Making Games More Playable, Not Just Accessible

As video games continue to evolve, so does the push to make them more inclusive. But accessibility still often means simplifying the experience rather than preserving what makes games enjoyable in the first place. Led by Associate Professor Brian A. Smith, researchers are working to change that with tools like Surveyor, which rethinks how blind and low-vision players interact with virtual worlds. Instead of simply guiding players from point A to point B, Surveyor focuses on restoring the sense of exploration and discovery that is central to gaming.

Tencent, the global gaming company behind hits like Honor of Kings, has taken notice, releasing a mini-documentary on Surveyor that showcases how the technology could transform accessible game design.

Possible Worlds took a deeper dive into Surveyor with a feature that blended personal experience and cutting-edge research. Blind gaming expert Ross Minor shares his journey from “brute-forcing” 2D games to consulting on major 3D titles, while researchers from Smith’s Computer-Enabled Abilities Laboratory (CEAL) frame gaming as a powerful test bed for real-world navigation tools. The video also followed Dexter Thomas as he tested Surveyor and a new navigation interface that uses spatial audio to map open-world environments.