Metaverse experiences have to be accessible to everyone. How to achieve this?
The metaverse is dead.
Long live the metaverse.
The metaverse might have been proclaimed dead several times already, but it’s still alive and kicking.
It just needs to be more accessible.
According to the recent Capgemini survey, more than 90% of adult consumers are curious about the metaverse. They’re ready to learn more about it, but accessibility is the biggest obstacle.
How to remove it?
How to make the metaverse more accessible, so that both brands and consumers could benefit from this technology?
While there’s no doubt that access to broadband internet would help more users jump into the metaverse, there are other subtle factors worth considering.
Limitless experience
The metaverse isn’t a friendly place for users with disabilities. First, the VR headsets might be difficult to handle as they’re too heavy for people with weak neck muscles. Controllers are not perfect either. Buttons or joysticks create a key obstacle for people who can’t move their limbs freely. Then there are sensory limitations: Web 3.0 experiences have to be easily accessible to the blind, deaf, or visually impaired.
To achieve this, some brands introduce colorblind mode, some allow users to interact through audio or motion interfaces. Haptic feedback devices may be a handy solution for blind users as well.
If your goal is to build an accessible, immersive, and inclusive virtual world, you have to make sure that it’s open to users with disabilities.
Safety
Accessibility goes hand in hand with safety. To make the metaverse more accessible, it has to offer a safe environment for everyone. There have been multiple cases of mocking or sexual harassment in the metaverse which force many users to leave the virtual space. To increase user safety, Horizon Worlds introduced Safe Zones, where you can distance yourself from others by setting personal boundaries. Other features that help to increase user safety include reporting or blocking an inappropriate user, enforcing penalties on users who commit a crime in the metaverse, or imposing usage restrictions for overactive users (some social media platforms already do that).
Language
No matter how stable and secure your Web 3.0 experience is, it won’t be appealing to global users if the content is unclear. This is where localization comes in. To ensure your target users can navigate smoothly through a virtual music event, purchase items in your metaverse store, or interact with others, every single button, command, CTA, or instruction have to be available in the language your users can understand. Displaying your interface in English only is no longer enough.
If your goal is to make the metaverse “accessible for all”, you’ll need to adapt your content to other cultures. While some metaverse platforms are already available in languages other than English, there’s still a long way to go before Web 3.0 will be fully immersive for non-English users. For example, Decentraland offers its content only in English, while Sandbox displays its interface in merely six languages.
The metaverse is here to stay no matter what the self-proclaimed experts or journalists say. But to make it friendly to consumers around the world, it has to cater to the needs of global users by ensuring easy navigation, understandable content, and higher safety.
As a localization consultant, I’m here to help you on this quest to ensure your virtual experiences are fit for the global market.
This article was first published on Dorota’s blog at https://www.polishlocalisation.com/
