# NavStick: Making Video Games Blind-Accessible via the Ability to Look Around

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2109.01202 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.01202/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 2 Sep 2021.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [How Users Who are Blind or Low Vision Play Mobile Games: Perceptions, Challenges, and Strategies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.09866/) (2025)
- [Enhanced DareFightingICE Competitions: Sound Design and AI Competitions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.02687/) (2024)
- [GamerAstra: Supporting 2D Non-Twitch Video Games for Blind and Low-Vision Players through a Multi-Agent Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.22937/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Video games remain largely inaccessible to visually impaired people (VIPs). Today's blind-accessible games are highly simplified renditions of what sighted players enjoy, and they do not give VIPs the same freedom to look around and explore game worlds on their own terms. In this work, we introduce NavStick, an audio-based tool for looking around within virtual environments, with the aim of making 3D adventure video games more blind-accessible. NavStick repurposes a game controller's thumbstick to allow VIPs to survey what is around them via line-of-sight. In a user study, we compare NavStick with traditional menu-based surveying for different navigation tasks and find that VIPs were able to form more accurate mental maps of their environment with NavStick than with menu-based surveying. In an additional exploratory study, we investigate NavStick in the context of a representative 3D adventure game. Our findings reveal several implications for blind-accessible games, and we close by discussing these.