Blind Driver Behind the Wheel: Forza Motorsport Blind Accessibility Review!

[@BlindRossMinor]

Had an editing error and forgot to include my score! 10/10 if you couldn't guess already :). Join the Forza Blind Driving masters Discord: discord.gg/ncsCua83ES

[@derrickhaudricourt1864]

I am also blind and tried to reach out to you through messages on FB and IG. It appears like something is up with the FB page. When you click message it just loads forever.

[@jeffkelly2499]

Thanks for sharing. I simrace and am going to setup my rig this weekend and let my daughter(who is blind) try this. You’ve helped me get her going on Animal Crossing (which she plays independently now). Great to hear how accessible Forza is and excited for her to try it. Keep sharing stuff like this it’s great.

[@jeanels7425]

First ever time you showed up in my recommended. And damn what a well thought out review. As a gamer myself I had no idea all these settings existed and you talking about it and how it works to me blows my mind. It’s insane. You earned a sun man, just for the way you talk about the game. Even though I’m not blind myself massive respect for informing people. Keep doing what your doing, will be watching from now on.

[@BlindRossMinor]

Wow, thank you so much for the compliment! Hame accessibility is the best because a large majority of people will eventually experience a disability in their life, either permanent or temporary. I have an entire playlist dedicated to accessible gaming if you’re interested :) kzbin.info/aero/PLt0pjp6K1CXRvnpho9EkKnJRgRi-o9pqM&si=svTWMlBtEi5jN6Vq

[@peanutpablo9596]

I'm absolutely bewildered that some sighted people were completely against making this game accessible for whatever reason

[@BlindRossMinor]

For real. Unfortunately that vocal minority is outraged any time a game is made accessible haha.

[@joxay]

I could imagine that the people against making the game accessible were not opposed to the idea just to spite the blind community, but maybe they were more afraid of the repercussions coming from a bad realization of said accessibility. The point in the video might be such thing - for blind people simply having to press the gas and get driven around the track may be an unenjoyable experience, but for the game as a whole it can completely break the balancing system and creating a lof of afk farming. That's not to say devs should sacrifice people in need of accessibility for the majority of players, but bad implementations make the experience worse for both communities. That coupled with a lack of understanding for the need accessibility in a racing games (I also didn't understand why you would want to play racing games if you were blind before watching the video) could for some people warrant the idea of not implementing such features at all. There might be people outraged for simply malicious reasons but I like to believe in the good in people.

[@BlindRossMinor]

@@joxay I understand your view and I generally agree that most people worry about accessibility simply because they’re ignorant of how it can improve the experience for everyone and how if cleverly implemented, won’t disrupt the game experience. The problem is that there is a vocal minority of people who are downright against accessibility in video games, just red the comments of any gaming article and you will see. Just last night I was reading tweets on twitter surrounding the nominations for the accessibility category at the game awards, and many people were confidently saying things like “wtf how are mortal Kombat and Forza accessible, they shouldn’t be on this list”. It just highlights how confidently incorrect people are, when both of those games revolutionized accessibility in their respective genre. With Forza specifically, the car could drive itself since Motorsport 7, and I don’t believe anyone was complaining about afk farming? Another thing is that the assists often slow the player down, even if it keeps them from crashing or going off the track. Not disagreeing with most of what you said, the problem is that as you can see, the conversation is very nuanced, and nuance is something the internet is not very good at participating in haha.

[@joxay]

@@BlindRossMinor oh that's interesting. Wouldn't a comment saying "this game shouldn't be on this list" show that the person feels the game has bad accessibility rather than being against adding such accessibility features? Truly an internet story as always though, the vocal minority gaining more traction and in a different direction that the people most dependent on the topic would want or need. On the topic of the car driving itself, I haven't seen too many complains about it either but it certainly has seen some controversy, in my case I heard about it a lot in horizon 5. While it can negatively impact the game to some degree I personally feel that it isn't too much of an issue, especially for casual players since it usually doesn't affect the competitiveness too much but it is a feature that is really easy to abuse. It is a nuanced topic but hopefully your videos will gain a solid audience within both the communities as I feel for the best experience for both you would probably also need to talk to both ends of the spectrum

[@BlindRossMinor]

@@joxay I’m probably not paraphrasing very well, but in that specific example, they were incredulous because they didn’t think the games had any accessibility in the first place, demonstrating that if they don’t even know the games have accessility, how can they hold any good faith opinion? That’s good to know about horizon. I think when it comes to competitive multiplayer games, balancing with accessibility becomes much more tricky for sure. You kind of have to weigh how much the game will be negatively impacted vs how much it benefits people. One more thing, people being against accessibility certainly isn’t limited to gaming, so many companies fight tooth and nail just to not have to implement it, when in reality over the long term it would make them more money. But yeah, making content about game accessibility definitely attracts a variety of people, but it’s something I believe in so what can you do haha :).

[@TrueBlindGaming]

Thanks for making this video. I'm late to the party it seems in learning about this game, but just started playing and gathering as much info as I can. so thanks for putting this together

[@BlindRossMinor]

No problem and thanks for watching! Glad my video was able to help spread the word :).

[@theblindtechguy]

I actually bought a Thrustmaster T248 wheel and pedals, and a stand to mount them to, and the experience is just incredible. Driving with the wheel and pedals actually makes a lot more sense to me than using the controler, but it is a bit... expensive. It's the price I'm willing to pay though, because now us blind folks can truly experience racing as it's meant to be.

[@BlindRossMinor]

that's awesome and I'm glad to hear you like it. I'll have a video coming out soon about my experience driving with a rig :).

