Madden 21 Accessibility: Much Work Still Needed, Hopes For 22

[IndomitableHeart]

My name is Jody McKinniss.  I am a 42-year-old totally blind individual who has loved technology and games for my entire life.  I have owned gaming consoles since the days of the Atari and NES.  For decades those of us with disabilities have gone either completely unnoticed or have been shunned by the gaming industry.  That is beginning to change, however, with recent trends toward inclusion by developers such as EA, Naughty Dog, and Ubisoft.

I began taking a serious look at EA with the release of the franchise's Madden 19 title.  At that time, menu narration was not yet a thing, but we at least were being noticed as a subset of the player base, and we were being included in plans for the release of the next title.  I was also pleased that Mr. Andrew Wilson's vision for the company took a "player first" approach.  Madden 20 brought menu narration to the table.  It felt wonderful to be able to access a game without having to use imperfect and clunky workarounds, or even worse, to have to try to find sighted assistance to do the simplest of things.  There were still definite holes in accessibility and things that needed to be fixed within menu narration and huge gaps that needed to be filled in terms of on-field accessibility, but I was overall pleased with the foundation that had been laid, and I eagerly awaited the release of Madden 21.

Madden 21 was released, and I was extremely disappointed to learn that nothing within accessibility had been addressed, except for turning on in-game menu narration on the latest Microsoft and Sony console VERSIONS OF THE GAME so that playbooks and a few other things are now read for those of us who are blind.  Previously seen bugs or holes in narration were not addressed.  Other gaps in accessibility that are not directly tied to narration were also left untouched.

Therefore, I am writing this to shed light on existing bugs within menu narration and to bring to the forefront other massive gaps within accessibility that continue to render Madden at least 50% (though the case could be made for a higher number given how much time is spent in game) unplayable by those of us without sight.  I do this with the hope that these issues will be addressed for the release of Madden 22.  I will lay out the issues in an orderly fashion and will provide possible solutions where I can.

IN-GAME:

Accessibility is nonexistent in an actual game environment, except for extremely limited menu narration (applicable to Microsoft Series S/X and Sony PS5 versions) that allows us to navigate the play call menus.  Even with this limited additional information that narration provides, the disparity between the totality of information that we receive both on and off the field and that which our sighted counterparts receive is so massive that it is the main reason that Madden is still at least 50% unplayable for us.  Let us begin our examination by first looking at the play call menu, where plays are chosen and other things such as substitutions can be done:

• MENU NARRATION PROVIDES NAMES, BUT NO SUPPORTING INFORMATION WITHIN THE PLAY CALL MENU:

With menu narration, I can navigate to "formation," and I can navigate to my desired formation, e.g., "Gun Trips TE," but I am given no other information, such as how the formation is laid out in terms of spacing, number and type of personnel, etc.

This applies to plays as well.  If I select the "Gun Bunch TE" formation, I can then see that I have plays that are named "Double In Sail," "Inside Zone," "PA Shot Post," etc.  However, I get no information about the plays themselves.  Let's take the "Double In Sail" pass play as our working example.

When a person with vision navigates to this play, they are presented with a picture that shows them the number of receivers, which side of the field each receiver is on, the routes of the receivers, and the button assignments of each receiver.  None of that information is conveyed to us through menu narration.  We are simply told the name of the play.  That is all we get.  This leaves us totally in the dark about which routes are available to us, which receivers are running those routes, or how to target the receiver we want (button assignments).

Running plays such as "Inside Zone" are the same.  Players with vision can see the flow of their blockers, whether they have a pulling guard, and the direction of the run.  We are not given any information other than the name of the play.  This leaves us unable to know which way to run and how to follow our blockers correctly.

• BUGS WITHIN MENU NARRATION CAUSE CERTAIN MENUS TO BE READ INCORRECTLY:

One example of this can be illustrated in the menu to replace players.  By pressing Y when navigating the play call menu by formation, a menu is brought up which allows you to substitute players.  This menu does not read at all.  Pressing up and down on the directional pad merely gives a clicking sound to indicate that you are moving between players, but no information is read.  Moving left to right simply causes menu narration to repeat the formation that you have currently highlighted ad nauseum.  You would hear something like, "Option is set to 3-3-5 wide," each time the left or right directions are pressed.  Not only are the players from which to choose not given, but if you select a player to replace, the available players for replacement are also not given to us.

