Hi CDPR Community Team, UI/UX Developers, and fellow players,

I’m writing this to bring attention to a crucial accessibility feature that would make a massive difference for visually impaired players like myself playing on PS5: an option to pause the game (during cutscenes or gameplay) without the pause menu covering the entire screen.

As a PS5 player with low vision, I rely heavily on reading subtitles and dialogue. Because I need extra time to comfortably read on-screen text, pausing the game is essential. However, when pausing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, the pause menu completely covers the screen, obscuring the subtitles and the scene that was active when the pause was initiated.

I initially postponed playing this masterpiece due to this limitation. With the game continuing to receive quality-of-life updates, I really hope this usability issue can be addressed.

One solution, for example, could be to add a UI / Accessibility option or toggle, such as:
"Clear Pause Screen / Hide UI on Pause" or a dedicated button prompt during pause (e.g., Press X to hide menu) that temporarily hides the pause menu interface to reveal the underlying scene and subtitles clearly.

It is a very important accessibility feature: It allows low vision players to pause during any dialogue or cutscene and read the text at their own pace without the menu blocking the view.
It would be non-intrusive: making it an optional setting or a toggle ensures that the default pause menu behavior remains unchanged for players who prefer it.

It could even have a broader impactt; It also benefits players who want to pause to read dialogue carefully or take clean screenshots.

A quick call to the Community:

If you agree that this feature would be a valuable accessibility addition—or if you simply want to support fellow gamers with low vision—please consider upvoting, commenting, or sharing this post to help give it more visibility. Every bit of support helps bring this to the attention of the community managers and dev team!

Thank you CDPR for your ongoing dedication to the game and for considering accessibility for all players!

Hey guys I am heavily impaired visually and on my hands, but excited to hear that I could play 'video'games now that AI can simulate gaming by voice chat only.

I am hoping to find something that can work on my old ass iphone, but the google search sucks.

Any recomnendations?

We’re Shapemo, the publisher of BooDash. A player found our movement pad awkward to reach one-handed, so we added centered movement and left/right-hand options.

Could anyone who plays one-handed try the controls and tell us what still gets in the way? This is a fast action game with dodging and timed counterattacks; the new controls haven’t been validated for everyone’s access needs.

Free 9-level browser demo: https://games.shapemo.com/play/boodash/

On a phone in portrait, use MOVE to steer. Drag toward the skill target and release inside it to use the ability. Left/right-hand options: ⋯ → One-hand mode.

Feedback here is welcome. Device/browser details help, but no medical information is needed. No account, purchase or recording required; stop whenever you like.

Hello! I’ve gotten so many good ideas from this sub since the pain and loss of function my illness has begun to impede my gaming abilities; I’m so grateful for this community. 🩷🕹️🎮 I would really appreciate any guidance in finding a mouse that will work with how sore, weak, and easily-fatigued my hands have become.

I am looking for a mouse that can be held easily by even the weakest person, and not a slippery ‘sleek’ skinny mouse; the wider the better in this situation. The closest I have found to something that might work for me is this sold-out one someone posted on this sub (pictured here) from an Etsy seller. If there are grippy stickers I can put on some sort of wide mouse that would work too, but the mouse would have to be flat regardless because if a mouse isn’t wide enough my fingers curl in on it to compensate and grip it hard harder than I need to.

Things I have tried and have NOT worked:
• ‘ergonomic’ mouse that is sideways like you’re shaking someone’s hand— my thumbs are my worst pain-wise and this type of mouse only exacerbates that
• ‘ergonomic’ mouse with a trackball on the side— same story; using one like that is very hard on my thumb.

Thank you for reading and have a great day 🎃🎮

Hey!,
Im searching for a controller to my 7 year old son who has Cerebral palsy. We play mainly on switch 2.
At first we were aiming for the xbox adaptive joystick but not sure if it will be enough.
Ideal would be a controller with two joysticks. One for moving the game character and the other for moving the camera. I have seen the squid-con and some other ideas on etsy but I can’t find a setup for kids with smaller hands.

Any ideas?

Just wanted to share what I use so other people with similar issues could try.

My situation:

I have have very limited hand movement so I can only use the keyboard keys around WASD keys and a mouse.

