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Xbox X|SWe've documented 33 accessibility features for Trailmakers, including Fully Voiced (Or No Speech), Large Subtitles, Low Pressure, No Quick Reactions and No Repeated Pressing. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Visual but it also has features in Getting Started, Reading, Navigation and Audio to reduce unintended barriers.
This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.
External examiner, Ali Khan, first checked Trailmakers accessibility 10 months ago. It was re-examined by Andrew Robertson and updated 10 months ago.
Accessibility Notes
Although there are no direct options to change controls, the game allows players to remap controls of any mechanical/operational part of the vehicle they are building.
Although the multiplayer element is higher stakes, you can play single-player and this is Low Pressure and has Reaction Time Not Critical.
There are some helpful visual and audio signals although not in every circumstance:
- Visual Depiction of Directional Audio: When encountering interactive items you are notified by an audio ping in the direction of the item along with a light illuminating the object. You can also see items on the radar.
- Audio Depiction of Visual Cue: While repairing your vehicles, submitting items or reaching a waypoint, sounds are played along with visual cues to indicate the action. However, not all visuals have audio. For example, Deposit Drones don't make a sound when you approach them.
Game Details
Release Date: 28/02/2020
Out Now: PC and Xbox One
Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds
Players: 1 (4 online)
Genres: Creative, Traversal (Adventure, Race and Simulation)
Accessibility: 33 features
Components: 3D Third-Person, Blocks, Cartoon, Day and Night and Open World
Developer: Flashbulbgames (@Flashbulbgames)
Costs: Purchase cost, In-Game Purchases and In-Game Pass
Controls
We've documented 7 accessibility features for Controls in Trailmakers which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.
Gamepad
Can play with the following:
Multiple Buttons & Two Sticks: Can play with multiple buttons and two sticks.
Mouse And Keyboard
Can play with the following:
Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.
Mouse and Controller: Can play with mouse and controller simultaneously.
Remap Controls
Can customise the controls for the game as follows:
Invert X/Y Axis: Can invert the direction required to control looking and aiming. This enables you to match your instinctive orientation when looking.
Button Combinations
Specific button operation required to play
Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.
Controller Vibration
Vibration Optional: Controller vibration not used in the game or you can disable it.
Sensitivity
You can adjust
Adjust Mouse/Stick/Touch Sensitivity: Adjust how sensitive touch/mouse/stick controls are.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls
If you want to play Trailmakers, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:
- Crossout (14 Controls Features)
- Lego Fortnite (11 Controls Features)
- Minecraft (11 Controls Features)
- Mars First Logistics (10 Controls Features)
Difficulty
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Trailmakers which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play. The following games are similar to Trailmakers, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:
- Minecraft (3 Difficulty Features)
- Lego Fortnite (2 Difficulty Features)
- Stormworks: Build and Rescue (1 Difficulty Feature)
- Roblox (1 Difficulty Feature)
Getting Started
We've documented 6 accessibility features for Getting Started in Trailmakers which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.
Assistance Getting Starting
These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.
Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.
View Control Mapping: You can view a map of controls during play. This clearly displays the mappings of actions to buttons/keys/mouse/keyboard without having to leave the game. This includes games that always display buttons to press during play.
Reaction-Time Not Critical: Individual game actions don’t need quick reactions, or there are settings to lower the requirement for quick reactions. This means you don't need to quickly press a button in response to an on-screen prompt, target a fast-moving target or skillfully complete a scenario against the clock.
Low Pressure: Game tasks aren't time-limited or there's a low-pressure mode. This avoids the pressure of being put on the clock for overarching missions, or failing tasks because you didn't reach a destination in time.
Assistance For Progressing
These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.
Assisted Progress With Hints: The game notices if you get stuck (or you can press a button) and provides information to help you progress. This can offer hints or tutorials popping up during play. This includes hints after you have died, where it can suggest strategies or difficulty settings to adjust or offer to skip past problematic levels.
