour alone to differentiate pieces or information (use pattern, icon, text, numbers, clearly distinct art/borders) or make components colour-agnostic.
👁️ Make sure any dual-coding is large and clear.
🎲 Consider different transparencies or pip shapes for dice of different types

Abletop - Episode 3 - Visual Board Game Accessibility

00:00 - Intro
01:28 - Transparency of Consequences
07:40 - Choice Overwhelm
13:13 - Game Complexity
20:05 - Game Length 
33:30 - Memory 
37:33 - Speed & Pacing
47:21 - Co-op & Asymmetry
52:40 - Content Warnings & Player Safety
58:25 - Outro 

Quick Points

🔍 Provide transparency for consequences, by default or optionally. In legacy games you could make a digital guide for how a big choice impacts on the game.
🗺️ Consider ways to reduce overall choices in the game, thus reducing overwhelm. For example, versions of play with limited or reduced actions.
🧠 Consult the Laws of UX for tips on best practices on usability and user experience. https://lawsofux.com/ 
📑 Give players ways to prioritise actions by providing a suggested direction, such as through goal cards or a unique character action.
⚖️ Provide extra help where rules are not symmetrical and where misunderstanding may occur more frequently, such as a specialised reference card.
🫨 Consider ways to allow players to recover when plans are disrupted, and assist them in being able to pivot more easily or still reach that goal.
🎓 Include how long learning the game will take, not just an average playtime.
🕐 Consider pacing and average turn length, and if players need to be engaged at all times. How do these affect the cognitive load of your game and can you offer options?
⏯️ Help players return to play. Provide help on components or through mechanics for players to ground themselves after getting distracted or taking a break.
⭐ Help and support with ‘finding focus’ such as splitting up game management actions to help players engage, or accepting unrelated side-tasks like drawing.
⏸️ Providing ‘pause points’ and ways to help people ‘save’ the game, such as providing save sheets or extra bags for ‘saved’ collections of components.
📃 Provide ways to reduce memory reliance in games, even on a per player basis. Sometimes it’s as simple as allowing players to take notes. 
⌛ Include ways to reduce or remove timed elements.
💢 Give suggested plays to help alleviate round pressure, when a player can feel the need to plan several turns ahead thus significantly increasing cognitive load.
📚 Have flexibility for when admin time happens to help players build the experience around their energy levels.
⏲️ Reduce set-up / tear-down time if you can, such as through components like player trays or through things like quick start guides.
💜 Provide safety mechanics or tools for games with sensitive topics.
📦 Put content information on your box to inform players ahead of purchase.

Abletop - Episode 4 - Cognitive Accessibility in Board Gaming

More games with disabled protagonists that don't shy away from reality, please.

00:00 - Intro
00:40 - How we are doing
02:50 - Rare Disease Day 2025
03:47 - Thumb Soldiers
09:20 - Able to Play
18:00 - Bokura
20:55 - Split Fiction
30:00 - Sea of Thieves
32:46 - Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii
36:18 - Mecha
38:34 - To a T
42:00 - Monster Hunter arachnophobia mode
46:40 - Sorry, We're Closed
49:20 - Where to find us

Ep 21: Cooperative Wheelchairs and T Posing - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:47 - Communication-Based Games
11:24 - Abstraction of Communication
18:09 - Visual Communication
26:58 - Improv Games
35:22 - Social Deduction & Hidden Roles
48:40 - Dyslexia & Literacy
54:05 - Alternative Communication
56:59 - Outro 

Quick Points

📝 Provide options to use different communication methods, like verbal or text-based.
😶 Consider supporting play without verbal communication, by default or as a variant.
📈 Give levels of difficulty in games where speech is not allowed, such as allowing some speech, one word, gestures.
📈 Give levels of difficulty in communication-abstraction games, such as giving more options to pick from or ways to focus the clue. 
🎨 Avoid a reliance on colour for visual communication games.
🎤 Social pressure to roleplay, be funny or be quick-witted can be a huge barrier. Consider ways to support or reduce social pressures if possible.
💜 For improv games, consider providing more specific hint cards or fall-back options for players who struggle with improv.
❌ Provide a no-judgement ‘out’ to end a round early if things are getting too much.
☝️ Consider if your game could use interruption mechanics to give less confident players a mechanical way to take the wheel.
🕵️ If possible, make hidden roles optional to your game to make it approachable to more people.
🎭 Deception is difficult for some players, consider how the mechanics of your game can help support deception or provide a way for individuals to opt out of deceptive roles.
🛣️ If the game keeps going after roles have been revealed, set clear expectations in the rules that it is likely or inevitable. For longer games, ensure revealed players still feel like they have an impact at the table.
🎛️ Make rules variants, like having roles all revealed or no talking between players, to alleviate or omit some of the social pressures.
📱Provide ways or tools to help anonymity (companion app, one player presents all options, etc) where it is important for player-submitted parts. 
🔤 Where spelling is important, allow spell-checking devices at the table.
⏳ Remove timed elements or provide extra time for players who struggle with writing and/or spelling.
🤟 Provide ASL / BSL guidance for communication in your game if possible.
💬 Overall, provide ways to reduce speech or support alternative communication methods.

