Inclusivity in the Gaming Space and How It Has Advanced in Recent Years
As a game design major myself, this is a topic I am extremely familiar with and all around completely fascinated by. For some people, using a controller or a mouse and keyboard with the controls the game designers intended is near or completely impossible. Whether it be issues with the use of fingers for trigger, button, or stick inputs, sometimes disabilities can completely stop a player from being able to play the game as intended. That is why I am amazed and proud of the wide variety of control changes that more modern games can make to adapt to different players' needs, allowing essentially anyone to play games, no matter what issues they have with using common controls.
I actually have a great personal example of this through the experiences of one of my close friends. One of my friends has a deformity in both of his hands, which makes it difficult to use the triggers, sticks, and back buttons at the same time on controllers. For most people, this is the obvious and only clear way to play games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, or other popular shooter games that require quick, precise, and numerous inputs to play the game to its best possible skill level, as it is intended. But for this friend, changing the controls makes absolute sense, and helps him play as good or better than someone playing with the basic controls. After watching him for a while, he is absolutely better, and it was really inspirational to watch. From talking with him, as well as playing several different games with him and seeing and getting used to the way he plays, it is clear that having controller buttons and key binds is incredibly helpful for him, and makes games not just playable, but allows him to excel in some of his favorite games. I don't want to go into too much detail to make sure I respect his privacy, but being able to customize his controls, controller, and even visual cues makes it easier for him to play. I am not ashamed to say that with the accessibility of these controls, he is absolutely better than me in nearly every game we play.
As a game designer myself, there are countless reasons why I am ashamed and embarrassed of the Game Development industry, which I am a part of, as a whole, but I truly believe that the one thing that the gaming industry did absolutely right is the inclusion of disabled players. Game design has a pretty rough history of inclusion, especially when thinking about and including "Gamergate", which is quite literally known for its misogyny and hate towards women in the field of game development, as well as female gamers. This mainly took place during 2014-2015, and as a game development student who currently dreams of a future in the creation of well-known, household games, it is hard to see that fellow game developers were treated in this way as little as 10 years ago.
At this point, I am about to start my career in game development, and I am completely torn by how the space is being run right now. I am extremely proud that disabilities are being thought about during the production of nearly every game now, as well as the semi-new and long-overdue acceptance of women in the gaming space. Controls are interchangeable; it is rare to find a game that doesn't have an accessibility section within its settings, and the technology that is being created for video game controls continues to stun me. I am ashamed at how women were treated by members of my soon-to-be career path as little as 10 years ago, which was recent enough that there is absolutely no excuse for this behavior.
This really is the topic that tears me apart on videogame development at the moment, because I do truly believe that the feats that videogame developers have accomplished for disabled persons, in software and hardware, are truly impressive and help immensely to allow anyone to enjoy videogames, but I am embarrassed by the general response of videogame developers to women. In very recent years, meaning years as recent as 2025 and 2026, women have seemed to gain a bit more respect in the field of game development. A great example of this respect being shown is the Women in Games presentations that are hosted by CSU-Chico annually now. Talking to these representatives, which really understates their impact on the industry, completely changed how I saw game development, and I could tell that every tip I got from these designers was absolutely valuable not only in my current project, but in every project I would work on during my career. The feats that these three women had accomplished were more than I could ever dream of doing, such as technical design for Destiny, which is my favorite game ever made, and direction on the Tomb Raider franchise, which is known for being some of the best level design and direction in gaming history.
I know that inclusivity in the articles talked a lot about inclusion of disabled players, or players for mobile who don't know video games well, but I am shocked at the lack of statements about the inclusion of women in the gaming space, as players or creators. I think if people can get over this stupid, misogynistic view of women in the gaming field, I could call video games truly all-inclusive, as it seems to me as though they are very open to inclusion. For whatever reason, developers and higher-up CEOs and publishers are still afraid of women in the space, even after being shown that women are just as capable, or even more skilled than men in game development. It truly hurts to see that, as advanced as our technology is, it is able to cater to various gamers of differing abilities, but it is still difficult for the community to accept fellow game enthusiasts just because of a difference in gender. In this day and age, it is truly sad to see a community that is built on fast and constant advancements, falling behind on something that is so simple.
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