The Yellow Paint Debacle
On twitter there seems to be a debate over the use of yellow paint or yellow markers for some gamers to use to know where to jump. Many people have commented saying that it shows a person's lack of intelligence when playing games and a fundamental issue in society just not having the overall intelligence to pay attention to certain things or prompts. Some are taking to a quote by a developer of Portal who said that they had to put arrows pointing where to jump because gamers missed the cues to jump where they had to.
I think it's a larger issue that the gaming community doesn't seem to understand that there are gamers with neurological, and physical disabilities so having markers is something that benefits them. Able bodied, ableminded and neurotypical gamers need to realize that they aren't the only one's who like to play video games. Disabled gamers also exist and like to play video games as well, however, video games aren't always made with them in mind.
While to some able bodied, able-minded and neurotypical gamers might think that having yellow paint or yellow markers might "break their immersion" and that only stupid people would use them, perhaps here's some food for thought. Try imagining yourself with a disability. It can be autism, it can be having astigmatism, ADHD, could be a more physical disability, brain injury, etc. Imagine how hard it would be not knowing where to go or being unable to see where the designated spot to jump is? It's hard, isn't it?
That's the reality that disabled gamers have to face. It becomes so challenging that sometimes we just abandon the game and never play it. I have astigmatsism, ADHD, and issues with depth perception. Having the markers in Horizon Zero Dawn was a life changer for me. Though not all of the mountains and areas had the yellow markers, and sometimes it was hard for me to make out where they were. If they were brighter or a different color that would have been more of the case, instead of me constantly having to hit x so Aloy could climb onto something.
And while it may be true that some people don't pay attention, however, it's not the case when you realize that there are disabled people that also game, and it's kind of discriminatory to not include disabled people. It's ableist to try and pretend that disabled people either don't exist or don't play video games. Though that's been the issue with the gaming community for many years and it's been highlighted in a few articles that I've posted about accessibility.
It's good that gaming companies are trying to make games a bit more accessible to all types of gamers. However, it would be better if gamers as a whole would try to be more inclusive and accepting of disabled gamers. Take some lesson and notes from developers and maybe understand that you're not the only ones who play video games.
We exist too.