Abletop - Episode 5 - Communication Accessibility

Timestamps

00:00 - Intro
01:22 - Making Board Games Accessible
04:18 - Building Up a Teach & TCG Tangent
14:26 - Rubber Banding
18:51 - Randomness
26:01 - Financial Accessibility
29:48 - Canvas Mobility Spotlight
31:18 - Asmodee Access+
35:23 - Game & Rule Adaptations
44:37 - Outro 

Quick Points

💜 No board game can be 100% accessible. Don’t let the fact you can’t make it accessible to everyone stop you from doing what you can to allow more people to play.
🚧 Games are made of intentional barriers, accessibility is about unintentional barriers that arise which cause a mismatch of experience for players with access needs. As you design, ask yourself where unintentional barriers are happening, this will help you to solve them by design as opposed to in retrospect.
🪜 Consider a staggered teach for your game, across one or multiple plays of the game, to help players get comfortable with rules before adding more.
📶 Games that start simple and build in complexity as play goes on can be a good way to holistically incorporate a teach into a game experience.
🐚 Include catch-up or rubber-banding mechanics in your game to help level the playing field for players who are behind, especially on games with a live score track.
🎲 Consider ways to mitigate randomness, not just in dice but in other places with randomness, like card draw.
♟️ Provide access to basic resources/cards as a backup to a random card/item, to give players more agency and a greater feeling of control over randomness.
🛍️ Give ways for players to reset shops / offerings to help give them more ways to search for the resources they need.
🎁 Try to do as much for accessibility as possible in standard versions of your game so players don’t need to invest in add-ons or alternative components.
📂 Provide free resources to allow players to adapt common barriers in your game to their needs, such as free print-at-home stickers.
♿ If possible you could create specialist versions of your game to accommodate accessibility barriers, but try to keep the cost comparable to the original version.
🃏 Create cut-outs in boards to help with picking up cards.
🔓 Allow and promote players bending rules to fit access needs.
🎛️ Provide variations of gameplay that address unintentional barriers in your rulebook, online or in FAQs.

Abletop - Episode 6 - Board Game Accessibility Bits Bobs

We've got thoughts on emotional subtitles and Xbox nunchucks this week.

00:00 - Intro
01:40 - Avowed update
04:20 - One Lonely Outpost, Wanderstop, and In Stars and Time
10:00 - Split Fiction
11:30 - R.E.P.O
14:00 - Assassins Creeds Shadows 
32:00 - Xbox Adaptive Joystick
43:00 - Able To Play
43:40 - Accessible Games Initiative
51:50 - Microsoft Accessible Packaging Guide 
52:55 - SteamOS (Steam Deck) to support ByoWave Proteus Controller
53:50 - Jennissary received the Bob Rice Recognition Award at the G.A.N.G. awards
55:45 - Where to find us

Ep 22: Accessibility Tags, Joysticks, and Emotional Shadows - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Not something I anticipated, but we have a lot of positive words to say about Nintendo this week.

00:00 - Intro
01:12 - Atomfall
07:00 - South of Midnight
23:05 - Abiotic Factor
30:30 - Switch 2 
31:05 - Switch 2 Accessibility Settings
37:05 - Switch 2 Price and Game Price 
49:40 - Switch 2 Mouse
52:35 - Drag x Drive
59:20 - Switch 2 Further Discussion

For reference, this episode of Ctrl, Alt, Access was recorded prior to the BDS Boycott announcement RE Xbox. I will have a video live tomorrow on this channel talking in more depth about my approach to coverage now that the boycott information is known. 

Ep 23: Nintendo and Accessibility? We're Surprised Too! - Ctrl, Alt, Access

Two days and 16 hours of intensive accessibility panels and talks, condensced into two hours of live and not so live discussion.