Project Iris (https://iris.xcessity.at/):

This is one of the most helpful software I have but does require a tobii eye tracker and a EUR 39 for a lifetime access so requires some money investment but this has helped massively. Basically this software allows you to bind your eyes to keyboard keys (of example I use my right eye for E for interact in games) and other most helpful feature is the ability to make on-screen buttons bind to keyboard keys and they are activated with your eyes

Here a setup I have for Ace Combat 7/8 ( You can alter position, font size, box size and activation type {key press or toggle)

reWASD (https://www.rewasd.com/): This piece of software can do a of things but I mainly just use the feature to make radical menu wheels (it works like a weapon wheel in games like Horizon Zero Dawn) so I mainly use this for menu hotkeys like map,inventory,journal, etc.

Example of the menus you can make

Keychron Hall effect keyboard:

The feature I find most helpful is the 'one key multiple commands' (this feature isn't exclusive to Keychron but might be called a different name with other brands} This feature allows you to set different keybinds depending how far you push the key down for example I have W key do W on a light press and then W+Shift on a deeper press to allow running in games.

Here's the setup of my example:

Autohotkey (https://www.autohotkey.com/):

A disclaimer first yes I used AI to make this script but they are pretty simple to there isn't really any slop code. I've only recently started using autohotkey so these scripts my have issue but they work in my testing.

Mouse to WASD (https://www.nexusmods.com/finalfantasyresonance/mods/193?published=1):

Does what it say translates mouse movement to wasd I made this for FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE (but will work with anything) so playing wouldn't require a keyboard for character movement and I will use the other software I mentioned for the other needed keys

We’ve started an adaptive video game club at our school and I have a couple of kids with cerebral palsy that have difficulty holding onto a controller — specifically a Mario Kart wheel. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for either a 3D printed controller or even a special strap to affix it to their hand. Any ideas? Pictures welcome. Thanks!

Hi everyone!

I’m a newly partially disabled gamer looking for some advice from people who have firsthand experience with adaptive gaming controllers!

I’ve always been a console girly, mainly playing PlayStation and Xbox, but since my injury, gaming hasn’t been the same.

For some context, I sustained a pretty serious injury to my arm and hand that resulted in severing my median and radial nerves. I’ve lost a lot of the function I used to have, and while I can still use my thumb, it gets tired pretty quickly. Things that used to be second nature, like holding a controller and pressing buttons, are now difficult and frustrating.

I’ve tried using regular Xbox and PS5 controllers, but they’re just not comfortable or practical for longer gaming sessions anymore.

I’m highly considering making the switch to PC gaming if it means I can get back to playing at least some of my favourite games lol. I really don’t want to give up gaming just because my hands don’t work the way they used to. 😭

I’ve watched plenty of YouTube videos about adaptive controllers, but I’d much rather hear from people who actually use them in their everyday lives.

A few things I’d love advice on:

What adaptive controllers have worked best for you on PS5, Xbox, or PC?

Are there any setups that work particularly well for people with limited hand function or thumb fatigue?

Has anyone switched from console to PC because of a disability? Was it worth it?

Are there any controllers, accessories, or modifications you’d recommend (or avoid)?

I’m open to pretty much anything at this point! I just want to be able to enjoy gaming again without exhausting my hand after a few minutes.
Thanks in advance for any advice. 🙂

Hi all. I'm the developer behind Smawverse, an isometric action roguelite (think Diablo-style camera, hordes of enemies, a cat knight as the hero). The free demo on Steam just got a patch with three accessibility options, and we would rather hear from people who need them than guess.

Mouse-Only Play (Settings > Accessibility). Everything with one hand on the mouse: right button walks toward the cursor (hold it, or switch it to a toggle), left button aims and fires, and clicking a shrine, station, loot or the exit walks the character there and uses it. The HUD gets clickable menu, map, tree, dash and spell slots, the hideout gets a button strip, and the bug report form gets an on-screen keyboard. A player who asked to play one-handed is why this exists.

Colour vision palettes (experimental). Deuteranopia, Protanopia and Tritanopia palettes for enemy health bars, shields and ground attack warnings, plus a "Stable Health Colours" option that keeps health bars one colour while enemies burn, freeze or rot. Only those elements are recoloured so far. This is a first pass and we know it.

