Fair settings for deaf people.

Asistent AdoIf·Nov 13, 2017·171 votes·4,840 views

I am wondering if there is an option for deaf people that would indicate that eg.: Sion has used his Ultimate ability, because if there is not I think there should be, maybe in a form of some kind of screen border.

If anyone does not agree with me, and thinks this would bring huge advantage to non-deaf players too, the setting may cause that when you are turning on this option on in-game sounds would disappear, since deaf people cannot hear anyway.

Please share your opinion and upvote.

91 Comments

GigglingdeathNov 13, 201719 votes

I think this would be very nice for the deaf community. We have color blind options (although not for all kinds of colorblindness it is still somewhat helpful!), and we have options to increase the volume if you are hard of hearing (or changing the amounts of each volume) so why not have a border indicator for those that cannot hear the game? Or those that cannot play with volume settings? (I for one rarely use sound because it interferes with either the music I'm playing OR is too loud for my family and my headset is missing). I don't think this would create an unfair advantage. I do, however, think it should be a very short indicator so that it can't be used just because you weren't listening for the sound and needed a second indicator. Maybe a short yellow flash around the border of your screen (as a warning color instead of red for damage). With the colorblind option still used for it (in case both deaf and colorblind?).

DumberThoughtsNov 13, 201714 votes

I've always felt like the music industry or just music in general is very racist to deaf people

e46 FanaticNov 13, 201741 votes

{quoted}

I've always felt like the music industry or just music in general is very racist to deaf people

You sure are living up to your summoner name lol

DumberThoughtsNov 13, 20177 votes

TY for proving my point. The deaf never get taken seriously, just like midgets. Society likes to pretend it's progressing but it really isn't.

Velzard of KozNov 13, 20175 votes

The dumb part he refers to is likely calling it racism. Stop expanding definition of such words, it hurst more than helps. That word became a meme because of such expansions in meaning.
Music industry isn't inconsiderate towards deaf people, nature is. It's not industry's fault deaf people cannot appreciate by nature what the industry offers. And about other aspects? Most english subtitles are automatically considered for deaf people and contain sound-event commentary. With music videos, yes it would be nicer If more such videos contained timed lyrics + sound-event commentary but calling it oppression when such video lacks it is just too much.
The progress is slow but it's there, many technologies attempt to have variety of accessibility options, allowing people disabled in various ways to still be able to use them. If such technology lacks, it's more likely result of lack of creativity in how to implement such tech and question of resources it'd take, not result of aimed opression.

LoL's accessibility options are certainly lacking many things to be ideal (considering various types of colour-blindness, warnings/telegraph for deaf etc.) and it would be nice If Riot moved their resources and did something about it, but calling it "racism" implying intended opression is just too far. Which is probably why Ssoats found your post a dumb thought.

SnakDatSmilesBakNov 13, 20174 votes

Let him call it what he wants it only makes him look stupid

PinkSaltNov 14, 20172 votes

when people take jokes up the BOOty

Br4ndonNov 13, 201715 votes

If you were really trying to be progressive then you would call "midgets" little people. Because that's the term little people prefer to be called. Midget is a derogatory term.

DumberThoughtsNov 13, 20179 votes

How about just PEOPLE. Jeez.

As a scientific question, could it in some small way be possible they have the genes or bloodlines of the ancient Elves, Dwarfs, or Hobbits?

Br4ndonNov 14, 20174 votes

wut

MonkeyMadnessNov 14, 201715 votes

I'm 99% sure this guy is trolling and you took the bait. And you didn't just take it, you swallowed it, digested it fully, and pooped it out.

TrancedNov 14, 20171 votes

Yeah, probably. Lucky he did too cus otherwise I would've :^)

SeaChangeNov 14, 20171 votes

THEY POOPED IT OUT? [zombie-brand-mindblown]

PinkSaltNov 14, 20171 votes

lol

Automated RivenNov 14, 20175 votes

Considering the rest of what he said it's very possible he believes that the Lord of the rings is a history book...

AlimentateurNov 14, 20171 votes

in this game they are gnars - little furry gnarry beings

MonkeyMadnessNov 14, 20172 votes

Pretty sure he's trolling. Like 99% sure. I rly hope he's trolling...

Master NoctNov 14, 20171 votes

"Racist" Because We know being deaf is a race. Lol.

But yeah, he's def trolling.

0 HogapuNov 14, 20173 votes

can we say

he's deaf trolling ?

Big Black CrocNov 13, 20175 votes

{quoted}

I've always felt like the music industry or just music in general is very racist to deaf people

Why did you even start this comment? The dude was asking for a way for deaf players to know when sion ults, then you comment something completley irilevent, then start complaining when people don't take your comment seriously.

PraelisNov 13, 20171 votes

Well he does have a point and it's better for someone to clarify the meaning of a word so it does not get used in the wrong context. They may have gone about it the wrong way, but saying a particular industry is racist to deaf people is incorrect. In addition, if someone wrote "racist to deaf people" on a poster to make people aware of an issue, he or she will not be taken seriously. Anyways, people might get offended if they did say deaf is a race, when it clearly is not.

In regards to the music industry, at this moment I do not think that there would be a way for them to help the deaf with listening to music. The music industry can write captions but if someone was deaf from birth, then they would still be unaware of what instruments sound like. So having a caption saying "Guitar playing" may not help the deaf person at all. However, there have been some instances where the deaf are able to make music themselves based on the vibrations they feel coming from the instrument they are playing.

If anything, I feel like we should be asking if there is a way to bring back hearing to deaf people. If the medical industry can "cure" blindness to a certain extent, perhaps they are currently working on ways to allow the deaf to hear again?

BladeSingularityNov 14, 20179 votes

Being profoundly deaf myself - although I wear implants and can hear relatively well with them - I believe that this change is an important one to make, and that Riot should consider it.

Sound effects are among the strongest cues in League - they warn you about an incoming enemy ability, when a turret was switched focus to you, and even tell you whether or not you actually last hit that cannon minion (since we all know they're so important). Being deaf basically takes away half of the gameplay, since sound effects not only are indicators, but also include regular game sound, like the announcer, background music, and champion lines (yes, I listen to those). As a result, giving deaf players visual options to make up for the sound effects they cannot hear - at the very least, the sound effects that impact gameplay - is a step Riot definitely should take.

About 1 in 20 people (I'm no expert on statistics, but I believe this is about right) have some form of hearing loss, ranging from mild to profoundly deaf, and tens of millions of people - possibly hundreds of millions now - play League (in 2014, 27 million people were reporting playing per day, and that was 3 years ago). So, it stands to reason that there are at least a significant number of deaf players in League, and therefore Riot should create visual options to replace the sound effects they cannot hear. As Kerkoc said, disabling the sound when the visual indicators are activated is a fair tradeoff, so the combination of the two doesn't become an unfair advantage to hearing players.

This is a gameplay update I personally believe Riot should implement, and I hope that someday they will implement it. After all, they have color-blind options, so surely the next step is to cater to the deaf player base, and improve their League experience.

TyrekGoldenspearNov 14, 20172 votes

^^^

I agree 100%.

I am not deaf myself but I sympathize greatly.

Ventra117Nov 13, 20178 votes

I think it's a great idea.

Ionian VulpixNov 13, 20175 votes

The word COWWWWAAAARDS! should appear whenever Sion ults, with larger font sizes when he's closer.

BALDG1VEN BOOMERNov 13, 20174 votes

We have colourblind mode I don't see a reason why we shouldn't get a mode for deaf people or at least make it so that global sounds are more transparent.

MysterQNov 13, 20173 votes

I have nothing against it. BUT I don't think it is a huge disadvantage to not hear it either. Like it is a pretty small difference probably. But nothing against it.

Phil FlyNov 13, 20177 votes

Youd be surprised how many times that fucker has literally snuck up on me cause I can't hear him coming ;_; I'm afraid to play against him for that reason

Morgan le FeyNov 13, 20174 votes

{quoted}

I have nothing against it. BUT I don't think it is a huge disadvantage to not hear it either. Like it is a pretty small difference probably. But nothing against it.

Call-outs and sound effects are pretty big in this game, especially vs off-screen foes or in the chaos of a teamfight. There's many times I've juked instinctively only because I heard a flash -> chains (Thresh windup), or only been able to save my ADC in time because I heard Annie giggle while I was trying to land my Morg Q on someone totally different.

MhihnjNov 14, 20171 votes

I always play with the sound off. Doesn't really make much of a difference to me.