The lack of information provided to us with respect to the formations and the plays we are choosing is a huge issue that leaves us at a massive disadvantage to our sighted counterparts.  Now, let us discuss actual on-field accessibility once the plays are chosen and the teams break the huddle, as accessibility on both offense and defense at the line of scrimmage is nonexistent, and the advantage takes another huge leap in favor of the sighted opponent.  There are myriad issues to look at in more detail:

• WHEN ON OFFENSE, INFORMATION REGARDING DEFENSIVE SETUP BEFORE THE PLAY BEGINS IS COMPLETELY UNAVAILABLE TO PLAYERS WITHOUT SIGHT:

Players with vision can see how their opponent has lined up on defense before they snap the ball to begin the play.  They can see the formation of the defense.  They can diagnose coverages by looking at the formation and the position of the defenders in relation to the offensive personnel.  For example, They can see whether their opponent is in man coverage or zone coverage.  They can distinguish between the different coverages as well, e.g., cover 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6.  Armed with that information, players with sight can adjust their offensive line and their receivers accordingly.  Players without vision are given none of this information.  Absolutely none.

• OFFENSIVE ADJUSTMENTS ARE COMPLETELY UNAVAILABLE TO US:

None of the on-field menus for adjusting your offensive line, putting your receivers on hot routes, or interacting with specific offensive personnel are available to players without sight through menu narration.  When opening any menu, narration will only read the topmost item.  This is especially problematic with hot routes, where different receivers may have different options that are dependent on their position on the field as well as any route-running or other abilities they may have.  Therefore, we cannot even rely on sighted assistance to aid us in memorizing them, since the menus are dynamic.

• INTERACTIONS WITH SPECIFIC PERSONNEL OFFENSIVELY ARE IMPOSSIBLE, AS THERE IS NO INFORMATION PROVIDED WHEN CYCLING THROUGH PLAYERS USING THE B/CIRCLE BUTTONS TO HIGHLIGHT THE DESIRED POSITION:

A prime example of this would be when I want to motion a specific receiver. However, I am unable to know when the correct player is highlighted as I press B/Circle to cycle through my personnel.  Using the B/Circle button in conjunction with the stick to quickly move to different personnel likewise provides no feedback to us.

• PLAY ART IS TOTALLY UNAVAILABLE TO PLAYERS WITHOUT SIGHT:

When holding the LT/L2 button, players with vision can see their play art, so that they know they have what they want once they have made their adjustments at the line of scrimmage.  This is totally unavailable to us in any format.  This means that even if players without sight were somehow able to memorize all the hot route menus (impossible), the ability to double check adjustments before snapping the ball is completely unavailable.

• AUDIBLES ARE YET ANOTHER MENU THAT DOESN'T READ AT ALL:

Pressing the X/Square button at the line of scrimmage will bring up a menu of audibles, but menu narration does not give any information at all.  Not even the names of the plays are read.

As you can see, players without sight are left at a severe disadvantage before the play even begins as things stand now.  We are left in the dark to blindly guess about all aspects of the play we have chosen, the defensive setup of our opponent, and we are unable to make offensive adjustments or to even call audibles reliably.  Now, let us discuss the state of things after the ball is put into motion and the play commences.

• FOR PASS PLAYS, PLAYERS WITHOUT SIGHT CANNOT TELL WHO IS COVERED OR WHO IS OPEN:

As discussed above, players without vision have no idea of the routes that their receivers are running, and they have no idea of the button assignments for those receivers.  Now, let us take that one step further.  Once the play begins, they also are left completely in the dark about who is covered and who is not.  As a totally blind player, I generally throw an average of five interceptions per game, simply because I have no idea which routes are being run unless I attempt to manually adjust them, and I have no clue whether the receiver I chose to throw to is covered. Instead, I am forced to try to manually route my receivers, hope that I got the correct route that I wanted because the hot routes change, pick a receiver at random to target, try my best to time things, and hope that the receiver I chose is open.  That is not at all how football is supposed to be played, and that setup gives a massive advantage to our sighted counterparts.  Throwing 5 or more interceptions a game will inevitably lead to defeat.

• FOR RUNNING PLAYS, PLAYERS WITHOUT SIGHT HAVE NO WAY TO KNOW WHERE TO RUN THE BALL:

As discussed above, players with vision are given information on the flow of the running play that they chose, while players who are without sight are not.  Speaking from personal experience, I can say that I am quite sure I do not execute run plays correctly most of the time, as I have no way to know where my blockers are or which way I should be running.

From a defensive perspective, accessibility is just as abysmal.  All the same issues with offensive adjustments apply to the defense as well.  No menus are read at all with menu narration.  This includes menus for individual adjustments to the defensive line, linebacker, and secondary personnel, e.g., placing the outside linebacker in a specific zone for coverage, placing him in man coverage against a specific offensive target, placing him on a blitz, etc.  Specific individual interaction with defensive personnel such as motioning them or moving them to specific positions on the field is likewise impossible for the same reasons that were stated above related to offense.  Defensive audibles are not read.  Once the ball is snapped, players without sight have no information about where receivers are in relation to their defenders.  Being able to user a defender to help where needed is completely impossible.  Being able to match defense to offset offensive line adjustments is also impossible, since we receive no information about them.

