Xbox Accessibility Guideline 119: Speech-to-text/text-to-speech chat

Goal

The goal of this Xbox Accessibility Guideline (XAG) is to ensure that all players can participate in communication experiences like text chat or voice chat. This is especially important for players who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing, non-verbal, or have low or no vision.

Overview

Communication experiences are one-to-one or one-to-many exchanges of information between players. They typically occur in the form of online text chat between players or online party chat where players can speak aloud to one another during active gameplay. Communication experiences can also occur outside active gameplay. Examples of these experiences include the ability to talk or send messages while in a multiplayer lobby or sending messages to a player’s inbox that can be read later.

Players who are d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing might have difficulty communicating with players in party chat. Similarly, players with low or no vision might be unable to read incoming text chat messages. When players are excluded from communication with other players, they can miss out on essential aspects of gameplay, like their teammates discussing strategy. Subsequently, if a player is unable to perceive incoming communication from other players, it's very difficult to respond to or join the conversation.

A player who is d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing should be able to use a speech-to-text chat feature that transcribes spoken language into text that appears on screen for the player to read.

Players who don't communicate verbally, by choice or because of a disability, should be able to use a text-to-speech chat feature. The player can enter what they would like to say aloud in chat into a text-entry box. This text is then read aloud to all other players via a synthesized voice. This ensures that the player’s voice is heard. Other players don't have to enable any specific settings for this chat feature. The text is just spoken aloud and heard as if the player had spoken it instead of entering it into a text-entry box.

Scoping questions

Does your game include any of the following communication-related scenarios?

• The ability to send and receive text chats between players?

• The ability for players to communicate verbally via audio chat?

• The ability to send predefined phrases such as those in chat wheels?

• The ability to send and receive friend requests, invitations, and other player-to-player–related notifications?

• The ability to use non-text communication in the context of a chat such as emotes or emojis?

Implementation guidelines

Games should provide the following accessible communication capabilities.

• Speech-to-text chat: Players can enable speech-to-text chat to have all voice-based communication from other players transcribed into text in real time.

• Text-to-speech chat: Players can enable text-to-speech chat. When enabled, players are provided a text-entry box. All outgoing text that the player enters into the text-entry box is transformed into synthesized audio in real time and broadcast on the voice channel to all other players.

• Text-entry box: A text-entry box should be made available for players to enter text everywhere communication is available.

• Screen narration (text-based communication): All incoming text-based communications from other players should be voiced out in real time locally to a player with screen-narration settings enabled.

• Screen narration (non-text communication): All phrases, emojis, or emotes should be voiced out in real time locally to a player with screen-narration settings enabled.

  • Emojis should be voiced out with friendly names, such as “Grinning Face” or “Two Hearts,” based on the CLDR Short Names provided by Unicode.org.

• Player-initiated character voice: All player-initiated character communication spoken aloud that conveys intent to another player, such as the audio voice-over of a predefined message from a chat wheel, should be transcribed into text, in real time, and displayed locally to a player with speech-to-text chat enabled.

  • It's also important to note that the process of reviewing predefined message options is also accessible. Players with screen narration enabled should be able to hear a preview of each message aloud when it receives focus so that players know what they're selecting before sending it.

• Read and support platform settings: Games should, by default, support platform settings that enable speech-to-text chat or text-to-speech chat where those settings exist.

• Provide in-game platform setting overrides: Games should ensure that all core supported features (speech-to-text chat, text-to-speech chat, and screen narration) can be adjusted at the game level. For example, a player has text-to-speech chat enabled at the platform level, and they can disable text-to-speech chat at the game level through a designated menu item in the game’s settings UI.

Potential player impact

The guidelines in this XAG can help reduce barriers for the following players.

Resources and tools