ALL SYSTEMS GO S
Adam Brown from Unlock Audio explains how you can amplify game accessibility with smarter audio systemization
ight, sound, and touch — these three senses dominate the modern gaming experience, yet not all gamers experience them in the same
way. As the global player base grows, so too does the need for developers to consider more ways to break down barriers, lend greater adaptability to gameplay, and empower gamers to “lock in” however they play best. In my role as a technical sound designer, I
take great interest in implementing game audio in ways that benefit as many players as possible. I’ve even surveyed gamers from a wide variety of backgrounds to understand what motivates their ways of play and how audio directly aids or hampers their ideal game immersion. When we, as game developers, understand what
folks want most out of our games and how they aim to pursue it, we can find more ways to weave those motivations and methods, i.e., integrate more accessibility and opportunities for more personalization into our creative visions from the start. No gamer wants to feel as though they have to shoehorn themselves into restrictive gameplay if it’s
46 | MCV/DEVELOP October/November 2025
not a defining characteristic of a game, especially if they don’t see their accessible needs reflected in the development. And while developers will always aim for some degree of standardization, at least for launch, there is value in anticipating more player- driven variables and putting systems in place early for an increasingly personalized and accessible gameplay experience.
AUDIO SYSTEMS UNLOCK ADAPTABILITY These days, it’s standard for games to allow players to remap their controls, which is great for physical accessibility, but what of other sensory details? If character creators in games can capture almost every detail of a player’s imagination, why can’t the same be said for rich and complex settings like game audio? The key to these robust character creation systems
is right there in the name: systems. And although these controls tend to be consolidated upfront on any new game launch, the output of this personalizing process feeds the engine with everything it needs to render the player’s cosmetic vision throughout their entire playthrough.
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