- 4Shares
by Erin Hawley
Button mashing simulates physically difficult situations, making the gamer press a button quickly until a task is complete – which, admittedly, is kind of fun as a disabled person who can’t even lift a phone off the table. It has the potential to be exciting if implemented in an accessible way, but it’s rare to come across button mashing that I can complete myself. Due to Muscular Dystrophy, I don’t have the strength or stamina needed for this mechanic, and I often rely on someone else to do those parts of a game for me. It can completely ruin an otherwise fantastic gaming experience, like when you’re constantly fighting off zombies in Telltale’s The Walking Dead: Michonne, for example.
A recent example of this disappointment was the new game A Way Out by Hazelight Studios, where you and one other friend escape a prison, playing split screen via couch co-op or online. Ten minutes into the game, my boyfriend and I reached a part where I had to tap a button quickly to remove a toilet from a wall in a prison cell while his character acted as a lookout. This was a crappy situation (pun intended) because my boyfriend had to control his character with the PS4 joysticks while awkwardly reaching over to help me out on the keyboard. We haven’t played since, but I hear there are more quick-time events like this in the game. We might revisit this title, but we are less inclined due to the access barrier. Check out the clip below from my Twitch stream to get an idea of how difficult this mechanic can be.
2013’s Tomb Raider is another title that had lots of quick-time events, forcing me to remap the keys multiple times throughout the game and play on the easiest setting. Even then, I still needed help fending off a wolf or traversing a cliff; in those instances, the combination of button mashing and precise timing was insurmountable. Tomb Raider is one of my beloved franchises, and this frustrating inaccessibility hindered my excitement for the release of that game. Rise of the Tomb Raider in 2015 was more of the same. I’m hoping Shadow of the Tomb Raider, coming out this year in September, has accessibility baked in.
Uncharted 4 set a good example of how accessibility should be part of game development. The folks at Naughty Dog made sure there were options; abled gamers who enjoy the challenge of button mashing and similar events could still have that, but physically disabled players could turn those features off if needed. Instead of having to repeatedly and quickly press down X to push open a door, you can just hold down the X button. When you use your weapon, there are settings to auto lock on enemies or focus the camera toward your targets. These changes open the game up to more disabled players – I want other companies to initiate these steps in their design process.
Disabled gamers encounter inaccessibility regularly enough that we’re no longer surprised – we’re disappointed. Making your game inclusive by implementing an accessible control scheme is important if your goal is to reach the largest audience possible. The dislike of button mashing isn’t even relegated to us gimpy gamers, as abled folks have expressed their frustration with the mechanic as well. Some find it painful when playing for a while, or consider button mashing an uninspired and repetitive slog. As with most accessibility features, what benefits disabled people benefits everyone; having options is the ideal practice that developers should understand. It’s not just about us being able to play the games we want, but it’s also about abled people gaming with us and seeing us as equals in this hobby– because we are equals.
So, what do you think about button mashing and other quick-time events? What are some other inaccessible game mechanics? Let me know in the comments!
I agree. I also watch your twitch channel from time to time. Well, I agree really is not all that useful here I suppose. I do not have muscular dystrophy, thank all the gods, but I do have EDS-HT and I’ve been told multiple times I have Asperger’s Syndrome by psyhiatrists, but there’s never been official testing. The timing puzzles irritate me the most. Because both problems cause coordination issues, it takes many tries to get these right and sometimes I just give up.
The worst offender I’ve found though is the Assassin’s Creed who just changes how the interface works with little to no warning when you go into different in-game situations.
Hi there. I actually agree with your view on this issue. And I would like to go further. I had a few years ago a severe case of tendinitis, which disabled me to engage in repetitive press movements. This means that pressing buttons with my right hand causes me ( even now) tendon contractures, and eventually, a lot of pain. So, i’ve been looking different ways for playing videogames, ideally without pressing buttons, because the force required for that action seems to much for me (i think that a lot of ppl could share this issue). So why not having “capacitive” versions of the same controllers?. I think it would help a lot of gamers, whom actually leave in pain because of decades of using poorly designed peripherals; or for ppl who has medical conditions (muscular dystrophy, parkinson’s, etc). Right now, the best idea i can think of is trying to mount a analogue stick over the face buttons of a gamepad, and using that sort of movement that implies a nondirect repetitive force. Of course it’s not the best idea, but it think it would overcome partially the issue described. Pressing buttons in a repetitive manner could be very painful for injured people.
Best regards,
You summed up pretty much all my feelings on the subject and I’d like to add how much damage it can do to hardware like controllers, keyboards, mice, etc. I even have a friend that has ruined buttons on his PSP from playing one of the God of War games. It feels like an outdated mechanic to replace cutscenes and differentiate video games from movies.
Great article!
Agreed. And thank you!https://geekygimp.com/wp-admin/edit-comments.php#comments-form
I absolutely HATE the button-mashing situation. I love all the Tomb Raider games…and have had to ask someone to get me through parts that require quick button mashing. I am not able to do it…but can play just fine otherwise. The game that I am currently really frustrated with is Metro Exodus. There is a part where you are climbing into a van and a Zombie comes through the sunroof. To fend him off you need to mash the x button on the box one controller. I have tried dozens of times…and I am very frustrated. I wish makers would stop doing this crap!
I agree completely!
This is a real issue. You’d think by 2021 there would be a way of getting around legacy games with button mashing with me needing my husband’s thumbs. The games industry needs to do more make games accessible to all. Currently playing the Tomb Raider trilogy with the aid of a third hand.
I have done the same with games that require button mashing. It’s frustrating!
Fortunately Shadow lets us turn off mashing. I have FA (which is a fairy uncommon ataxia but manifests much like MS etc). My best friend and I game weekly, and we had to give up A Way Out last night after giving up Remnant three weeks ago. I’m currently searching in vain to see if It Takes Two lets you turn off mashing. I think game consoles should have a feature in their systems for this. Don’t even put the burden on the game companies. You know how on computers if you hold down like the space bar there’s a delay and then it just spaces really fast (brand new computers often don’t because they bring up alternative key options, accents and such). Just do that. It’s basically a turbo controller option.
Hi there I’m in the same situation with button mashing. I have DMD which is a type of Muscular dystrophy. My muscles in my hands are so weak these days I can barely press the bumpers on my Xbox controller. I so glad someone out there understands what this is like, and how hard it can be. If you find any easier way to press buttons quickly please let me know. If you ever want to play, or chat online on Xbox this is my gamer tag L0VETAYL0RSWIFT oh btw the os are zeros 0 😊
I think button mashing is becoming less common, thankfully. I will add you on Xbox, thanks for reading!