ACCESSIBILITY

ANALYSIS

Santiago de Aranda
Luis Eagers
Leyre López

COGNITIVE
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild doesn’t require the player to go through and
memorize multiple menus to start the game. In fact, when you first launch the game,
it will immediately redirect you to a cinematic and then to the gameplay itself,
skipping the starting menus entirely. When the player enters the game after having
already played and having a save file, the main menu will appear, giving the player
multiple options like continuing their playthrough, creating a new game save file, etc.
When the player selects the option “Continue”, a second menu appears displaying
the different save files of the player, once the player selects one of them, the game
starts.

Throughout the entire game, the same font type is used for all the different aspects
of the game such as subtitles for cutscenes, text dialogues, for the different menus,
the HUD, etc. The font is extremely minimalistic and sans serif, similar to the one
being used in this document, the font only has the required elements for it to be
understood, making it extremely easy to read and avoid fatigue. In the Options menu
there is an option to change the transparency of the text windows, allowing players
to put a plain background on the text to read it more easily. The font size by itself
cannot be changed.
In general, the game uses a simple clear language. There aren’t usually very long
texts in the game and there is no use of technicisms. The main goals of the game
are clearly stated in short sentences such as “Travel to Kakariko Village and meet
Impa”. The only complexity there could be in language is with the dialogues with
NPC’s. Depending on the style of speech of each character, they could have their
peculiarities, but that doesn’t usually happen with important dialogues of the game.

The game almost exclusively uses interactive tutorials. At the first minutes of
gameplay, the player appears in the Chamber of Resurrection, where they learn the
basic movement and camera controls, how to climb, how to interact with special
elements, how to manage stamina, etc. Throughout the introduction of the game in
the Great Plateau, the player is required to complete multiple shrines or dungeons.
Each initial dungeon teaches the player how to use a different mechanic interactively.
Usually, a small window appears to briefly explain with which controls to activate the
mechanic and its effect, but the explanation is very brief.

As mentioned before, information doesn’t usually appear clustered in big

paragraphs. It is segmented in small paragraphs and sentences, therefore they
require less time to read and understand. Despite that, they still require the player’s
input for the text prompts to advance, allowing players to understand the information
at their own pace. The only exceptions are during cinematics, where the subtitles
follow the voice lines of the characters, and with the Sheikah monks' dialogues when
completing the shrine, even though they have very similar and repetitive dialogues.

In the game there are elements that can easily cause damage to people that suffer
from photosensitive epilepsy. During combat, there are two states, one being the
“Flurry Rush” state and the other being aiming with a bow while on air, where the
world turns to slow motion except for Link. In this mode, Link can launch multiple
explosive arrows or hit the enemy with a weapon several times, creating several
flashy explosions in very few periods of time. This can trigger seizures to players
easily.
VISION
Despite being one of the most loved and revered titles by the public, it is true that
this Zelda title falls short in terms of accessibility for the visually impaired.

The game does not offer any help in terms of vision adjustment, either related to the
FOV or for people with color blindness, and there are countless complaints from
people with this problem who have not been able to enjoy the game.

Despite this, the game often uses symbols instead of text, especially in the different
menus of the game, which means that reading is not necessary and you can
understand things by a symbol, which makes it much easier for people with dyslexia.
Also the game uses dark backgrounds in contrast to the white menus, which makes
reading the information easier. This is not only in the menus, but also in the text
messages, where the simple white font contrasts nicely with the black background.

However, due to the different resolutions at which the game can be played, the game
does not offer changes in the size of the menus or captions that would help people
with a lower percentage of vision to be able to have the information more clearly on
the screen.

In conclusion, we can say that Zelda: Breath of the Wild leaves a lot of gaps in
accessibility in terms of vision. It is worth mentioning that the community has been in
charge of filling these gaps by creating different mods that adapt to these needs, but
they are not compatible with all platforms.

MOTOR (Control / mobility)

One relevant aspect of motor accessibility is the possibility of control remapping,
which is not available in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WIld, with the exception
of interchanging the sprinting and jumping buttons.

Another essential aspect of accessibility is that the user interface can be accessible
through the same input method as the gameplay. The game does allow the user to
navigate the UI and gameplay areas with the same input method, be it through the
Nintendo Switch controllers, and the additional possibility of using the touch screen
in specific parts of the UI.

Control sensitivity is another essential accessibility feature, and the game provides
an option to adjust the camera sensitivity, which helps players to adjust the
movement and look speed in the game.

