University of Leeds

Do Not Play With My Emotions: Design for Emotional Accessibility

This analysis explores the concept of emotional accessibility in digital games, arguing that current industry practices—which often rely on simply removing or warning about intense content—fail to provide a truly inclusive experience.

• Emotional accessibility is defined as tailoring game experiences to a player's individual capacity to process emotional intensity, rather than simply removing or moderating content.
• Players possess a finite 'body budget' of cognitive resources, and when the intensity or duration of emotional stimuli exceeds these resources, it creates 'emotional roadblocks' that render a game inaccessible.
• Current industry standards for emotional accessibility, such as content warnings or the ability to disable gore, are insufficient because they focus on avoidance rather than enabling players to process intense experiences.