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Tekken 8’s eye-grating colourblind mode is causing concern among accessibility expertsDirector claims players have “misunderstood” the filter in wake of reported migraines and vertigo
Director claims players have “misunderstood” the filter in wake of reported migraines and vertigo
Image credit:Bandai Namco/Gatterall
Image credit:Bandai Namco/Gatterall
The director ofTekken 8has responded after a video of the upcoming fighting game’s colourblind mode was reported to have caused migraines and vertigo among players, with accessibility experts expressing their worries that the filter could cause even more serious side effects among those with epilepsy and other photosensitive conditions.
TEKKEN 8 – Official Story TrailerWatch on YouTube
TEKKEN 8 – Official Story Trailer
While the original post praised the filter for offering a colourblind mode, a number of players quickly reported that viewing the eye-grating filter had given them migraines and caused sensations including vertigo. (Needless to say, please do not watchthe videoif there is any chance you are at risk from a photosensitive reaction.)
Among those who raised concerns was James Berg, senior technical program manager for accessibility at Xbox and a former accessibility veteran at EA, who explained that “patterns of lines moving on a screen creates a contiguous area of high-frequency flashing, like an invisible strobe”.
Accessibility folks, please stop directly sharing the tweet showing Tekken characters as striped lines.The video autoplaying is giving folks migraines. Due to it having parallel lines moving unpredictably, covering much of the screen, I’d expect it’s doing worse as well.— James Berg 🍉 (@JamesBergCanada)December 27, 2023
Accessibility folks, please stop directly sharing the tweet showing Tekken characters as striped lines.The video autoplaying is giving folks migraines. Due to it having parallel lines moving unpredictably, covering much of the screen, I’d expect it’s doing worse as well.
“It cannot be present at launch as it may hospitalise players (or worse), in the same way as the infamous Pokémon episode,” Hamiltonwrote, referencing a1997 episode of the Pokémon TV seriesthat inadvertently caused hundreds of epileptic seizures in children.
A few people, albeit very few, have either misunderstood the accessibility options we are trying, or have only seen the video without actually trying them out in the demo play.We have “multiple types of color vision options” for players with different color vision, not just…https://t.co/cEdcUTI8n3— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN)December 28, 2023
A few people, albeit very few, have either misunderstood the accessibility options we are trying, or have only seen the video without actually trying them out in the demo play.We have “multiple types of color vision options” for players with different color vision, not just…https://t.co/cEdcUTI8n3
Harada posted a lengthy statement in the wake of the reports and concerns raised, claiming that “a few people, albeit very few, have either misunderstood the accessibility options we are trying, or have only seen the video without actually trying them out in the demo play”.
The director said that there would be a number of different colour vision options in the final game, but added “we have never claimed or publicized that these options cover all players' color vision”.
Harada also said that the developers had worked with “several research institutes and communities” to help create the accessibility options, adding that “they are still being researched and we intend to expand on them in the future”.
“Currently, we have received positive feedback from many demo play participants, but we understand that this option does NOT address the color vision of ALL players in the world (said again),” Harada concluded.