UI Scale slider, 80% to 130%, for the HUD, tooltips, item labels and enemy bars. Full-screen menus keep their size for now. There are also toggles (and keys) to hide enemy health bars and status icons.

What we would like to know:

• Mouse-only: is hold-to-walk or toggle-to-walk the right default? What still forces you back to the keyboard?
• Colour vision: which bars, warnings or effects still read wrong, and in which palette? Is "stable health colours" helpful or does it hide information you want?
• UI scale: is 130% enough? Is the text in the full-screen menus (inventory, settings, level-up cards) readable, since those do not scale yet?
• What else should be on the Accessibility tab? Keyboard-only play is next on our list.

The demo is free on Steam

For a class project, our group is exploring alternative ways to make talking dice more fun and interactive for blind and low-vision people and people with limited mobility.

Rather than simply pressing a button to generate a number, we wanted to explore having an actual die physically roll, making the process feel more like playing a traditional board game.

The concept is a large die inside an open, truncated-cone-shaped cup on a platform. Users could either roll the die themselves or press a button to activate a mechanism that rolls it for them. Once it settles, the result would be announced aloud. The bottom photo shows a similar mechanism, but our design would have a larger die and a more open cup.

We're also considering different tactile dice designs (see the top photos):

• Top left: A die with raised dots (pips).
• Top right: Dice with tactile numerals instead of, or alongside, dots.

We'd love to hear your thoughts:

• Which tactile design would be easier to identify by touch: raised dots or raised numerals?
• Does the open-cup design seem practical? Would you change its shape, depth, or size?
• Would having a physical die roll make the experience more fun or engaging, or would a simpler button-operated device be preferable?
• Would having the option to roll manually or press a button be useful?
• Is there anything else we're overlooking?

This is an early prototype, and we're open to changing the design. We'd especially appreciate honest feedback on whether the physical rolling mechanism adds something meaningful to the experience or just makes the device more complicated.

Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!

Can’t seem to play any games online after my brain injury. When I say “Can’t seem to play any games” I don’t mean I can’t play them, I’m just really bad at them.

I just want to at least stand a chance when I play games online, I am fine in single player games, it’s just when I’m against real players, I stand no chance.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Hello there! I’m Andre, a Computer Science student from Brazil. My team and I are currently working on a university project focused on Universal Design and Accessibility for our Human-Computer Interaction course. We are developing a Visual Novel / narrative-driven game designed from the ground up to be inclusive.

To make sure we build features that actually address real barriers, we’d love to hear about your experiences, frustrations, and preferences when playing text-heavy games or games in general.

Whether you use a screen reader, need high contrast/custom fonts, rely on captions/sign language, or use alternative control setups, your feedback is incredibly valuable to us!

The survey takes only about 5 to 10 minutes to complete and is 100% anonymous and used strictly for academic research.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfgdIxljCakx1t08op9qofn4Ewo0EnnaN1fD0sJ2_2Ql450tw/viewform?usp=dialog

If you don't feel like filling out a form but still want to share your thoughts, feel free to drop a comment below! What are your biggest pet peeves with UI/text/accessibility in narrative games? What features do you wish more visual novels had?

Thank you so much for your time!!

I'm not sure where else to post this, but I wanted to share for other people with vertigo/motion sickness who can't play games with shaking cameras. I really liked Overcooked 2 until the camera started shaking. The internet said Overcooked: All You Can Eat had accessibility settings that turned off the camera shake. This is not true. There is an accessibility setting for this, but it does not work and the camera still shakes/sways, literally on level 1.

I wanted to share this to prevent others from making my mistake. I got mine on nintendo swich and they seldom offer refunds. I did put in a ticket though.

This design represents a journey of growth and learning, an inclusive one-handed game controller that pushes the boundaries of accessibility and inclusion in gaming and enables competitive gaming to people with disabilities.

When I started this project, I was still finding my footing with 3D and Blender and I still am. This meant growing and learning fast. From sketching initial concepts, actual research with the target audience to modeling and testing, every step taught me something new.
It wasn’t just about creating a design but about exploring the intersection of ergonomics, functionality, and user needs.

For me, this project highlights the importance of iteration, adaptability, and embracing challenges, lessons I’ll carry into future designs.

