Chat access is an important feature both for in-the-moment gameplay and for fostering a game’s community, meaning it’s vital to ensure that as many players as possible are able to comfortably participate in in-game chat.

In this talk from GDC Summer, EA Sports accessibility lead Karen Stevens uses concrete examples from games like Madden NFL, FIFA, Apex Legends, and Anthem to demonstrate some accessibility best practices in this important and under-discussed area of in-game communication.

Stevens discusses how developers can better support players with varying level of ability by sharing how teams at EA handle in-game chat scenarios, audio transcriptions, and chat windows alongside mention of tips and tools on supporting menu narration, canned chat, and related subjects.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.