NekoniClawsNov 13, 20173 votes

Absolutely agree, it's crossed my mind before. Such a simple thing makes the game harder for people for no reason.

Add to this: Visual ping indicators (you can hear when it's near you- you should be able to see), and champion quotes- because they really add to the game.

Jesus is SaviorNov 13, 20173 votes

This option should be in the game for people who AREN'T deaf as well. Along with a volume slider so I can mute global ults. They're loud and annoying.

Riot always has the global ults WAY too loud, and they actually scare me at a normal volume setting.

DNFVixenNov 13, 20173 votes

{quoted}

I am wondering if there is an option for deaf people that would indicate that eg.: Sion has used his Ultimate ability, because if there is not I think there should be, maybe in a form of some kind of screen border.

If anyone does not agree with me, and thinks this would bring huge advantage to non-deaf players too, the setting may cause that when you are turning on this option on in-game sounds would disappear, since deaf people cannot hear anyway.

Please share your opinion and upvote.

This would greatly help me since i am hearing impaired.

Teridax68Nov 14, 20173 votes

As an industry, video gaming is pretty behind relative to most other media in its provisions for customers with disabilities, or lack thereof. This could be a good opportunity for Riot to become a leader in the field and develop better standards and practices for providing alternative gameplay options for players with disabilities, including deaf players. Global quotes are intended to act as a warning, and thereby have gameplay purposes, so it would help to have some kind of screen tint, icon, subtitle, or other visual cue to indicate them, if only as an option. Similarly, having some sort of cue for an impact sound on abilities (i.e. when your spell hits something out of sight, but gives a sound cue indicating that it hit something) would also help deaf players, or even just players who don't have the in-game sound on too much. Many hearing players put on music or play in loud environments, so having these visual aids would benefit everyone, not only deaf players. Seeing how League has one of the largest playerbases out of any video game in the world, it's for certain that there are thousands of players with disabilities who play League. If there is a way to convey the full experience to them as well, they deserve to have it.

BladeSingularityNov 14, 20172 votes

I agree with you completely. Riot, as far as I know, has the ability to create this option to aid players with hearing loss - though it could help players who don't really listen to the game's sound effects as well, as you mentioned - and I would highly recommend that they take the step and make this option available.

MushkaiNov 15, 20172 votes

{quoted}

"As an industry, video gaming is pretty behind relative to most other media in its provisions for customers with disabilities, or lack thereof. This could be a good opportunity for Riot to become a leader in the field and develop better standards and practices for providing alternative gameplay options for players with disabilities, including deaf players. Global quotes are intended to act as a warning, and thereby have gameplay purposes, so it would help to have some kind of screen tint, icon, subtitle, or other visual cue to indicate them, if only as an option."

I am not deaf or anything, but yes to all this.

"Similarly, having some sort of cue for an impact sound on abilities (i.e. when your spell hits something out of sight, but gives a sound cue indicating that it hit something) would also help deaf players..."

Now we get into tricky territory. This sort of specific information could be easily exploited and would take more resources to apply to every ability. Furthermore in the case of piercing abilities (Yasuo tornado) designing a visual cue to say "you hit something" could turn into "you hit something here" or make you think that's what i means. This could affect clarity when paired up with other aspects of the game.

"...or even just players who don't have the in-game sound on too much. Many hearing players put on music or play in loud environments, so having these visual aids would benefit everyone, not only deaf players. "

Okay, let me first say I don't dislike the idea. I do, but it has a big problem. Specifically tacking into account that league in it's core is a competitive game having visual aids for sound cues could be exploited. Those who are deaf would have a better experience because they'd be able to perform better but those who aren't deaf would also perform better with the added info.

The option would be to simply make it a toggle as many others have mentioned here. You can either hear the sounds or see them. Sadly there are those who are not 100% deaf and can hear somewhat. I would dare to say those would enjoy to hear what they can from their games especially with the unique VOs some skins get and such; harder to appreciate but it's still enjoyable. Having to compromise to have a better edge could feel bad.

All this said I guess the option would be to be able to submit something to validate how deaf you are and be given access to enable the visual sound queues. Given how Riot adds new settings and toggles to preferences (like the arcade "accent" in SR) it would be easy to hide/show it per account.

"Seeing how League has one of the largest playerbases out of any video game in the world, it's for certain that there are thousands of players with disabilities who play League. If there is a way to convey the full experience to them as well, they deserve to have it.

