Forza Motorsport Gets Amazing Accessibility Assist Feature

By Aaron Perine

Forza Motorsport is getting one amazing accessibility feature that will open the game up for a ton of new players. In a recent Xbox blog post, Turn 10 Studios described their new Blind Driving Assists. These options will allow Blind and Low Vision players the ability to get onto the track in the beloved game. As a part of the development of these features, the Forza developers worked with numerous people from the Gaming & Disability community. Brandon Cole served as the direct feedback source for their build, and the results are amazing. Check out the video and read more about Blind Driving Assists down below.

"Blind Driving Assists (BDA) is a feature set that was built for players who are Blind or have Low Vision," the studio began. "After years of research and feedback, we have spent the last two years building the feature with direct feedback from Accessibility Consultant and Blind gamer, Brandon Cole and others from the Gaming & Disability community. Throughout our development, Brandon and other Blind and Low Vision players have been providing invaluable real-time feedback to help us create and refine the various Blind Driving Assists."

"Blind Driving Assists work by providing a set of supplemental audio cues designed to help Low/No Vision players navigate the tracks of Forza Motorsport. The feature set was driven by the Audio team at Turn 10 and built in close partnership with our accessibility team throughout development," Turn 10 added. "Players can listen to detailed descriptions, as well as a preview of each audio cue they will encounter on-track from within the accessibility menu. Once the player has familiarized themselves with the different audible information, what they represent, and how they all interact with each other, they can head to the track to try out the feature."   

What Are Forza Motorsport's Blind Driving Assists?

Turn 10 continues, "Blind Driving Assists also provides players with audible information about their position and orientation on track, approach and progress through turns, as well as information about the car, such as how much deceleration is needed, when to shift (if playing with manual transmission) and more."

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"It was important to the entire team that Blind Driving Assists operate as a set of features, rather than a mode. We wanted Blind and Low Vision players to experience Forza Motorsport as it was intended, by providing the audible information that would allow them to make their own driving decisions," they argue. "And because of this, Brandon will be the first to say to the Blind and Low Vision community that this feature is not 'pick-up-and-play!' There's a learning curve while you discover how to drive by relying on the audio cues. Once players get used to it, we think it will be a game-changer. We'll share more for the community closer to our launch."

Would you be interested in seeing what these options can do? Let us know down in the comments!

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