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AbleGamers, a website devoted to "bringing people with disabilities into the digital entertainment space by advocating for the necessary accessibility options," has awarded Bioware with the 2009 Mainstream Accessibility Award for the RPG Dragon Age: Origins. AbleGamers gave the game a score of 9.8 out of 10.

Fully accessible mainstream games are the core mission for the accessible gaming movement. AbleGamers selects one game to represent the most accessible game of each calendar year. This year is no different, one video game stood out from the rest with accessibility options far beyond what most companies are willing to include.

Mark Darrah, the Executive Producer for Dragon Age: Origins says, “The Dragon Age team is honored to win this award. We try to appeal to as broad of an audience as we can and accessibility is certainly part of this effort. It makes me proud to have the game this well received by this community.”

Dragon Age: Origins offers some of the most astounding accessibility options seen in any game this year. With only one accessibility complaint, Bioware far exceeded expectations for an accessible title. However, the relatively small font size was immediately addressed by Bioware, bringing the number of accessibility problems to zero.

The accessibility of Dragon Age: Origins includes:

• Multiple levels of subtitles - You are given the option of no subtitles, only subtitles, or subtitles plus ambient noise subtitles. In addition, even when selecting no subtitles as your option, the game places subtitles in the interactive cut scenes at the top of your screen.
• Extreme mobility options - Users can control the characters from multiple camera angles allowing for various play styles. Players can use the keyboard or both mouse buttons to control the cameras and the characters themselves. There are precise movements needed in some situations, but most actions are very forgiving and easily managed. Moreover, there is no need for a mouse sensitivity option and on-screen keyboards work perfectly.
• Colorblind friendly - With the addition of improved fonts, all status bars are easily read no matter the color impairment.
• Cognitive friendly - Perhaps the most underrepresented disability in mainstream games, cognitive impaired gamers can pause the action quickly and as often as necessary in the heat of the battle. Orders can be issued during the pause, allowing anyone to keep up with the game no matter the level of cognitive impairment.
• Extra accessibility - Ambient noises, subtle movements, clearly marked terrain, multiple levels of difficulty, and many other small accessibility options.

What makes this title so exceptional is the level of options given to the gamer to choose their level of accessibility. Options are the key component to adding accessibility without harming the overall gameplay of any title. As long as developers like Bioware continue to add accessibility in layers of options that enhance their gaming titles, disabled gamers will continue to be able to play great titles such as Dragon Age: Origins.

AbleGamers

BioWare

TransGaming

Dragon Age: Origins

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