Creating the Xbox Adaptive Controller required the Microsoft Devices team to reexamine their own practices and ultimately challenge their biases and assumptions to embrace more inclusive design.

In this talk from GDC 2019, Bryce Johnson (Inclusive Lead, Microsoft Devices) and Erin Muston-Firsch (Occupational Therapist, Craig Hospital) discuss the process of designing the Xbox Adaptive Controller and how doing so required them to rethink how they designed and engineered controllers altogether.

The talk offers game developers advice on how to apply those same principles to their own projects, like how to recognize when a design excludes people with limited mobility and how to design control schemes and input with accessibility in mind.

About the GDC Vault

In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

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