Last weekend’s beta access of Mortal Kombat 1 has revealed more accessibility features aimed at blind players. One above all has grabbed the attention of people; the audio described fatalities.
Fatalities are the special finishing moves. Unique to each fighter, they end the life of their opponent in spectacular and gruesome ways. The audio descriptions, brutal in their accuracy, bring this feature of Mortal Kombat to sightless players for the first time. While the fatalities grabbed the spotlight, other cut-scenes and animations may be audio described as well.
If you haven’t seen or heard the audio described fatalities, the video below has them all thanks to SightlessKombat. Obviously beware of the gratuitous gore of both the visuals and the audio.
Other accessibility features we have seen are a screen reader. Which works throughout the game including the menus. The only customization for the screen reader is volume. Some bugs were present in the beta for the screen reader, but the developer is aware of them.
Volume settings with presets
Speaking of volume, different audio sliders are available to the player. They allow them to customize the volume for cinematics, music, announcer, ambience, dialogue, and effects. To help players easily find an appropriate mix, several presets are available in the accessibility menu.
The volume of detailed audio effects is adjustable as well. These include hit/block, fighter movement, vocalization, environmental dangers (gameplay modifier), special moves, other environmental sounds, and the HUD.
Subtitles are available as well, but didn’t seem to be customizable in the beta. Lastly there is a color blindness setting, of which the intensity is adjustable.
As this was a beta build, bugs and omissions were to be expected. But it already shows the impact of blind consultants like Carlos Vasquez and Brandon Cole. Their input is helping NetherRealm to make this a very accessible Mortal Kombat for blind players. We are excited to see, and hear, the finished product.
