Understanding How Visually Impaired Players Socialize in Mobile Games
Zihe Ran, Xiyu Li, Qing Xiao, Yanyun Wang, Franklin Mingzhe Li, Zhicong Lu · 2025 · Proceedings of the 27th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2025) · doi:10.1145/3663547.3746385
Summary
This study examines how visually impaired players in China use mobile games as platforms for socialization, going beyond the typical focus on gameplay accessibility to investigate the social dimensions of gaming. The researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 visually impaired players (23 blind, 7 low vision; ages 18-50; all with 50+ hours of gaming experience) recruited from forums and communities for visually impaired players. Interviews were conducted in Mandarin Chinese, lasting approximately two hours each, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis generating 912 codes. The study positions mobile games not merely as entertainment but as critical social infrastructure for visually impaired people in China, where mainstream information platforms (Weibo, Douyin, WeChat) rely heavily on visual formats like video thumbnails, embedded text in images, and livestream interactions that are largely inaccessible to screen readers. In this context, mobile game communities function as alternative information networks, emotional support systems, and spaces for social skill development. Participants described games fulfilling four social functions: serving as informal information networks (22 of 30 rated this the most valuable aspect), providing game community belonging through guilds and alliances, enabling emotional connections and companionship, and supporting social skill development through simulated real-world social scenarios.
Key findings
The research uncovered several layers of social challenges. Technically, games designed specifically for visually impaired players are often fully accessible but socially isolating — they attract only visually impaired players, creating closed communities separated from mainstream gaming. Meanwhile, mainstream games that might enable cross-group interaction typically lack screen reader compatibility, audio cues, and accessible location identification, effectively segregating visually impaired players. Ten participants had experienced separate game versions for sighted and blind users and found this created social division rather than inclusion, as described by V29: "Developing separate versions for visually impaired and sighted players is like having a dam between reservoirs that are otherwise connected." A striking finding was internal community segmentation within the visually impaired gaming community itself. Players who were congenitally blind, those who became blind later in life, and those with low vision often formed distinct sub-communities based on shared sensory histories and communication preferences. V15, congenitally blind, noted: "I rarely chat with those who became blind later or have low vision. They have seen the world and often include visual information, such as colors, in their conversations, which I cannot imagine." Intersectional inequalities compounded marginalization: 28 of 30 participants observed that female visually impaired players face heightened harassment from both gender and disability-based discrimination. National identity also created barriers, with Chinese visually impaired players experiencing prejudice in international gaming communities. Participants strongly desired interest-based matching systems, regional companion matching to facilitate offline meetups, and role-diverse team structures that leverage different players'strengths rather than treating disability as deficit.
Relevance
This paper reframes game accessibility from a purely technical concern (can blind users operate the interface?) to a social and relational one (can blind users meaningfully connect with others through games?). This distinction matters for practitioners because a game can be technically screen-reader-compatible yet socially inaccessible if its social mechanics — matchmaking, team formation, chat, community features — are designed around visual assumptions. The Chinese context reveals how mobile games serve as compensatory social infrastructure where other digital platforms fail on accessibility, a dynamic likely shared across the Global South. The finding about internal community segmentation among visually impaired players challenges the common design approach of treating "blind users" as a monolithic group — congenitally blind, adventitiously blind, and low vision players have fundamentally different social and sensory reference points. For game designers, the three concrete strategies proposed — interest-based cross-ability matching, region-aware companion systems for bridging online-to-offline relationships, and role-diverse team structures — offer actionable paths toward relational inclusion rather than mere technical access.
Tags: game accessibility · blind and low vision · social interaction · mobile accessibility · Global South accessibility · social isolation · inclusive design · gaming