inglorious

BioShock hacking system when view normally.

Negative Gamer posted a eye opening article (no pun intended) covering the new BioShock 2 hacking mechanic as it applies too color blind gamers. We as UI/UX designers needs to really perk up our ears and pay attention to these cries of foul play and not ignore the ramifications of our decisions.

Basing a in-game mechanic off a color matching systems isn’t anything new, however we need to make damn sure that players who suffer from color blindness in all it’s various forms can still enjoy our creations. It could be as simple as smart choices in our color selections, or allowing for color blind “modes” that switch colors around for great accessibility.

Negative Gamer’s John “wardrox” hooked us up with a good Color Contrast Analyzer. Use it, run your designs through it, and analyze the results making adjustments when necessary.

What BioShock 2's hacking looks like to someone who suffers from deuteranopia (red-green color blindness.)

With around 6-7% of gamers dealing we color blindness we’re facing a number to big to ignore. So, UI designers, keep color blindness in mind when your working on that neat little mini game, or building out status icons, etc. Let’s focus on designing products fully accessible to as many people as we can. It’s the least we can do.