00:00 - DAY  1
02:00 - GA Conf info and "News update"
04:20 - "Behind the Curtain: Sustainable Accessibility in an Indie Development Environment"
08:14 - "Include, Learn, Iterate: User Research for Accessibility"
13:07 - "You’re Doing Well if You’re Annoying Someone: A celebration of Advocacy, Making an Impact and Finding Community"
18:11 - "Selling Progress: The Accessibility Champion Survival Guide (2025 Edition)"
26:20 - "Chroma, A Colorblind Simulation Tool"
28:08 - "Adding Support for the Native Assistive Technologies in iOS and Android, for Apps Built in Unity"
29:39 - "King: Enhancing Mobile Audio with Accessibility"
37:25 - "Extending Accessibility to Mobile in Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown"
43:50 - "Mind The Gap: The Agile and Accessible R&D behind AbleToPlay"

48:30 - DAY 2
49:16 - "Conducting Effective Accessibility Research"
54:50 - "Nobody Wants to Make Players Sick"
1:07:07 - "TLDH: Deafness & Gaming"
1:13:37 - "UX: Building Accessible Player Experiences"
1:17:37 - "Representation of Invisible Disability – Exploring the Lived Experience of Teenagers with ADHD to Inform Game Design"
1:25:02 - "How To Measure Text"
1:27:17 - "Writing for Everyone"
1:30:57 - "From Champions to a Dedicated Role: IOI’s Accessibility Journey (so far)"
1:34:54 - "Taking a Cricket Bat to Accessibility Barriers in Atomfall"
1:38:22 - "Input and it’s impact: How the XAC changed the industry"

Ep 24: A Lengthy GA Conf 2025 Recap Live Report - Ctrl, Alt, Access

We've been busy smashing crystal bananas and piloting starships this Disability Pride Month.

00:00 - Intro
01:25 - Donkey Kong Bananza
14:01 - Nice Day for Fishing
16:44 - Bridge Command 
23:44 - Idle Games: Chillquarium and Rusty's Retirement
26:22 - Grounded
30:27 - Patapon 1+2 Replay
33:20 - Many Cats Studio Impact day and Nothing Without Us livestream 
34:28 - Game A11Y Gathering
37:25 - EA SPORTS FC 26 adds High Contrast Mode
40:07 - 9000 employees lost their jobs at Microsoft
44:50 - Accessible Games Initiative tags are live
49:30 - Where to find us

Ep 28: Real Life Star Trek - Bridge Command Bananza - Ctrl, Alt, Access

We are riding high, and loving video games this week. Well, except for one set in The Shire.

00:00 - Intro
01:15 - Powerwash Simulator 2
07:13 - Bridge Command and Empty Epsilon
09:54 - Yakuza 0
11:35 - Co-op Kaiju Horror Cooking
13:40 - Nubby's Number Factory
16:05 - PEAK "no head bobbing" update
21:55 - Tales of the shire
32:44 - Grounded 2
44:00 - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 update 1.4.0's accessibility update
46:36 - New PS5 system update beta previews DualSense wireless controller pairing across multiple devices
48:30 - News about the PS Fightstick
50:16 - Where to find usm and what we are working on

Ep 29: Powerwash Those Phobias Out of Your Cutscenes - Ctrl, Alt Access

It's hard to find games to play when you're ill, if playing games is something you associate with work.

Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
01:45 - Supermarket Simulator
02:40 - Tiny Bookshop
09:38 - Discounty
15:21 - Bridge Command Campaign
26:07 - Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2
33:01 - Silksong Release Date
35:44 - Gamescom
38:40 - Resident Evil 9 Third Person Toggle
39:32 - Gamescom Games for Democracy
42:18 - Tiny Bookshop Gamescom Award
42:47 - The Rogue Prince of Persia 1.0 Release
45:06 - Nothing Without Us Award
45:48 - Gaming Culture Event in Norway
48:38 - Outro

Ep 30: Illness, and Chilling with a Great Book or Three - Ctrl, Alt, Access

We're enjoying the new indie darling, buuuuut....

00:00 - Intro
02:12 - Hollow Knight: Silksong
19:30 - Whisper of the House
22:30 - Ghost of Yōtei
23:20 - Pokémon Sword and Shield Dynamax Adventures
29:45 - PEAK accessibility update
32:40 - Mario Galaxy assist mode
34:55 - Ramble about life and where to find us

Ep 31: Silksong, Hidden Rooms, and Being Disabled - Ctrl, Alt, Access

A video game accessibility podcast published twice monthly. 

Hosted by Arevya and LauraKBuzz. 

Email - CtrlAltAccessPodcast@Gmail.Com

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