GAconf has announced the lineup of talks, panels, and speakers of GAconf USA 2023. This year’s US based edition of games accessibility conference takes place on October 9 and 10.
Topics
Deep dives on individual processes and features are always part of the topics of GAconf. This edition includes talks about gore mitigation in Dead Space Remake, audio descriptions in Mortal Kombat 1, and driving accessibility through strategic communications.
Speakers will present case studies on games like Forza Motorsport, Cosmonius High and Another Crab’s Treasure. Panel discussions will also return, this time focusing on simulation sickness and on accessibility for game designers.
Other topics of this edition of the game accessibility conference include photophobia and chronic pain. Community-building programs, neurodiversity in the workplace, and collaboration across disciplines are all discussed as well. Lastly, there are talks about Unity’s upcoming native screen reader support, and democratizing access to accessibility through open source hardware.
Speakers
As always speakers come from all aspects of the gaming industry. From indie accessibility superstars Aggro Crab, Owlchemy Labs and Batterystaple, through to AAAs and publishers like Turn 10, Ubisoft, Sony Santa Monica, EA Motive and Xbox. Also represented are service companies and charities like Player Research, Descriptive Video Works, AbleGamers and Makers Making Change.
Rounding out the selection of speakers is the backbone of the accessibility community: disabled gamers, advocates, and specialists. This edition includes Jay Justice, Chad Bouton, Alexx Aplin, Patrycja Polowczyk, and Shell Little.
GAconf is the leading games accessibility conference, organized by IGDA’s accessibility SIG (special interest group). As is usual, the event is hybrid. A free to attend online event held through Zoom and Discord, and an in-person gathering in Redmond. Those attending the in-person gathering will need to have proof of vaccination and a negative test to access the venue. People interested attending online or in-person can register on the GAconf website.