Once the 3D printed controller arrives, I will move into further testing and iteration based on real world use. (few days from now)

Excited to hear your thoughts on this. 😊

Has anyone successfully made it around The Weight? The area is so dark that despite adjusting all available settings both in game and on the TV that I cannot get past him. The area is completely dark and you have to maneuver through a hall to two different rooms, and then back through the hallway to the stairs while avoiding The Weight. I cannot see the obstacles, the walls, the doors, let alone the baddie himself.

SH2R had such great accessibility options for people with diminished contrast visibility, I find myself being so let down(I know it's a different developer).

If anyone has managed to pass this section of the game, please give me your strageties.

I'm developing a game called Wakefolk, a zombie survival colony sim where you assign tasks to survivors. If you play one-handed or need to reduce repeated inputs, which actions tend to cause the most trouble: moving the camera, selecting colonists, placing buildings, or using menus? I'd appreciate examples of controls in other games that made a real difference.

Image description: An isometric game view with three survivors, a task list on the right, and building buttons along the bottom.

Hi everyone! I’m Nico, the creator of VirtualSociety, a life sim and creative sandbox.

I previously shared an early look at our wheelchair character creation and movement here. Thank you for the feedback on chair types, customisation, posture and how other characters should interact with wheelchair users. There were lots of useful details in that discussion.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hVYE7R1eKY

We’ve now released a video bringing together the life simulation work we’ve been sharing on our devblog and Patreon over the past few months. One example follows Helena, who works in HR, on an evening out with friends.

If you missed the earlier footage, this video shows Helena’s creation and wheelchair movement.

A quick note on the visuals: we don’t yet have a dedicated character artist or animator. Our developers are handling that work for now, so the characters and animations are still evolving.

And we haven’t forgotten your suggestions about wheelchair customisation! It’s definitely planned: we want players to be able to make their character’s chair feel like their own, too :)

We've learned a lot with your insights on our previous post, so i'd love to hear your thoughts, and what you want us to add next!

Hi everyone!

I'm a Graphic & Game Design student at Istituto Pantheon in Rome, Italy, working on my bachelor's thesis about video game accessibility.

As part of my project, I'm developing an accessibility toolkit for Unity aimed at helping indie developers make their games more accessible.

This short survey focuses on reading in-game text, including menus, dialogue, subtitles, and inventories. I'd like to better understand the difficulties players may encounter and which aspects of text presentation affect their gaming experience.

The survey takes about 5 minutes, and you're welcome to participate whether or not you personally experience difficulties reading in-game text.

Survey: https://forms.gle/yzUxq2UqHaqtQECc9

Participation is voluntary, and responses are anonymous unless you choose to provide your email address in the optional final section. In that case, your responses will be linked to your email.

Your experiences will help me identify real accessibility needs and guide the development of this part of the toolkit.

Thank you for your time! Feedback and suggestions are also very welcome.

Hey everyone, as a hard of hearing person, I've always struggled to understand what people are saying, especially when there are no subtitles/captions, and this happens to me a lot in online games, I really don't understand what people are saying.

So I built this tool that lets me use Windows Live Caption to be more customizable and be able to show captions on full screen games which was not possible with Windows Live Caption app.

To get started, download the app from the "Releases" section and make sure you have Windows Live Captions running (Win + CTRL + L) and configured to your language of choice.

Enjoy!

skillmaker-dev/BetterCaptions: A Windows overlay that mirrors Windows Live Captions over fullscreen games, with optional directional audio indicators.

I’ve been working on a Windows app called Yuke that lets you map your own pronunciations to keyboard keys.

Record each sound a few times, assign it to a key, and it’s ready to use. It supports continuous voice input.

Recognition may be less reliable during the first few seconds while the app adapts to your microphone. Recognition accuracy is slightly lower for multi-syllable sounds compared to single-syllable ones.I’m working on improving these areas.

You can find it on GitHub Releases or the Microsoft Store. Updates may take a little longer to appear on the Microsoft Store.

I have problems with my fine motor skills and coordination so using a mouse and keyboard has been absolutely horrible. I wanted to get a controller instead but I'm not sure which one. Preferably one with fewer buttons, or anything that isn't super overwhelming. If anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.