“Modern Problems Require Modern Solutions”: An Autoethnography of Motor Impairment, Modern Controls in Street Fighter 6, and [Fighting] Game Accessibility

This paper discusses the journey of the author to overcome a debilitating bilateral hand injury, coinciding with the beginning of the first U.K. COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. As a result of the injury, the author was left functionally unable to play most games but, through a long journey through different rehabilitation treatments and accessibility solutions, worked back up to playing fighting games (a favorite genre) in mid-2023. This autoethnography charts the author’s often frustrated journey through the prevalence of control schemes and in-game accessibility options for players of fighting games in recent years. This account helps to communicate firsthand insight into personal experience with disability, game design, and accessibility options tempered by an academic perspective. The central case study is the implementation of “Classic” and simplified “Modern” controls in Street Fighter 6 and the first year of the game’s life cycle. Thus, a narrative of the personal and communal response to these changes is presented in parallel to help foreground a firsthand perspective on impairment and open discussion about how motor accessibility concerns intersect with a highly input-dense game genre, its design, and its competitive community.