I am writing based on sensory concerns in World of Warcraft specifically. I am the Director of The International Misophonia Foundation and have been a WoW player since 2010. Unfortunately, due to my sensory disorder becoming more severe over time, I have had to stop playing WoW regularly—I know I am not alone as we have had feedback from many others during our time advocating.
My total time played on my main character is 209 days, 16 hours. I have played for over 5000 hours in the past but can no longer enjoy my favourite pastime as my disability needs have increased. I would like to commend Blizzard for adding more accessibility feature—this is wonderful to see, but I do believe there are more features that could be beneficial to those with sensory disorders, migraines, autism, ADHD, and more.
– Pulsing and spinning on map indicators (as well as loading spinners and the blinking text caret in chat features and throughout the blizzard app.
– The ability to disable specific misophonia trigger sounds—chewing and whistling—while allowing other sounds.
– The ability to hide other players (referencing agoraphobia settings for changes, as well as the corgi toy that allows you to change other players and NPCs into a corgi—I reference this because I believe similar technology could be used to toggle on a sensory mode to not show other players). While we would still need to know where other players are, an outline or shadow without seeing the player jump/have spell effects/(shaman elements)/etc would be preferred. Rather than the full graphic it could display just a shadow. This would be useful for those who are easily overstimulated by other players.
– The ability to have quest markers above heads “?” “!” be static and not bounce as they currently do.
– Have flashing highlights turned off example “you have unspent talent points” which then flashes and pulses.
I believe these changes would have a significant impact on players who have had to stop playing WoW due to their neurological conditions. These changes would show a move toward a more inclusive game, which I would happily continue to play and subscribe to. The distress felt is more than anxiety or annoyance, it is a fight-flight-freeze reaction.
On behalf of The International Misophonia Foundation,
Shaylynn Hayes-Raymond
Director