There are many great things about games. They are always there when the time comes to play, giving an escape into an alternate reality. An escape that the players themselves have at least a little control over regardless of genre, be it anywhere from a simple dating sim all the way through the most recent blockbuster AAA title.
Video games are getting more and more inclusive with each passing season, but there are still a number of things that most games really could do with in order to improve the quality of life for their players. Cutting out some of these just alienates disabled gamers, while others would just generally be appreciated by the majority of fans.
10 Customizable Keybinding Options
One thing that just about any game could use is the ability to remap controls. There is nothing worse than being unable to perform game functions due to a layout that doesn't make sense.
Any game that allows for adjusting the keybinding is a godsend for those with smaller hands or those who may have physical limitations. It's especially useful on PC when there are so many different keys to use, but it would be nice on consoles too.
9 Ability To Customize Inventory Organization
Most games with inventories have tabs. If they do offer organizational options, it's usually something like an A-Z sort, by type, by value, or least to greatest. However, a favorites bar would come in extremely handy. Or better yet, giving the ability to sort and organize inventory tabs however the player sees fit. Have some quick sort options, but allow the player to freely break the sorting.
8 Subtitles For All Spoken Parts
Most games have subtitles as an option within the settings, but not all. Even those that do tend to have it only for direct conversations and not for things happening without the player's involvement. Or they only appear within cutscenes, which is pretty useful when there isn't a menu there to decipher.
However, it would be better if there were everywhere, even if the unimportant ones were placed in small bubbles. It's not going to break immersion any more than having them at all is going to be.
7 Toggle Special Effects
Most useful in games like Pokémon and Mortal Kombat where there's a lot of battle-related effects, it could find itself beneficial to players with certain sensitivities to be able to control the intensity of the special effects.
If an effect is just there to add to the prettiness of the setting, have an option to turn those off. Some effects are definitely needed for certain games and events, but it would also help players with less powerful hardware to actually be able to play the game.
6 Sound Controls Including Voice
A good number of games include sliders or buttons for certain types of sounds like footprints, effects, or sudden noises. Not many of those also offer the option to tone down voice acting. Try going through a game with perfect sound settings only to get the voices in the cutscene blasting through headphones at four in the morning.
It's the worst in horror games where the point is to frighten the player. Headphones warning would be appreciated.
5 Built-In Brightness Settings
This is one of those things that horror games are the absolute worst at. While the point of some games is to be dark and brooding, it shouldn't be so dark that the player literally has to strain themselves to see what's happening on screen.
Conversely, other games make themselves so bright that they are just migraines waiting to happen, requiring the player to go into their system's settings to adjust. A built-in slider would make things far more convenient.
4 Skippable Cutscenes, At Least On Replays
Cutscenes are almost always amazing the first time around. They explain the story without the player needing to do anything, giving them a momentary reprieve or to hype up the next part of the game.
The second time around they can be frustrating. By then the player already knows what is happening and thus the cutscenes are just a waste of time. Having them skippable on a second playthrough will make the game far more replayable.
3 Pronoun Usage In Games With Custom Face Characters
So many games have such complex character creation menus for the player to pick whatever they want to play as. They almost always let the player choose between a male and female body type at the very least, but so few games actually also give the option to pick how NPCs refer to them.
Even adding a "neutral" option would be a step up from just male and female interactions. When the player is so fully covered in armor it's almost impossible to tell if they are a golem or a real person. It would be impossible for a random shopkeeper to know what to refer to them as.
2 Age Selection At Character Creation
One of the most annoying things in games is when there is a custom character and the NPCs all assume their age. It's especially bad in Harvest Moon and similar dating games where there is no real hint as to what age the player is supposed to be. So an adult-looking character can still be called a child, making it kind of strange for an adult player and vice versa.
If age is going to be an issue in the game, make it clear from the get-go how old the player character is or give the option to change it.
1 Difficulty Selection Menus
Some games are just meant to be hard, but that shouldn't exclude players from being able to enjoy the game. Not everyone wants to spend countless hours trying to get good enough to just make it through the introduction of a game, some just want to play the game for the story.
Others thrive on difficulty. Having a difficulty setting can make it so both new and veteran players alike can enjoy the game. Games are meant to be fun, and it's hard to have fun if the difficulty doesn't match up to ability.