The lack of accessibility in game is the most critical issue that keeps us from competing at a level comparable to players with vision.  The solution to a lot of the on-field issues can be accomplished through vibration feedback.  Feedback before the ball is snapped on offense would include vibrations to tell the player without sight the defensive setup.  For example, one vibration for zone coverage, a different one for man coverage, followed by the type of coverage, e.g., cover 1, 2, 3, 4, or 6.  Alternatively, vibration patterns could be used to indicate type of formation, whether there was one deep safety in coverage or two, whether receivers were being pressed or not.  A vibration pattern could be given for offensive motioning personnel.  These additions would not give players without sight any unfair advantage, as their sighted counterparts already get this same information through their eyes.  Vibration feedback could also be used after the ball is snapped to alert the player without sight to which receivers were open.  One type of vibration for the X receiver could be used, a different one for Y, and so on.  Again, this provides no special advantage to the player without vision, as our sighted counterparts are able to tell which of their receivers are open and which are not.  There are even abilities that highlight open receivers for them, e.g., the "pro reads" ability.  This would merely even the playing field.  Players without vision are constantly turning the ball over to their sighted counterparts, not because they are doing anything incorrectly, but simply because they are not being given adequate information when the ball is in their hands.

This same type of feedback could be used on the defensive side of the ball.  Different vibrations could be given for each formation, so that we have an idea how the offense has lined up on the field.  Again, this is all information sighted players receiver, so there is no unfair advantage.  As for menus like the hot route menu on offense and the adjustment menus on defense, menu narration would most likely need to read these, as they are dynamic.  The only other way that I can see would be to have special vibration patterns that indicate each route on offense or adjustment on defense, and that pattern would be given when the player made the choice with the controller.  Audible menus need to read on both sides of the ball.  And switching highlighted personnel with the B/Circle button should also be read, but by position only, not by name of personnel, e.g., "QB.  RB.  TE.  Outside WR.  Slot WR" on offense, or "DE, MLB, left outside LB, slot CB, FS" on defense.

External Menu Bugs:

Following is a list of other bugs with menu narration or places where it simply will not give any information, not specific to actual game play on the field.

• The draft is not read at all by menu narration in franchise mode.
• Several places within My Owner in franchise mode do not read properly or at all, including experience points, results of contract negotiations, selecting stadia and city, and other staff management.
• The news will not read in franchise mode.
• Scenarios do not read in franchise mode.
• Free agency signing/bidding does not read in franchise mode.
• The challenge goals for solos do not read within Ultimate Team.
• The Auction House does not read within Ultimate Team, making trading, buying, and selling impossible and rendering the mode unusable.
• Face of the Franchise mode is not read at all until your character reaches the NFL.  Even after making it to the NFL, news and scenarios still do not read, just as in franchise mode.

In summary, as it stands now, these current huge gaps in accessibility make it impossible for players without vision to truly compete with their sighted counterparts.  The playing field is skewed so firmly in their favor that even if we understand the ins and outs of football down to the smallest detail, they will continue to win against us overwhelmingly.  They are not winning because they are playing a better game of football.  They are winning because we are not getting the same information that they are, and that information is critical to success.

If EA genuinely wants to be a "player first" company as envisioned by its CEO, then equality of game play for both disabled and non-disabled should be a major consideration.  There is no equality here.  Whenever I play a sighted opponent in a head-to-head match, I can pretty much know with certainty that I will be intercepted multiple times and run over by the opponent because they have all the information while I am left to flounder in the dark.  Even if all of the external menus outside of the actual game environment were able to read perfectly (draft, auction house, rosters, etc.), that will not help me when I am in an actual game against an opponent, and I am trying to figure out where I should pass the football.  This makes the need for on-field accessibility the most critical concern, as most of the time in Madden is spent on the field in an actual game environment.  "Fair play" should not just be about keeping those who play your titles from cheating.  It should also be about equal information and opportunity to succeed.  There is nothing fair about the current state of things.  I sincerely hope that this message will be taken seriously and that these major issues will be addressed in Madden 22, and I hope that sighted players will join us in our drive to make this game truly accessible to all.

If you have any questions, comments, or if you would like to discuss solutions in further detail, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I am willing to work with EA, 100% free of charge, to help make Madden genuinely accessible to everyone.  I look forward to hearing from you.