Save Progress Anytime: The game automatically saves progress or you can save any time. This doesn’t mean you never lose progress, but it does mean you can stop whenever you want (without having to get to a save point) without losing progress.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started
If you want to play Trailmakers, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:
- Lego Bricktales (8 Getting Started Features)
- Mars First Logistics (7 Getting Started Features)
- Rabbids Coding (7 Getting Started Features)
- Minecraft (7 Getting Started Features)
Reading
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Reading in Trailmakers which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.
Reading Level
How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.
Simple Minimal Reading: Minimal reading is required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a primary/elementary student (9-year-old) could understand.
Text Visibility
High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.
Subtitles
Large Clear Subtitles: Subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast. They are at least 1/20 (46 pixels on 1080 screen) the height of a landscape screen and at least 1/40 height on portrait screens, or can be adjusted to be. We base this on the full line-height, including the space above and below the letters. Considered separately from the general text of the game, the subtitles are large, clear and of good contrast.
All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.
Voice Acted
All Dialogue is Voice Acted (Or No Speech In Game): All of the game dialogue and narrative can be voiced, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to read the dialogue and narrative text to play the game.
Navigation
We've documented 5 accessibility features for Navigation in Trailmakers which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.
Head-Up Display
Head-Up Display Navigation: Indication of where to go next with overlaid arrows, minimaps and waypoint markers. This supplements in-game visual and audible cues with additional guidance about where you are and where you need to go.
Game Map: View a map of the game world during play, with the landscape, points of interest and missions highlighted throughout the entire game. This enables the orientation of the player and the world, confirming a direction of movement and the location of destinations or points of exploration.
Menu Navigation
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
Digital Menu Navigation: Menu choices with Gamepad can be made without using an analogue stick to guide a cursor to a selection. For example, using D-Pad, buttons or the Stick to change menu selection in a single action.
Menus Don't Wrap: Menus don't wrap and stop the cursor at the bottom of the list if you press down. Or menus do wrap but make it clear that you are back at the top of the list with sound or narration.
Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation
If you want to play Trailmakers, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:
- Mars First Logistics (7 Navigation Features)
- Minecraft (7 Navigation Features)
Visual
We've documented 7 accessibility features for Visual in Trailmakers which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.
Contrast
Medium Contrast: Game uses generally well contrasting and bright visuals, or has a slider to make this the case.
Interactive Elements
Outline Interactive Elements: Characters, platforms and enemies can be outlined or highlighted for visibility. This can be with a large border around the character or a special visual mode that adjust the colour to make characters more visible.
Visual Distractions
No Screen Shake: No screen shake effect or it is included but it can be disabled. This includes the absence of screen shake for dramatic effect as well as to indicate hits on a target.
No Busy Backgrounds: No distracting backgrounds or you can make them static or blank. This includes the absence of other movement elements in the background that might distract or confuse the action. Where foreground contrast is high, this includes games with some movement in the background that doesn't make it overly difficult to distinguish what is happening.
Audio Cues for Visual Events
Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.
Audio Depiction of Event Location: Indication with positional/stereo audio of where directional events are on the screen for things like damage, footsteps, environmental elements. This is useful for blind players.
Menu Audio Cues: Navigating menus provide an audio cue for each selection.
Audio
We've documented 4 accessibility features for Audio in Trailmakers which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.
Adjustable Audio
Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.
Audio Events
Visual Cues for Audio Events: Text or other visual indicators of audio events. This mirrors audio indicators of progress in the game with a corresponding visual indication.
Visual Depiction of Directional Audio: Indication on-screen with arrows, icons, located colour splashes and the like, to show where directional audio for damage, footsteps, environmental or way-finding sounds are coming from.
Play Without Hearing
Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.
Communication
We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Communication in Trailmakers which deal with how you can communicate with other players in the game and what options are available to customise and control this interaction. The following games are similar to Trailmakers, and offer accessibility features for Communication:
- Crossout (3 Communication Features)
- Minecraft (3 Communication Features)
- Lego Fortnite (2 Communication Features)
- Mars First Logistics (1 Communication Feature)
System Accessibility Settings
In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:
PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.
Xbox One
Xbox One has a system features, the excellent co-pilot share controls mode and adaptive controller support for all games.
Read more about system accessibility settings.
Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors
