Readable Visual Information

Reference sources retained from research dated 2026-09-06. These are resources for design decisions, not a completed accessibility assessment.

Game Accessibility Guidelines — Basic: game-specific guidance, including conveying essential information through more than colour alone.
W3C: Use of Color: guidance on providing additional ways to distinguish information.
W3C: Three Flashes or Below Threshold: the full definitions and qualifications for flash frequency, area and contrast.

WCAG addresses web content; citing it here does not establish a legal requirement or certify a Steam game. Consult the complete criteria when assessing effects rather than treating one isolated frequency as a guarantee of safety.

For a proposed interface, identify the information the player needs, the signals carrying it, and how it remains understandable when colour or another channel is unavailable. A mystery can leave fictional meaning unknown while still presenting controls and immediate hazards clearly.

Colour independence and sensory alternatives

Microsoft XAG 103: Additional channels for visual and audio cues distinguishes two tasks: supplement colour with shape, pattern or text, and provide another sensory channel for critical visual or audio information. A symbol plus a written label still depends on vision. Haptic feedback also needs another channel because devices may lack vibration or players may disable it. Source checked 2026-09-08.

Worked cue examples

These are illustrative proposals for the Player Information discussion, not selected game rules or a complete cue inventory. The information limits below follow that article's distinction between observations and conclusions.

Information	Possible additional cue	Information limit to preserve
A direct equipment link is valid or refused	Distinct connector outlines plus a plain-language status and an optional spoken label	Report only whether these two ports can connect; do not predict the assembled rig's performance.
A route record belongs to an earlier life	A visible “Recorded in life 2” label, a distinct line pattern and an equivalent narrated label	Identify the record's age without claiming the route is still connected or safe.
A significant impact is heard to the left	A caption such as “Metal impact — left” with a directional sector	Match the sound's information; do not add an exact unseen location, enemy identity or walking route.
Two alien markings share a visible form	Consistent neutral glyph identifiers or shape descriptions, preserving the observed order	Describe observable differences and repetitions without translating the script or confirming a hypothesis.

For each cue, specify its trigger, duration, alternatives and the facts each alternative communicates. Include unavailable, interrupted and unconfirmed states so silence is not mistaken for success. These are questions for design review; they do not demonstrate accessibility. XAG 103 explicitly cautions that colour-vision simulation does not replace testing with players who have colour-vision deficiencies. Any later implementation and player evaluation remain subject to the project's phase authorization.