Simplicity of controls is critical, and the game's controls are relatively easy to
understand. However, there is not an option to simplify controls at all. Also, players
with mobility issues may struggle with some aspects of the game, such as using the
bow and arrow with precision.

Virtual control size and spacing is another important consideration. The game's
virtual controls are generally large and easy to use, and the touch screen elements
are well-spaced. However, some players may have difficulty with the small font size
in some parts of the UI.

Finally, the game includes an option to toggle haptic feedback, which provides
vibration feedback in the player's controller to simulate in-game events.

HEARING
The game doesn’t require the player to hear at all, all cinematics are subtitled and
the rest of the dialogues are all in text, therefore the player doesn’t miss any
information.
There are no options to change the volume of certain elements and not of other
elements. The only way to change the volume of the game is to lower the volume
from the console itself, lowering the volume from all the elements of the game.

There are situations of stealth where the player is required to not make much noise
and avoid the enemies. There is an icon that shows the amount of noise that Link is
doing in case the player cannot hear it. If the player encounters an enemy, they will
know immediately as Link will immediately change to its battle controls. Also, when
the player is close to a shrine, the Sheika slate will begin to emit sound as a radar,
but it still isn’t necessary to depend on its sound as there is an icon that displays how
close you are to the nearby shrine.

As mentioned before, subtitles use the same font as the rest of the texts in the game,
which is a simple and easy to read font. There are no options to change its size but it
is possible to change the transparency of the background of the subtitles in the
Options menu for the player to read them better.

SPEECH
In the case of Breath of the Wild, the game does not implement any system that
requires voice or microphone use on any of the platforms on which it can be played.
So this accessibility point would not apply to this game.

GENERAL
Having the choice of selecting a difficulty level is a great accessibility feature, but the
game doesn't offer this option. However, the nature of the game allows players to
customize their gameplay experience, allowing them to skip or avoid difficult
sections. There is a second difficulty level, which is the Master Mode, but it only
increases the base difficulty of the game, so it doesn't provide any accessibility
benefits.

Provide details of accessibility features on packaging and/or website

This point isn’t applicable to the analysis of Breath of the Wild.

As we have mentioned throughout the analysis, the game has subtitles and icons in
the game that allow the player to receive all the information they need in a visual way
without relying on their hearing. Also, players can advance through text prompts at
their own pace. Furthermore, the player can change the opacity of the background
from the settings, which makes it even easier to read.
 Ensuring that all settings are saved/remembered is another important accessibility
feature, and the game does a good job in saving player settings. Players don't need
to reconfigure their settings every time they launch the game.

Finally, while the game doesn't explicitly ask for accessibility feedback, players can
submit feedback through the official Nintendo website or social media channels.

TABLES AND GRAPHICS

Allow the game Use simple Include Use an easily Use simple Allow players to Avoid flickering
to be started clear interactive readable clear text progress images and repetitive
without the need language tutorials default font formatting through text patterns
to navigate size prompts at their
through multiple own pace
levels of menus

COGNITIVE

Ensure no If the game uses field Avoid VR Use an easily Use Provide high Ensure interactive
essential of view (3D engine simulation readable simple contrast elements / virtual
information is only), set an sickness default font clear text between text/UI controls are large and
conveyed by a appropriate default for triggers size formatting and background well spaced
color alone expected viewing
environment

VISION

Allow controls Ensure that all areas Include an Ensure controls Ensure Include
to be of the user interface option to adjust are as simple as interactive toggle/slider
remapped / can be accessed the sensitivity possible, or elements / for any
reconfigured using the same input of controls provide a virtual controls haptics
method as the simpler are large and
gameplay alternative well spaced

MOTOR
 Provide Provide separate Ensure no If any subtitles
subtitles for volume controls or essential /captions are
all important mutes for effects, information is used, present
speech speech and conveyed by them in a clear,
background /music sounds alone easy to read way

HEARING

Ensure that speech input is

not required, and included
only as a supplementary /
alternative input method

SPEECH

Offer a wide Provide details of Provide details of Ensure that all Solicit
choice of accessibility accessibility settings are accessibility
difficulty features on features in-game saved/remember feedback
levels packaging and/or ed
website

GENERAL
Some changes that we would incorporate to the game to make it more accessible
would be to implement a colorblind mode, allowing the player to remap the controls
of the game, select a difficulty level, or to allow the player to modify the size of the
HUD and of the letters of the game. These changes don’t require too much effort to
implement and can help a lot of players.