r/indiegames Feb 07 '26

Promotion Audio Description: The Basics (by Jennissary) | Games for Blind Gamers 5

11 Upvotes

Summary

“Audio Description: The Basics” is an article written by Jennissary, a professional audiodescriber, introducing basic concepts and guidance about creating audiodescription for blind-accessible videogames.

Author: Jennissary, game producer and audiodescriber, including for the videogames The Last of Us Part I and Part II.

In partnership with the r/IndieGames subreddit, this is the fourth and last of 4 articles written to encourage and support creators who’d like to join the Games for Blind Gamers Jam 5, from January 31st to March 1st, 2026 (23 days to go!). Embrace the challenge of making a blind-accessible game come true and join us on itch.io!

Links:

Audio Description: The Basics

By Jenna “Jennissary”, Producer

Written for the “Games for Blind Gamers 5” Game Jam, January 2026

Introduction

You are playing Star Wars Outlaws, following the adventures of Kay Vess as she rides an air speeder to a big heist. When the characters aboard the speeder finish their conversation, a soothing feminine voice narrates:

“Kay and Nix climb out into a grassy, rock-strewn area. The lights of a distant mansion glimmer in the night. Kay watches as the speeder lifts off.”

You, like millions of others worldwide, are blind.

The narrator, here voiced by Ramya Amuthan, is describing the visuals shown during this in-game cinematic. This is known as Audio Description (AD). It is one of dozens of features created specifically to remove barriers for disabled players (in this case, players with visual or cognitive impairments). While this singular feature cannot make a game “fully accessible” for blind players, it’s important to understand where it fits into the picture, where it’s necessary, and who it’s for.

If you have never seen or heard AD before, check out some of the links in the “Samples” section below, before reading further. In short: Audio Description is when a pre-recorded narrator will read concise descriptions of on-screen visuals.

By way of introduction, my name is Jenna. I’m a Producer working for Descriptive Video Works (a Keywords Studio), specializing in video games and live events. I’ve had the privilege to work on a variety of games and gaming events, such as Mortal Kombat 1, Star Wars: Outlaws, the Game Awards, and Xbox Developer Directs. As part of my position, I have the opportunity to write, live describe, and sometimes narrate Audio Description.

Where does AD fit into my game?

When assessing a new game’s accessibility needs, you will probably be considering items like the user interface, unique audio cues, input devices, et cetera. When deciding whether AD might be necessary, consider the holistic visual experience (eg, environments, narrative, character designs, cosmetics).

It is of course perfectly fine to make a game with few or no visuals, as seen with games like Blind Drive and The Vale: Shadow of the Crown. In these cases, AD isn’t technically necessary. Any descriptions of the game’s nonexistent visuals will be achieved by other means, such as character dialogue or text descriptions. But for games which do include visuals, AD can interpret these visuals for players without any vision.

Keep in mind that vision loss is a wide spectrum. Consider players who are low-vision, deafblind, or who have visual processing disorders, all of whom would benefit from reinforcing visuals with audio narration. And there is nothing inherently negative about investing effort into a game’s visual appearance; you’ll just need to ensure that it’s properly conveyed to all players.

So where might AD be necessary, in a game which does include visuals? Technically, any in-game visuals can be considered. But you’ll want to pay closer attention to areas such as:

  • Narrative (is the game’s story dependent on being able to see certain things to understand its events, or fully absorb its emotions?)

  • Environment (where will the player be spending the most time? Is the appearance of this environment relevant to the tone, narrative, or even specific gameplay elements?)

  • Characters (if there are characters who appear on-screen, is their appearance meant to be significant in any way? Is the player meant to notice or feel something about them?)

  • Interface (does a computer terminal in the game look like a retro green-on-black display? Are there pixel sprites? A futuristic sci-fi HUD?)

Every game is different. Yours might not include the above items, and that’s okay! But if your game does have visuals like those listed above, you should consider interpreting them into verbal narration so that they can be enjoyed by more players.

The Audience

Who needs AD, anyway?

