[Update: Thank You Sims Team!] Making Sims 4 Accessible to the Visually Impaired Simmer
Hey everyone, I don't normally make discussions these days, but here's something I'm really passionate about.
I'm a visually impaired Simmer, and over the last year I've slowly been losing my vision. That's not something that scares me, or greatly bothers me, so please don't feel sorry for me. I'm very happy with my life. But I'm realizing it's harder to play Sims 4 because the text is so small and impossible for me to read, so lately I've just been guessing what I'm reading in option menus, object catalogs, and cheat text windows based off memory and pattern. I'd like to find a way to make Sims 4 more accessible to the blind and visually impaired like me.
My ideas:
1. Font changes for option windows
-Increasing font size, making the words bolder or using all-caps (all-caps is easier to read than lower case letters)
2. Small Magnifier
-Windows has a magnifier installed, but the levels you can zoom in are very limited and the sensitivity is too shaky and unpredictable to easily build anything or pick an option from the menu wheel.
-If Sims could create an in-game magnifier with adjustable zoom in size, smooth sensitivity, that would be incredible
3. Voice Over
-I'm sure there are other simmers out there who loved playing the game and had to give it up because they could no longer read or see the
screen clearly enough to play. If there was a voice over to read menu options in live mode, or button options in build/buy mode, or read catalog
items, it would be a game changer, especially if you could choose how much of this voice over there was (I would mostly need live mode option
voice over, but maybe somebody needs and wants the option for the build/buy mode)
-Using a voice actor would be ideal, because it's easier to understand this way, but electronic voices you see in modern voice overs will work just as well
I feel like this is asking a lot, but one of the few things I'm afraid of if I continue to lose vision is that I won't be able to play my favorite game any more. I've been playing Sims since I was 10 and Sims 4 is my favorite of the Sims generation games so far. An accessible version of this would change a lot for me and other visually impaired/blind players as well. Not many video games are accessible for the blind, and making changes towards that would change the world of video games. Even if I had to wait another year or two, or even for Sims 5 to get these accessibility settings, it would be worth it, because I can't imagine a part of my life where I don't spend my day off sitting in front of a computer playing Sims.
If the sims team could start working for a more accessible Sims game, that would change a lot for me
Thank you to all who read, here's hoping someone really hears this
*UPDATE 11/12/2019* I want to thank the Sims 4 team for this update to the UI. Being able to resize the UI has already made a big difference to my game, and I genuinely want to thank you. Playing Sims 4 will be much easier for me now and involve a lot less eye strain and allow me to play longer and with easier/more enjoyable sessions. I cannot thank you enough :smiley:
I'm a visually impaired Simmer, and over the last year I've slowly been losing my vision. That's not something that scares me, or greatly bothers me, so please don't feel sorry for me. I'm very happy with my life. But I'm realizing it's harder to play Sims 4 because the text is so small and impossible for me to read, so lately I've just been guessing what I'm reading in option menus, object catalogs, and cheat text windows based off memory and pattern. I'd like to find a way to make Sims 4 more accessible to the blind and visually impaired like me.
My ideas:
1. Font changes for option windows
-Increasing font size, making the words bolder or using all-caps (all-caps is easier to read than lower case letters)
2. Small Magnifier
-Windows has a magnifier installed, but the levels you can zoom in are very limited and the sensitivity is too shaky and unpredictable to easily build anything or pick an option from the menu wheel.
-If Sims could create an in-game magnifier with adjustable zoom in size, smooth sensitivity, that would be incredible
3. Voice Over
-I'm sure there are other simmers out there who loved playing the game and had to give it up because they could no longer read or see the
screen clearly enough to play. If there was a voice over to read menu options in live mode, or button options in build/buy mode, or read catalog
items, it would be a game changer, especially if you could choose how much of this voice over there was (I would mostly need live mode option
voice over, but maybe somebody needs and wants the option for the build/buy mode)
-Using a voice actor would be ideal, because it's easier to understand this way, but electronic voices you see in modern voice overs will work just as well
I feel like this is asking a lot, but one of the few things I'm afraid of if I continue to lose vision is that I won't be able to play my favorite game any more. I've been playing Sims since I was 10 and Sims 4 is my favorite of the Sims generation games so far. An accessible version of this would change a lot for me and other visually impaired/blind players as well. Not many video games are accessible for the blind, and making changes towards that would change the world of video games. Even if I had to wait another year or two, or even for Sims 5 to get these accessibility settings, it would be worth it, because I can't imagine a part of my life where I don't spend my day off sitting in front of a computer playing Sims.
If the sims team could start working for a more accessible Sims game, that would change a lot for me
Thank you to all who read, here's hoping someone really hears this
*UPDATE 11/12/2019* I want to thank the Sims 4 team for this update to the UI. Being able to resize the UI has already made a big difference to my game, and I genuinely want to thank you. Playing Sims 4 will be much easier for me now and involve a lot less eye strain and allow me to play longer and with easier/more enjoyable sessions. I cannot thank you enough :smiley:
