Accessible Gaming Through Better Captions: A Study on Captions Preferences and Inclusivity of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Players
Wajdi Aljedaani, Marcelo M. Eler, Lorene E Keeland, Hamed Jalali, Khaled Al-Raddah, Mohamed Wiem Mkaouer · 2024 · Proceedings of the 21st International Web for All Conference (W4A '24) · doi:10.1145/3677846.3677858
Summary
This study surveys 73 deaf and hard-of-hearing (d/Deaf) individuals about their preferences for caption design in video games, addressing a significant gap: while captioning standards exist for television and film, there are no universally accepted standards for video game captions. The researchers from the University of North Texas, University of Sao Paulo, Saudi Electronic University, and University of Michigan-Flint designed a comprehensive survey (41 multiple-choice and 7 open-ended questions) examining preferences across eight caption characteristics: text contrast style, font weight, font style, font size, caption colour, character identification method, colour combinations for character identification, and line length. The survey used visual examples for each option so participants could make informed comparisons. The study is motivated by the scale of the issue — over 20% of gamers have some impairment, one-third face accessibility issues, and WHO projects the d/Deaf community will account for 25% of the global population by 2050. The authors note that video game captions differ fundamentally from film captions because games require active participation rather than passive viewing, making readability during fast-paced interactive gameplay especially critical.
Key findings
Clear preferences emerged across all caption characteristics. For text contrast, semi-transparent box (67.12%) and black box (50.68%) were strongly preferred — both ensure captions remain readable against dynamic game backgrounds without fully obscuring the scene. Bold font weight was preferred by 61.64% of participants because it makes text more prominent and easier to read during gameplay. Sans serif fonts were overwhelmingly favoured (82.19%) over serif (50.68%), with handscript cursive rejected as unreadable by most participants (one stated "Never do hand script, ever. It takes mental energy to understand what the text is saying"). Extra large (28pt) font size was preferred by 91.67%, followed by large (24pt) at 83.33% — small (16pt) was widely rejected. White was the most preferred caption colour (86.3% found it easily readable), while black was the least preferred. For character identification, names and colours combined (31.2%) was the top choice, as colour alone requires memorisation and names alone lack quick visual differentiation. Single-line captions were preferred by 58.9% to minimise screen space usage and reduce distraction. Crucially, 83.6% of participants agreed there should be standardised captioning guidelines for video games, with d/Deaf respondents showing even stronger support than the broader sample.
Relevance
This paper provides actionable, evidence-based recommendations for game developers implementing captions. The best practices table is immediately useful: semi-transparent box for contrast, bold sans serif font at extra-large size in white, single-line format with character names and colours for speaker identification, using blue/white and yellow/white colour combinations. These findings challenge common industry practices — many games use small fonts, decorative typefaces, or no background contrast, all of which were rated poorly by d/Deaf players. The strong consensus for standardisation (83.6%) makes a compelling case for the gaming industry to develop formal captioning guidelines, analogous to BBC or Netflix subtitle standards but tailored to the interactive nature of games. For accessibility practitioners beyond gaming, the finding that captions must balance conspicuousness with unobtrusiveness — readable without distracting from gameplay — offers a useful design principle for any dynamic multimedia context where captions compete with visual content for attention.
Tags: deaf accessibility · captioning · game accessibility · video games · user preferences · inclusive design