Starting Point - Shooters
Whilst many of the modules in the SpecialEffect DevKit might be applicable to your game, we’ve compiled a selection of modules which may be considered particularly relevant for game developers who are looking to improve the motor accessibility of their first or third-person shooter game, or any game that features shooting mechanics, for players.
The modules listed below can be expanded to reveal information on how they might be applied to various shooting mechanics. This can be used as a starting point when interacting with the DevKit, if suitable for your game.
When supporting options that affect the gameplay of your game, you’ll need to consider how allowing the player to use and adjust these settings affects the game balance, particularly in multiplayer environments.
If you’re developing optional online features, think about whether a setting might give users an unfair advantage online, or whether it would only make it easier for someone who’s unable to perform a certain action without that additional option, thus levelling the playing field.
1.3 Simultaneous Input
“Let players use more than one input device at the same time.”
The more input devices your game supports, the greater the chance the player will be able to use the input device they prefer. However, some players may find certain parts of different devices more accessible than others, so might benefit from being able to play with more than one of the same or different devices at the same time, using inputs from each device for different actions.
This method of play can be supported by allowing multiple devices to be used concurrently, acting as if only one device were being used. For instance in a typical first or third-person shooter, some players may wish to seperate camera movement and character movement between two different input devices. So they might use a mouse or assistive mouse to move the camera, but the analog stick on a gamepad or adaptive gamepad for moving the character.
Similarly, a player might wish the use multiple of the same input device, such as two gamepads, simultaneously. One use-case for this might be a player positioning a gamepad to allow contolling an analog stick with one part of their body, such as their chin, and then using a second gamepad with their hands for access to other inputs. By supporting simultaneous input in this way a setup like this becomes possible for players.
Additionaly, allowing simultaneous input can also be useful for players who might share the controls with other people, to cooperatively control a single player in your game.
2.8 Reducing the Total Number of Inputs
“Help players by reducing the number of inputs required to play your game.”
Remapping allows players to use the inputs they prefer and have greater access to. Remapping can also help players by reducing the total number of inputs needed to play your game.
One way to let players do this is through contextual remapping. Allow players to use the same input for different actions if the actions they are bound to are mutually exclusive and you could never perform them at the same time. Even something like looking at or being near an interactable object, such as a door, or your character being in mid-air could be considered a different context.
If your shooter game typically uses an analog stick for character movement and another for moving the camera while aiming, it may be suitable to offer a single stick mode by considering aiming as a separate context. In this mode, an analog stick normally used for movement could be used for camera movement while aiming, giving players the possibility to choose if the benefit of only having to control one analog stick outweighs being able to move and aim at the same time.
3.2 Configuring Interactions
“Let players decide which input event performs an action, and the timing of that event.”
Every input interaction in a game contains one or more input events. While these input interactions can take any form, there are some in particular that recur between games, and which can be difficult for some players. You could allow players to adjust the input interaction that performs each action, so that they might avoid interactions they find particularly challenging, such as hold interactions and repeated presses.
For example, perhaps your shooter game requires the player to hold a button down to continue sprinting, or double press a different button in order to crouch. Consider whether it might be possible to toggle sprinting by simply pressing the button once, and similarly the same could apply to crouching by reducing it to a single press, as while it’s useful to let players customise input interactions generally, it is also important to ensure players can choose to perform an action on the first press of an input where possible.
3.7 Contextual Interactions
“Consider context as a means of letting players avoid complex interactions.”
Complex interactions are sometimes included in games as a way of having more than one action mapped to the same input, with each action being triggered by a different type of interaction. In these cases it might still be possible to allow players to change the interactions to something more accessible for them, if you consider the context that the player is in when performing these actions.
For instance, in your shooter you might have it configured so that holding a button down for a certain amount of time will pick up an item, but releasing the same button before this time will cause you to reload. However, you could provide players with an option that means pressing the button in the context of pointing your camera at the item will only ever pick up the item however long you hold it, and outside of this context, pressing the button will reload. By taking a granular look at which actions are, or could become, mutually exclusive, you allow the player to avoid more complex interactions actions through context.
4.2 Inner Deadzone
“Let players adjust the inner deadzones of each input to suit their movement.”
The inner deadzone is an area between two distinct values of an analog input, in which the bound action will not activate. By allowing players to adjust this area, players can choose the amount of input required to initiate an action.
Having the ability to increase the inner deadzone can be useful for players with involuntary movement trying to avoid unintentionally performing an action. Whereas decreasing the inner deadzone can be useful for players who would prefer to initiate an action with less input from the device, and therefore less physical movement overall.
In a shooter with both character and camera movement, you could allow players to adjust the size of the inner deadzone for both the left and right sticks when using a gamepad, so they can decide how much movement will be needed to initiate both character and camera movement actions.
It’s worth noting that inner deadzones can also be applied to digital actions, when mapped to analog inputs. So you could also provide inner deadzone options for actions like firing a weapon, in which case the weapon will not fire until the trigger reaches the distance set by the player.
4.3 Outer Threshold
“Adjusting the outer threshold can help players to perform an action fully.”
The outer threshold is the opposite of the inner deadzone, in that it’s an area between two values of an analog input where an action will activate at its maximum value. The point at which a character will move at their maximum speed for instance.
Letting players adjust this area can allow players to reach the maximum value of the action with less physical movement. For instance, you could allow the player to adjust the outer threshold for moving the camera while aiming. By reducing this value, the stick needs to be pushed less far before the camera will turn at its maximum speed when aiming in-game.