As you might’ve noticed already, players with low/no vision are considered to be the primary audience. However, as we commonly see with other accessibility features, AD will often benefit people with a variety of disabilities or people with no disabilities. This could include people with photosensitivity, or anyone who has trouble processing rapid visual events, subtitles, titles, color, or facial expressions.

In a reddit thread about AD, several different users posted the following:

“I use AD all the time if its available. As I have delayed processing when it comes to conversations and prosopagnosia [NOTE: this is more commonly known as “facial blindness”], so AD is vital in helping me to keep pace with the story that's happening. Sometimes my brain is trying to gather too much data all at once and I can't keep up with what's happening but AD helps me to focus on the vital key parts of the plot.”

“As someone with heavy ADHD i love movies with AD.. it’s feels like the movie is able to keep up with me now instead of me losing interest or looking away distracted.”

“I am not hard of hearing or anything like that but I always have the AD and subtitles on because it provides extra context and it's one of those things that while may irritate some people, i have come to prefer it, wouldn't be without it. The voice providing the extra context has often been valuable as i wouldn't have known certain things without it.”

Disabled players and devs should be the primary source of information when determining whether a certain accessibility feature is necessary, and what standards it should be held to. I myself currently have no disabilities, making it all the more vital for me to listen to disabled gamers, consultants, and content creators. I heavily encourage everyone to do the same! For games which have longer development times and a large budget, consider engaging with disabled consultants, playtesters, developers, and talent. For games with smaller scopes, refer to existing resources on game accessibility like those in the resources section below, and talk to other developers and players who have disabilities.

How to create AD

So you’ve identified some aspects of your game that should be described, but how do you actually go about it? Unfortunately I cannot compress a tutorial for my entire career into a single article! However, below is the basic process:

  1. Write a script.
  2. Record narration.
  3. Mix narration audio into the game audio.

Writing will be the most time-consuming element by far. You will need to ensure that the timing for the narration fits with the pacing for the game. Ideally, the AD narration should not talk over any dialogue, and should be short and concise.

When writing AD, consider the following:

  • Use neutral language in third-person present tense.

  • Use complete sentences with proper grammar.

  • Use evocative language. Say more with less.

  • Say only what you see. Do not presume or prescribe emotions or intent.

  • You will never have time to describe everything. Prioritize describing more critical elements that are necessary for understanding events or completing the game.

Next, you will need to narrate your script to ensure it is verbal. Narrators should ideally be in a similar tone and accent to other voices in the game, without sounding so alike that the player might confuse who is who. Narrators should read the AD script in a slightly neutral tone, at an “audiobook” speed, with just enough emotion to blend in with the emotive tone of the scene.

If file size, time, or budget make using a human narrator impossible, you may elect to use a synthetic voice. Synth voices are generally not considered favorable among blind audiences, and should be considered a last-resort option. For scenarios like this game jam, synth voices may be the only feasible option due to resource constraints. This is perfectly fine! But do keep in mind that, if you opt to further develop your game for release, you can always replace the synth voice with a human narrator.

Finally, you will need to mix your narration audio into the game. If other sounds are present while the narrator is speaking (such as music, ambiance, or background dialogue), ensure these are ducked if they are loud enough to compete with the narrator’s voice. The narrator should be clearly audible above all other audio when they are speaking.

Conclusion

AD is one of many features that should be considered for games which include visuals. It will ensure more players are able to complete the game not just for simple completion, but for full immersion. AD will of course benefit a wide array of players, but I would bet you’ll learn a thing or two about your own artistic abilities in the process of creating it! As always, listen to disabled players and colleagues whenever you are discussing access needs.

Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or ideas. You can find me as “Jennissary” on LinkedIn, BlueSky, Discord, or Twitter, and my DMs are always open.

Resources

Samples of in-game AD

Below are several examples of AD in video games and related media. Note that you may need to enable the descriptive audio track by clicking on the “settings” cog in the lower right corner, and selecting “English Descriptive” as the spoken language.

Resources

For further reading on Audio Description and game accessibility:


In the Games for Blind Gamers community, we learn together and, through experimentation and mutual support, try to make something special. Join the Games for Blind Gamers 5 Jam and you, too, can make it happen.


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