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How Fortnite is accessible to the deaf community

Fortnite accessibility
Fortnite! This is one of the most popular battle royale games in the gaming ecosystem right now. Like any other teenager, I enjoy playing Fortnite with my friends.

I like trying out all the different modes on Fortnite, like Infinity War or Sniper Shootout. Or I just have fun changing my outfit and doing the orange justice dance.

However, as a hard of hearing gamer, my experience gaming on Fortnite is different than usual. For example, I cannot understand properly when I am communicating with my teammates through headphones or listening to the sounds of an enemy approaching me.

“However, as a hard of hearing gamer, my experience gaming on Fortnite is different than usual.”

How is Fortnite accessible?

Fortunately, Fortnite has so many accessibility options for both the hard of hearing and deaf community (from a mobile phone viewpoint) like captions for cinematic videos. Indicators of different white symbols also help me tremendously in gameplay. Read on to learn what these white symbols mean.

Read more: Why subtitles are important for deaf gamers

The Shoe Print Symbol

When an enemy is close by, a white shoe print indicates on your screen the direction they are coming from. The shoe print becomes brighter as the enemy gets closer to your position.

 

Fortnite accessibility

The Zorb Ball Symbol

When an enemy in a Zorb ball is close by, a white Zorb ball indicates the direction they are coming from. The Zorb ball becomes brighter as the enemy gets closer to your position.

 

Fortnite accessibility

The Hovercraft Symbol

When an enemy riding a hovercraft is close by, a white hovercraft symbol indicates the direction they are coming from. The Hovercraft becomes brighter as the enemy gets closer to your position.

Fortnite accessibility

The Flying Symbol

This is denoted by an umbrella symbol. When an enemy is close in a parachute, this symbol indicates the direction they are coming from. The umbrella symbol becomes brighter as the enemy gets closer to your position.

fortnite accessibility

The Yellow Chest Icon

This notifies you there is a chest where you are. It gets brighter when the chest gets closer to your position.

fortnite accessibility

The Quad Bike Symbol

When an enemy is driving on a quad bike close by, a white quad bike symbol indicates where it is coming from. The quad bike gets brighter as the enemy gets closer to your position.

Fortnite accessibility

 

The Red Fire Symbol

The Red Fire symbol tells you that an enemy is firing from that direction.

 

Fortnite accessibility

 

All these accessibility options have made playing Fortnite more fun. They have also allowed me to react faster, watch my teammates, and get Victory Royales!

Read more: Deaf gamers find new way to make competitive gaming accessible

What other accessibility options should be added?

Author Details
Aatish Patel is a 18 year old who loves to try out new things. He has moderately severe bilateral hearing loss who currently wears Phonak Boleros. He is college bound in fall of 2019, an avid gamer and loves learning about the deaf and hard of hearing communities. His blog can be reached at: https://theeartrumpet.wordpress.com.