Owlchemy Labs has been on the leading edge of accessible VR game design since 2016. starting with Job Simulator, and then following up with key accessibility features for Vacation Simulator, and Cosmonious High. They were at XR Access Symposium showing off their pioneering work on low-vision VR features for Cosmonious High launched last March, and I had a chance to sit down with their Accessibility Product Manager Jazmin Cano and Senior Accessibility Engineer Peter Galbraith to unpack their journey into XR Accessibility since 2016, and some of their key innovations along the way as well as a deep dive into their low-vision VR features.



Owlchemy Labs shipped a Smaller Human mode to Job Simulator on May 3, 2016 saying, "We've received a ton of requests from some of the less vertically-gifted players to build in a way to reach all of the areas of Job Simulator that may have been previously out of reach. We've delivered!" This allowed kids to play the game, but also had a number of accessibility implications for folks who not able to stand up. Owlchemy Lab's senior accessibility engineer Galbraith told me in this interview, "It allowed players who were shorter or seated to reach things that were higher up. And that was sort of our first foray into this. We understood that VR is a very physical medium, so we had to make considerations for the different physicalities that people have. That was one of our first things. We also, at that time, we didn't necessarily realize we were making some accessibility features, but to combat things like the screen door effect that was present on a lot of headsets at the time, it was important that we made our text large and clear."



Owlchemy Labs announced a one-handed mode in Vacation Simulator on June 2, 2019 saying, "We strive to create interactions that feel natural, and we understand that not all players may not be able to use two arms simultaneously. We now fully support one handed play for 100 percent of the game!"



Owlchemy Labs announced their subtitle update for Vacation Simulator on October 28, 2019 saying, "The elements of space and presence in virtual reality added a whole new dimension to the challenge that demanded we tackle things with a fresh perspective. After a boat load of research, prototyping, and user feedback, our subtitle system defines a new standard for VR... Our subtitles are both functional and playful. No matter where you look, the subtitles are always visible and can help guide you back to the speaker.  Transparency helps keep them unobtrusive and integrated into the world, while high contrast ensures they’re legible no matter what you’re looking at. Step away from the speaker and they’ll enlarge; turn your back and icons ensure you know exactly who’s saying what."



Owlchemy Labs' next title of Cosmonious High launched on March 31, 2022, and then later shipped their first accessibility update on June 09, 2022 that featured One-Handed Mode, Play Seated, Enhanced Object Interactions, Tutorials, and More Icons.



On March 23, 2023, Owlchemy Labs announced their first-of-a-kind VR features for low-vision users that included a vision assistance mode with high contrast object highlighting, haptic feedback for object selection and teleporting, cancelable audio of audio description, grab and release confirmation of objects, and audio descriptions of objects, environments, areas, and tutorials. Owlchemy Labs told me that they didn't do any user testing with any blind users for these features, and in my brief testing these accessibility features felt much more optimized for low-vision users than for folks who are blind. But given how visual of a medium virtual reality is, then these are pioneering features that will no doubt provide inspiration for other features and implementations for blind and low-vision users.



Owlchemy Labs' Cano and Galbraith gave an amazing presentation at XR Access Symposium going through some of the pioneering work on low-vision access...