Blizzard To Add Colour Blind Support In 'World Of Warcraft' 6.1 Update

In PHOTO: A visitor walks past a placard of 'World of Warcraft' at their exhibition stand at the Gamescom 2010 fair in Cologne August 18, 2010. The Gamescom convention, Europe's largest video games trade fair, runs from August 18 to August 22. Reuters/Ina Fassbender

Colour blindness may not be entirely debilitating, but it can affect the quality of life for those affected by the condition. On an average, one in 12 people experience some form of colour blindness. That's one million in Australia, 2.5 million in UK and a whopping 10.5 million individuals suffering from the condition in the U.S., according to statistics. Blizzard seems to have taken cognisance of this fact, and the MMO specialist will be making life much easier for colour blind gamers in "World of Warcraft."

The company has announced through the official Battle.net portal that the upcoming 6.1 patch will be adding accessibility options to accommodate colour blind gamers. The update will include a new addition to the settings menu in the form of a user interface system specifically designed to tweak the game HUD in a way that will work around the limited colour perception of gamers afflicted with the condition.

"World of Warcraft" is a highly competitive game that requires quick reaction times and the ability to view and analyse a lot of on-screen cues with speed and precision. The game, like most MMORPGs, employs a colour-coded system of marking friend, foes, damage status and item identifiers, according to VG247. This puts colour blind gamers at a huge disadvantage as making sense of the on-screen information overload can't be achieved optimally without colour coding.

Fortunately, the new update will resolve this issue using two different workarounds involving text and colour enhancements specifically designed for the needs of the colour blind. This feature will be optionally implemented through the UI Colorblind Mode.

The text-based method is similar to tool tips that all are familiar in Windows and other PC Operating Systems, where hovering on any element provides additional details through overlaid text bubbles. Through this workaround, hovering on items will now display identifying traits using text in addition to the usual practice of colour coding. For example, Rare and Epic gears item names are usually colour coded blue and purple for identification. With the UI Colorblind Mode enabled, the game will now spell out the Rare and Epic status of the gear.

Reading text isn't the most optimal way in a fast-paced MMORPG such as "World of Warcraft," that's why Blizzard has added three sets of colour blind filters, each catering to a specific type of colour blindness. These include colour filters for the commonly encountered protanopia and deuteranopia defects, in addition to the rare tritanopia. This solution will offer a customised UI that includes presets for addressing different types of colour blindness, along with a strength slider that allows gamers to customise the severity of the colour substation.

This is by far the most comprehensive set of accessibility features designed in a game for those suffering from colour blindness. Once implemented, the nifty addition for "World of Warcraft" will make it easier for affected individuals to distinguish between friends and foes in the heat of battle.

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