AbleGamers Votes SWTOR ‘Mainstream Game of the Year’

SWTOR has received another reward/recognition in the gaming community and quite honestly, I think this one is more important than any so far. AbleGamers Votes SWTOR ‘Mainstream Game of the Year’ and this is one of the best recognitions they’ve gotten so far.

AbleGamers.com is “the #1 Site for Disabled Gamers” and a fantastic resource for anyone who loves games but has a disability that can affect their enjoyment of those games. Not only did they review SWTOR but they had some great words to say about its friendliness to those with disabilities:

Every year there are two or three highly anticipated games released with massive hype and record-setting expectations. Most times these games fall completely flat when it comes to game accessibility, but this year one game set itself apart by including a fair amount of accessibility at launch while still meeting the public’s expectations for an amazing game.

The game gets an 8.5 out of 10 for accessibility. It gets full check marks for “deaf gamers”, “one-handed players” and “color blind” players. Alerts for precision and subtitles are further explained in the review. It’s one of the highest ratings I’ve heard of a game getting that was not specifically designed for disabled gamers.

AbleGamers explains why SWTOR gets the reward:

“SWTOR also features many accessibility options such as full subtitles, queue-able actions, multiple action bars, area looting, auto looting, and built-in mouse sensitivity. Other built-in features such as automatically turning to face the monster you are killing, mini map colors being colorblind friendly, full subtitles, and the ability to control the entire game from the keyboard or with the mouse, only increase the reasons to herald this game as a success for game accessibility.”
As a friend to many gamers with various disabilities, I know just how important these features are. Game developers seclude a large amount of gamers when they don’t take the time to be considerate of the different needs that their gaming community has. Some developers do not want to invest the added expenses for certain accessibility features. It’s great to see that BioWare/EA took this time and investment with the game and that more people get to enjoy it as a result of this.

Lisa Clark

Lisa has been an avid gamer since she was old enough to hold her first controller and a game writer for more than a decade. A child of the Nintendo generation, she believes they just don’t make games like they used to but sometimes, they make them even better! While consoles will always be her first love, Lisa spends most of her gaming time on the PC these days- on MMOs and first-person shooters in particular.