As with inner deadzones, these settings could also be applied to actions mapped to the triggers on a gamepad. Perhaps your shooter contains sections where the player can drive a vehicle using a trigger to accelerate. By lowering the value of the outer threshold, the distance the trigger will need to be pushed before a vehicle reaches maximum acceleration is reduced.
4.4 Response Curves
“Let players adjust response curves to personalise their control of an action.”
Actions that are analog and can take many different values between the inner deadzone and outer threshold, will respond to the player’s input in a specific way, depending on how you’ve chosen it to feel. The response curve, which describes this relationship, can be adjusted to make the action more or less sensitive at different input values. Letting players adjust the curve, to suit the way they use their input, can give them more control over the action.
For instance, for aiming the camera in your game you could provide several response curve presets for players using a gamepad. Selecting a more aggressive option will result in the action responding very quickly as you initially move the stick, with the action becoming less sensitive after you pass a certain point on the curve. Whereas setting it to a more relaxed preset will produce the opposite effect, where it will respond more slowly initially, but the action will increase in value very quickly after the stick reaches a certain point.
4.8 Contextual Analog Settings
“Allow players to adjust analog settings individually by context.”
The analog settings mentioned previously should also be adjustable on a contextual basis.
For example, you might allow players to adjust the camera sensitivity separately for moving the camera while aiming and for looking around normally. Or if your game contains a number of different weapons, you could allow players to configure unique analog settings for each weapon, as they may find certain adjustments improve their control for one weapon but not others.
5.5 Settings Information
“Ideally, let players preview and adjust settings before starting, and throughout your game.”
For the player to make the most of the options and settings that your game supports, you should consider how easy and understandable it will be for them to find and adjust these settings throughout the course of your game.
Consider allowing players to adjust settings, and particularly accessibility settings, at the very start of your game. This is a great way of making players aware of the settings your game contains, and also means players will have immediate access to options they might require in order to play.
You could provide a dedicated setup menu that includes accessibility preset options that configure multiple settings at once. This can be useful for players who would like to start with as many of the settings enabled that they might benefit from as possible, and then perhaps customise things as they become more familiar with the game.
5.6 Testing Configurations
“Give players options to test their setups while becoming familiar with your game.”
In order for players to get familiar with your game, with the various actions they can perform, and to test how adjusting the various settings will affect their experience, consider adding a consequence-free area or mode for the player to practice in.
In a shooter this could be an area where the player can practice character movement, or aiming and firing weapons, or you might have AI opponents that are simplified to give the players an idea of what they might encounter later on, but without the other external pressures that might otherwise be present.
Additionally, by also allowing the player to configure settings in these areas they can immediately see the results of changing each first hand, allowing them to more easily experiment and find a setup that’s accessible for them, without the potential pressure that the main experience might bring.
6.3 Game Difficulty
“Let players reduce the difficulty of the game generally or in specific contexts.”
Although games are often designed to have a certain level of challenge, allowing players to enable optional assists that alter the experience lets them play at a level that suits them. Without these options they might find that the game is too difficult, or requires too much physical movement for them to play successfully.
In an offline setting, providing different difficulty levels that can encompass a wide range of changes can be a simple way for the player to alter the game experience to match the level they would like to play at. However, while global difficulty presets can be useful, it can also be useful to give the player a fine-grained control over each aspect of your game if suitable.
For instance, you might let the player configure how aggressive or accurate the AI is during combat, or how much damage they should deal. This allows the player to tailor the game to suit their ability and to play the way they want to.
As with any other settings your game contains, allow players to adjust the difficulty throughout the course of your game, particularly during encounters they might find challenging.
6.5 Analog Action Assists
“Give players options to assist their control of analog actions.”
For actions in your game that are controlled by analog inputs, consider providing options that make it easier for the player to have a good level of control over those actions.
Games that give the player control over the camera often do so with an analog input, which again some players may find difficult to control. There are many ways that might make the camera easier to control that you could provide options for.
One way of making the camera easier to control is to provide aim assist options. These options will vary from game to game, but they usually work by detecting where the player is trying to aim and adjusting the camera to make that easier.
For example, your shooter could provide some form of aim assist that involves making it easier to aim at a target instead of the environment. When a target is within a certain range of where the players’ camera is pointing, the aim assist activates and either lowers the speed of the camera, or perhaps moves it closer to the target depending on what better suits your game.
You might also let players configure exactly how and when this aim assist activates, such as letting the player decide how close the camera needs to be to the target, or how much the camera slows down once activated.
To further help the player aim, you could provide a lock-on feature that will assist the movement of the camera to point towards a target. This could be triggered when the player starts aiming, where it will then move the camera towards the nearest target in range, and then possibly also track the target as it moves.
7.3 Automatic Digital Actions
“Allow players to automate certain digital actions.”
Even when alternative ways to perform certain actions are available, some players may find there are still too many actions overall for them to play successfully. In these cases it might be possible to reduce the number of actions the player needs to perform by partially, or fully automating them. This could in turn reduce the total number of inputs required to play your game.
For example, in your shooter game you could provide an option to automatically pick up items or ammo as you walk over them. Or perhaps your game requires the player to vault over an obstacle that’s blocking their path. In this instance you could provide an option that automatically vaults when the player comes into contact with an object that’s traversible, therefore automating the action for the player when in that specific context.
If your game has actions that require particularly complex input interactions to be performed successfully, automating these actions might also be a way to allow some players to access your game who otherwise couldn’t. For instance, if your game contains quick time events, you could provide an option to have them be automatically carried out, allowing players to avoid input interactions which they might otherwise find too difficult.
