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About the AbleGamers Foundation
Since 2004, the AbleGamers Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public charity, has served more than 56 million members of the disabled community by advocating greater access in video games. Today, AbleGamers is a leader in the development of equipment, programs and services to those living with disabilities, hardships, and quality-of-life issues that are a result of chronic illness or trauma. It is our goal to ensure that all people, regardless of their disability, can use gaming as a tool to have enriched social experiences with friends, family, and the world at large.
{sidebar id=1}This week AbleGamers sat down with Paul Taylor from Frozen Synapse with our own Patrick Hancock.
AbleGamers Patrick Hancock: I'm finding it difficult to accurately describe Frozen Synapse to others without just showing them. Can you sum up your game in ten words or less?
Paul Taylor: Sure: it's the ultimate tactical game!
More elaborately, it's a simultaneous-turn-based squad-based tactical game...but yes, it is kind of hard to describe. It has been called "turn-based Counter Strike", which might give people a better idea.
PH: Have you thought about adding co-op? Perhaps each player could control two units each but see messages and routes planned by their teammate?
PT: Yes, co-op is probably our most-requested feature.
PH: What does the future of Frozen Synapse hold? Are there any DLC/patch plans already in the works?
PT: At the moment, we're working on our servers and server architecture. But yes, there will definitely be patches and DLC in the future. We have quite a few plans!
PH: This game is very tactical and is quite unlike anything else I've played. What gave you the idea for the gameplay?
PT: Our lead designer Ian took inspiration from a game called Laser Squad Nemesis. His core idea was really to take the key things about the gameplay and foreground them, eliminating set-up times and unnecessary padding - so it was really about distilling that sort of game into a faster experience.
PH: What lessons have you learned from your time in development and now shortly after launch?
PT: Oh wow, er...that's kind of an impossible question to answer. Every time you make a decision, you go back and analyse that later, so there's just innumerable lessons.
I'd say, most of all, we've learned not to underestimate our own games- the response we've got has been immense.
PH: Were you at all aware of the large disabled gamer community before you started developing Frozen Synapse?
PT: I'd have to say that I only had a very partial knowledge of that community, but that it's growing as our game reaches a wider audience.
PH: Was the addition of custom colors in response to colorblind players? If so, how was this issue brought to your attention?
PT: Yes, it was. We actually had a couple of colour-blind players in the beta, and then we were contacted by more people.
I'm aware that the current options don't completely solve the issues for some people, and we'd like to hear if that's the case, but we also know that they can make things a lot better.
PH: It's great that the game is almost completely navigable with only the mouse as that allows tons of disabled gamers the ability to play. I say almost because there doesn't seem to be a way to delete orders with the mouse. Is this something we could see in the future?
PT: That's a really interesting point that nobody has raised with me.
Like everything, we need to address specific requests, so if this is something that people want it will be put in there.
PH: What about remappable keys (for the shortcuts) or mouse sensitivity settings?
PT: Again, similarly, we need to be contacted about the issues here specifically.
PH: If anyone encounters an issue, accessibility or otherwise, what's the best way to express it to you?
PT: People are welcome to mail me at paulmode7 at gmail dot com if they have any concerns or questions about the accessibility of the game.
We're a small company with three people, so it is sometimes hard for us to make fundamental changes, but equally if we have awareness about the issues out there, that can help to inform our design in the future, or allow us to provide work-arounds where possible.
PH: I'd like to personally thank you for your time and for the wonderful game you've created in Frozen Synapse.
PT: My pleasure - thanks very much!
Be sure to check out our full Frozen Synapse accessibility review. Want to win a code to download Frozen Synapse on Steam? Just leave a comment below.
Winners will be chosen at random on June 10th. Good luck!
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