Min-Spec vs AAA - The Secret Accessibility of the PC - Extra Credits

Over the last few years, there's been a great many strides forward in the games industry on the accessibility front. And as we've discussed before, that's truly lovely to see. It means that more and more people can now engage with our favorite art form. But there's a different type of accessibility that we haven't seen discussed much, if at all. Minimum requirements. What do we mean by this? Well, set your graphics to low real quick, and we'll tell you all about it. Big thanks to HelloFresh for bringing this episode to the table. Real quick up top, please welcome today's guest writer all the way from Spain, friend of the show and runner of another phenomenal YouTube channel, LowSpecGamer. Thanks so much, Alex. On consoles, the expectation from players is that if a game is being sold for a specific device, the game will work there without too much issue. And while there's the odd exception, wow, uh, this fundamental idea has remained somewhat consistent. Over on the PC, however, things are different. The sheer variation in hardware means that it's often difficult for developers

to decide just what systems to target. So in turn, it can be difficult for players to figure out if their device will run a game exactly as the design team intended, or even at all. Now, when we picture the most avid of PC players, we usually imagine a crowd that's quite vocal about wanting to be able to enjoy the extra power their machines can provide over consoles, which is why things like extra high frame rates and additional graphics options are often the features we see when console exclusives finally come to PC. However, on the other side of that scale, there's a possibility that a lot of studios miss. Around the world, the PC can often be the most economically accessible platform as well. Consider the following. As you move further away from the core gaming markets like North America, Western Europe, and Japan, console prices can change dramatically, almost tripling in markets like Brazil or India. And since consoles can only buy digital games through their approved storefronts, if the country isn't officially supported, it can be very difficult to get any games at not inflated prices. And while computers often fall victim to these same pricing

issues, PCs are multi-purpose devices. So, when pressed to decide between spending money on a console that's only meant to play games, or a computer that they can also use for school or work, many people will go for the computer. Add to that Steam's absolutely gigantic supported country list, a variety of other digital storefronts, and reduced pricing and sales for popular games, and you can see why many people around the world would lean into the PC out of a sense of accessibility rather than just the desire for a high-fidelity experience. However, gaming machines, these are not. In fact, just for fun, let's look at some data on this. A quick look into the Steam hardware survey usually shows that more than 14% of players have computers with only two-core processors. And of the five most popular GPUs, three could be considered entry-level. Plus, 85% of players were using a monitor at 1080p or less, with a staggering three times more people on 768p than there are on 4K. Sure, some of these might be secondary PCs, but considering how the Steam hardware survey is opt-in, and that the

user has to click through several prompts to report their hardware, there is a solid chance that these are the main or only PCs a lot of users game on. So, while most developers, understandably, design their games with power users in mind, also being mindful of the extensive reach of the PC can have tremendous benefits as well. Some studios, particularly those relying on live service and/or free-to-play games, have more directly leveraged the extended player base of PC for great effect. With games like Valorant and Overwatch maintaining some of the lowest minimum requirements of any actively updated shooters out there. Then we can look at Epic that has gone the extra mile for Fortnite, introducing a performance mode that makes the game playable on very modest computers. And in the cases of those multiplayer games, the incentive is obvious, as optimizing for higher player counts is at the core of trying to keep an active player base. But, how How this be achieved in other games Within the already monstrous task that is developing a game. Well, players on the lower end of the performance spectrum often are willing to put up with lower quality visual experiences if

it allows them to experience the game. And enabling those experiences often comes down to simply exposing settings options that the engine is already able to do, but are often locked. For instance, things like much lower resolution scaling and more extreme options like completely disabling dynamic shadows. Now, as a game designer, you might be concerned that adjusting settings like these would damage the integrity of the artistic direction of your game. And you might also be concerned that those options would open up a Pandora's box of bugs that might overload your current support lines. And both of those concerns are entirely valid. So, why not consider allowing those options on an advanced panel behind a warning or a configuration file that requires the player to manually set them and makes it clear that these are unsupported options. Now, some games already do this with some success and some do not. For instance, Call of Duty War Zone's configuration files on PC are often formatted to make it as difficult as possible to change them from outside the game, but it doesn't have to be that way. Because as we see in Call of Duty

Black Ops, the files are not only human readable, but also carefully commented to explain what each option does. This allows the player to customize their graphical experience to the level that they need, but also lets them know that they're doing so at their own risk. And if more games allowed these changes to be made, it could also have a ripple effect that would benefit the PC gaming experience as a whole outside of players on less capable PCs. For instance, we've talked about the curb cut effect before where an accessibility feature can become useful far beyond its intended use. And also how flexibility settings can be a godsend for those who don't always have access to their primary gaming PCs. Or in the case of multiplayer, how often do you find yourself short a squad member because one of your friends who would otherwise play with you doesn't own a computer that can run the game. Lower settings in editable configuration files leave the door open for people to try the games their friends are always going on about and fill those squads. It can allow people to try a version of a new game without always needing to overcome the heavy investment of a next-gen console,

and it could let us take more of our favorite games on the go via laptops or other portable computers. And of course, graphics, resolution, frame rate, and the art direction that those are trying to convey are all super important. But on PC, being able to engage with the game even at the cost of that visual fidelity not only could provide someone a ground floor to get started on the experience, it might help preserve a game's player base for years to come. And if there's one thing we want on this channel, it's more people playing games. But no matter what's going on in the gaming world or really anywhere else for that matter, one thing is for sure. Everybody's got to eat, and there's no better way to get a home-cooked meal fast than from HelloFresh. I love that they wanted to sponsor this episode because I've been using them to keep my belly happy and save me time since before I even joined the EC crew. Seriously, they're one of the only reasons I'm able to eat as well as I do while still balancing so many episodes in production. And there's a lot. No grocery stores, no stressful meal planning, just everything I need to prepare wholesome tasty meals delivered right to my door. Then I'm eating in a half hour or less. Speaking of eating,

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