Color Vision

Today's Video Games Are Still Too Visual

Guest Post by Kristine [lizbeth_laila@yahoo.com]

Video games are more appreciated visually than with any other sense. There’s so much information that needs to be processed by our eyes, and most games use colors both to create spectacular visual effects and differentiate between important visual elements during gameplay. Some games, for instance, involve matching colored blocks.

However, Tim McDaniel, a color blind reader of the Ars Technica blog, brought up some pretty intriguing matters. For one, he is a big fan of Battlefield 2142. He enjoys the realistic action and fast gameplay. However, he also finds the game frustrating because of his inability to distinguish between red, green, yellow and brown flags well enough. In a game that depends on capturing the enemy flag, this proves to be a huge disadvantage.

Game designers should realize that a good portion of the gaming population is color blind, and their game design can draw the line whether a color-blind gamer will buy their game or not. Alternative options such as changing certain colors, hues or contrasts might be a good idea for starters. An option for on-screen callouts for certain objects/players on the field will also be helpful.

McDaniel and millions of other color-blind gamers will appreciate it if gaming companies started to consider such issues in their game designs.

Link:  Color-blind gamers: common. Developer awareness? Minimal

Artists, Lie Detectors, and Gamers - This Week in Colorblindness

Colorblind Series Unveiled By Artist

William Lehman's "colorblind series" is part of his initiative to get back to basics with only using primary and secondary colors.

Link: William Lehman's Colorblind Series

Come For The Lie Detector Test, Stay For The Colorblind Test

This week in 1941, the student newspaper of the College of William and Mary, "The Flat Hat," reported

The Psychology Department held an Open House in Phi Beta Kappa Hall from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. where students could participate in studies and watch movies from the Yale Institute of Human Relations. Experiments included a lie detector test and a nine-hole coordination tests. Students could also take I.Q. and colorblind test. The event was a success, as most of the student body attended and stayed late.

Party on!

Link: This Week in Flat Hat History, April 15

Colorblind Gamers Left Behind By Designers

Let's hear it for Tim McDaniel, a developer for Aspyr, who himself is colorblind and has good practical advice on how to design games for colorblind users.

Link: Unseen Problem-Colorblind Gamers