[@Sophi3Box]

As someone who does have sight i was really impressed as the accessibility options presented to me right on launch. I think its really amazing that people who cant see are able to enjoy racing and get that feeling. This video has given me a better perspective on how blind people can do this stuff and also what can be important. I never would have thought character customization should have a TTS screen reader. Great video, amazing insight

[@snowpeachcherry]

You're amazing man, loving your content already. I take my vision for granted too much and you truly inspire me.

[@xplsv13]

Its so amazing to see how far accessibility tech has come, not only making the game just accessible but doing it in such a fun way, very cool stuff!

[@BlindRossMinor]

Completely agree! Five years ago TLOU2 wasn’t even out yet. Accessibility in games have accelerated so much since then.

[@ragtopsnake]

I am a blind gamer, too, and thought I knew what all the settings were, but now I have a whole new perspective. Thanks for doing this, and I need to look at her Rison again.

[@ragtopsnake]

Oops horizon. Stupid dictation

[@BlindRossMinor]

So glad I could help. Just know that Forza horizons does not have these accessibility features if you do go back and play it.

[@conors4430]

Yep I grew up playing Formula One on PlayStation before I went blind, and have always missed racing, glad I found your video, I tried the game the other day and was finding it very frustrating. So happy to know that it’s doable if I stick with it.

[@BlindRossMinor]

It’s definitely doable. I know so many blind drivers who compete against sighted ones haha.

[@conors4430]

@@BlindRossMinor i’m actually now in love with the game, I finally realised the other day that the steering assist and the auto throttle was trying to help me, and I was getting in the way, so all I really need to do is control the brakes and react. I’m already three tournaments in and I just got gold in the last,. As far as I’m concerned, if a driving game can be made playable for blind people, then literally every game developed has no excuse. I literally got a bit choked up once I realised how to play the game, it’s not a feelinbg I ever thought I would feel again.

[@cloosat]

Dude drives better than these multiplayer rammers, who supposedly have their full vision.

[@laniegamingkids]

Hi, I am also a disabled gamer I think it is amazing what turned 10 and playground games I’ve done in terms of accessibility for the of franchise. Forza motorsport horizon are the only car ones I play due to their accessibility features I use a mounted controller together with the Xbox accessibility controller and switches to help me access all the buttons

[@stevo8825]

Great video Ross! Glad to see so much effort was put into accessibility. The more players, the better

[@BlindRossMinor]

Thanks for watching and I’m glad you enjoyed the video. Hopefully games continue this trajectory of being more accessible.

[@tommyvercettygt]

This makes me cry, the impossible became possibile to those who never could. I'm so happy that blind people can finally try a videogame

[@BlindRossMinor]

Haha this is definitely not the first game blind people can play, but it is the first racing game blind people can play! :)

[@gawtham94]

Subscribed cause you make the most out of it. I hope you keep going and make it 💯

[@artavenuebln]

i am interested in this topic... good that youtube knew. Awesome video.

[@nanditapirabanda6796]

Hi, I was a blind gamer some 13 years or so, but I gave up gaming on my PC due to accessibility issues. I want to get back into gaming, please advise what would bebbest to get

[@BlindRossMinor]

Hello! Someone actually asked a similar question in the comments of this video. They were asking about consoles specifically, but much of what I said still applies. On PC however, you have the ability to use accessibility mods made for specific games like Stardew valley, World of Warcraft, hearthstone, and more. Here’s a playlist of a bunch of different games I’ve played: kzbin.info/aero/PLt0pjp6K1CXRvnpho9EkKnJRgRi-o9pqM&si=Nxtz7hzeFI_wisgq Also here’s a page I’ve been working on that contains a list of accessibility mods, though it’s far from comprehensive at this point: www.reddit.com/r/disabledgamers/wiki/index#wiki_accessibility_mods Hit me up if you have any questions :).

[@kerrycalderon6973]

amazing video, good job. love it. i need to get this game.

[@Tymanderr]

Nice vid man!

[@bryantbodnar]

Hey Ross. I have a question for you. As a blind gamer, would you recommend getting an X-box, or a PS5? All I have right now is a Switch and a laptop, and I am wanting a new console. Which one has the best and most accessible games, in your opinion?

[@BlindRossMinor]

Xbox for multiplayer, PS5 for single player. I personally prefer Xbox because IMO, it has more accessible games. I may make a video on this topic because it's a question I get asked a lot, nothing against you of crouse. Xbox has Forza, Diablo IV, Mortal Kombat 1, As Dusk Falls, and the Vale, all of which can be played with little to no sighted assistance. Sea of Thieves is also great, but you will need to play witha sighted crew. Then there's Gears of War 5, where the Hoard and Escape modes are very accessible. On PS5 you have the TLOU games, Diablo IV, Mortal Kombat 1, and 13 Sentinals, which is kind of accessible, depending on who you ask. You can find a full playlist of all the accessible games I've played below: kzbin.info/aero/PLt0pjp6K1CXRvnpho9EkKnJRgRi-o9pqM

[@fillman86]

1v1 me bro 😊I’d love to make a video with you

[@BlindRossMinor]

I’m so down! Let’s do it. Feel free to reach out through social media, website, or my email linked in my channel description :).

[@memelordozai8553]

You don't know how many people you have triggered by calling Forza Motorsport a simulation game :D

[@BlindRossMinor]

Hahaha on no! What is it supposed to be called? I clearly know nothing about racing games haha.

[@memelordozai8553]

@@BlindRossMinor You can call it a simcade. Only a few selection of games is referred to as sim, and FM is not as realistic as them in many ways.

[@BlindRossMinor]

@@memelordozai8553 Good to know! Thanks!