Confidential Killings Accessibility Report - Mac and PC

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Confidential
Killings

Accessibility Report

18 Accessibility Features

Confidential Killings is a point-and-click deduction game where you play a detective piecing together the deaths of Hollywood's elite to reveal a sinister conspiracy. Play is deliberately pared back and sees you clicking on items to collect word clues, then using them to complete sentences and solve each murder. It stands out for this more guided approach to puzzle-solving, enabling the hard-boiled detective-noir narrative to take centre-stage.

We've documented 18 accessibility features for Confidential Killings, including Guaranteed Progress, Low Pressure, No Quick Reactions, No Button Combos and No Repeated Pressing. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Reading but it also has features in Getting Started, Visual, Navigation and Audio to reduce unintended barriers.

This report is created from our extensive research, input from other accessibility experts and the player community, and information provided by the developer on the game's store pages.

As the game is not released, the developer is still working on accessibility features. The report represents those features that they have a plan to implement and are confident of including but is subject to change.

Our accessibility examiner, Ben Kendall, first checked Confidential Killings accessibility 4 weeks ago.

Accessibility Notes

You only need the mouse to play. By hovering over a "?" on the bottom left of the screen, you can see everything interactable highlighted with a question mark. Also on the bottom left, your notebook informs you of how many clues you have and how many you still need to get (for the current crime scene).

There is no way to lose progress, as if you don't get the statement right, you're told how many words are wrong and can simply change which words are where. If you can't remember a clue's context, you can leave your notebook and look around the scene again. You can also fill in details as you get them to help reduce the cognitive load instead of waiting until you've found all clues.

There is no way to save mid-scene. There is no real navigation, except clicking between different clues and small areas in crime scenes.

Text is all high in contrast but less than 1/20^th of screen height. There is no voice acting.

Some backgrounds are animated, and some have flashing lightning effects that can't be disabled. Some parts of the game can be quite low in contrast.

Game Details

Release Date: Coming soon

Coming Soon: Mac and PC

Skill Rating: 9+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Deduction, Point-and-Click (Narrative, Puzzle and Sequencing)

Accessibility: 18 features

Components: 2D Side-On and Cartoon

Developer: confidentialki (@confidentialki)

Costs: Purchase cost

Controls

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Controls in Confidential Killings which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Mouse And Keyboard

Can play with the following:

Mouse Alone: Can play with just the mouse/mouse-button/mouse wheel.

Button Combinations

Specific button operation required to play

Holding Down Buttons Optional: Holding down buttons for prolonged periods (a second or more) is not required or can be switched to toggling the action on and off. This is in addition to the movement stick/button which is not considered a hold for this purpose.

Rapid Repeated Pressing Optional: Quick, repeated button pressing (more than 2 times a second) is not required, can be skipped or switched to holding a button to trigger a repeated action.

No Simultaneous Buttons: Only one button or key required at a time, in addition to direction stick(s).

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Confidential Killings, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

Brok the Investigator (9 Controls Features)
McPixel 3 (6 Controls Features)
Venba (6 Controls Features)
Return of the Obra Dinn (6 Controls Features)

Difficulty

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Difficulty in Confidential Killings which deal with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play. The following games are similar to Confidential Killings, and offer accessibility features for Difficulty:

Brok the Investigator (3 Difficulty Features)
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (1 Difficulty Feature)

Getting Started

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Confidential Killings which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.

Assistance Getting Starting

These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.

Reaction-Time Not Critical: Individual game actions don’t need quick reactions, or there are settings to lower the requirement for quick reactions. This means you don't need to quickly press a button in response to an on-screen prompt, target a fast-moving target or skillfully complete a scenario against the clock.

Low Pressure: Game tasks aren't time-limited or there's a low-pressure mode. This avoids the pressure of being put on the clock for overarching missions, or failing tasks because you didn't reach a destination in time.

Assistance For Progressing

These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.

Guaranteed Progress With God Mode: There is no fail state for any game level, where you lose progress or have to start again. Or there are options to make failing impossible: infinite health or lives, unlimited time. Sometimes called God Mode or Unfailable.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Confidential Killings, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Brok the Investigator (12 Getting Started Features)
Tangle Tower (10 Getting Started Features)
The Drifter (7 Getting Started Features)
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (6 Getting Started Features)

Reading

We've documented 4 accessibility features for Reading in Confidential Killings which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.

Reading Level

How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.

Moderate Reading: Moderate reading required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a high school student (14-year-old) would appreciate.

Text Visibility

High Contrast Text: Text colour contrasts to the background or can be adjusted to be. The text in menus, instructions and other information is presented in high contrast with a solid background.

Subtitles

All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.

Captions

Speaker Indicator: Textual captions indicate who is speaking (or there is only ever one person speaking). This can also be indicated visually in the game with character icons or placing text in speech bubbles next to the person speaking.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Confidential Killings, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

Brok the Investigator (7 Reading Features)
Duck Detective: The Secret Salami (6 Reading Features)
Venba (6 Reading Features)
Tangle Tower (6 Reading Features)

Navigation

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Navigation in Confidential Killings which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces.

Clarity

Clear Mission Objectives: The game provides clear, structured missions with directional guidance and advice on which can be attempted next. This also indicates (ideally on maps where they are provided) which missions can't be attempted because you do not have the appropriate items yet.

Menu Navigation

Menus Don't Wrap: Menus don't wrap and stop the cursor at the bottom of the list if you press down. Or menus do wrap but make it clear that you are back at the top of the list with sound or narration.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Navigation

If you want to play Confidential Killings, but it doesn't offer the Navigation accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Navigation accessibility:

Brok the Investigator (7 Navigation Features)
Venba (4 Navigation Features)
Dropsy (3 Navigation Features)

Visual

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Confidential Killings which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.

Interactive Elements

Outline Interactive Elements: Characters, platforms and enemies can be outlined or highlighted for visibility. This can be with a large border around the character or a special visual mode that adjust the colour to make characters more visible.

Motion Sickness Friendly

Motion Sickness Friendly: Doesn't have 3D movement elements that may trigger motion sickness, like motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision. Or includes the ability to disable motion blur, depth of field and field-of-vision effects.

Colour Options

Colour Blind Friendly: Game doesn’t rely on colour or can switch to colour blind friendly mode with double coding or similar way to avoid colour dependance.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

If you want to play Confidential Killings, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

Brok the Investigator (10 Visual Features)
Venba (7 Visual Features)
No Case Should Remain Unsolved (6 Visual Features)
The Drifter (5 Visual Features)

Audio

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Confidential Killings which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.

Adjustable Audio

Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.

Play Without Hearing

Play Without Hearing: No audio cues are necessary to play the game well.

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.

Read more about system accessibility settings.

Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative and accessibility contributors Ben Kendall