Agreed, despite my bitter sweet relationship with League I can't deny how huge it is. I am sure this could have popped in someone mind at Riot and this is a good reminder as well. The question is when they could make a team to tackle this small but delicate project.

Now to get back to my studies >.< Wish me luck.

Teridax68Nov 15, 20172 votes

Best of luck with your studies, and thank you very much for the reply!

I agree with the core concern here: if done wrong, visual cues like these could easily end up giving more information than the audio cues, which would be unfair in a competitive game. Riot already made this mistake accidentally with certain skins, such as with Zombie Brand, whose change in animation could be used to detect invisible units. This is why I think it would be important to design cues that specifically don't convey more information than they should, and why it would help to design a methodology for this. In the end, however, I still think this is completely feasible: in the case of an impact cue, for example, having some sort of non-directional screen tint or flash, or something similar on the ability icon or champion itself, could potentially convey impact, even multiple impacts, without revealing any more information than would the equivalent sound cue.

Ultimately, while the competitive integrity of League is something that needs to be preserved, I do not think that really goes against providing services to players with disabilities. Colorblind support is widely accepted, for example, and isn't seen as an unfair competitive advantage. Even without going into the nitty-gritty of impact cues, global quotes and whatnot, something as simple as subtitles for champion soundbites (or just quotes added directly to the chat feed, visible only to them) could already provide an immense improvement to the enjoyment of deaf players, who currently have no real way of experiencing a champion's in-game personality outside of their look.

MushkaiNov 15, 20172 votes

Thank you, thank you. ^^

I pointed out the competitive aspect because from what I glanced there weren't many posts about it. On that note the tint flash would be a good implementation or a means to finding the right means to reflect impacts.

It does really suck not being able to hear champion voices, especially with how often Riot invests a tad more on a skin to improve the VOs and add to them.

It's slightly off-topic but regarding the colorblind mode I get the feeling it gives a slight edge to those who aren't color blind, right?

Teridax68Nov 15, 20171 votes

I should probably do a bit more research on this, but from what I understand colorblind mode does, in fact, give a slight advantage, as the difference in colors makes for slightly faster recognition. This is also why it's the default for viewing competitive matches. In this respect, I do think it allows for more leeway when designing assistance for players with other disabilities, since even if visual aids do prove to be clearer than pure audio cues, they could be incorporated into the competitive format in very much the same way as colorblind mode.

gezzoNov 13, 20172 votes

It´s not that simple to make a replica or a speciall sound/vibration for deaf people. But im all for it!

nice tableNov 13, 20172 votes

id enjoy this as someone that never uses sounds

rtbf225618241Nov 13, 20172 votes

A ripple through the ground from underneath the champions could work.

Note:I mean like a small ripple under the opposing team's champions' grounds like a tiny aura wave.

SORS BotNov 13, 20172 votes

Sorry but that's a pretty terrible idea gameplay wise. It would make ults like Sion's, Ornn's, Jinx's, ...etc pretty useless because people would know that they are ulting. Sound design in League isn't as important as visual design, so much so that it's pretty useless mid to late game since everybody's ability sounds just overlap each other. You don't need sound to play this game well at all.

JustSaiyan69Nov 14, 20172 votes

I play with sound off anyway and it's never been a problem for me.

exformXDNov 14, 20172 votes

i agree, there should be a cool effect when like a sion ults or sumthin

PhDs NutsNov 14, 20172 votes

Know where the champion icons pop up for death timers? Could easily just have their icons pop up with a flashing red border, or a few pulsating sound waves, or something when they're using an audio-indicated ult. It would be in color rather than greyed out to prevent it from being confused with a death timer. I doubt it would take long or be difficult to implement.

R2D20Nov 14, 20172 votes

Corki passive is another that should get a visual indicator :)

DarkRitualNov 14, 20172 votes

An indicator somewhere near the kills are displayed top-center would work. Could also toggle it into chat, kinda like how Rift Herald is displayed when captured/summoned.

YambrinZNov 14, 20171 votes

I would say no. Look, the overwhelming majority can hear. Lets not go changing every little thing in the game because less than 1% of people may be affected.

BladeSingularityNov 14, 20176 votes

This option would only be available if you activated it, though, like with the color-blind system.