• Success Criterion 2.3.1
  • Conformance level A

Game With Strobe Effects and No Photosensitivity Mode

2.3.1 — Three Flashes or Below Threshold

Scenario

Setting

A bank's mobile money-transfer screen

What’s wrong

Canvas games with explosion/strobe effects above threshold and no photosensitivity mode.

Example 

function flashScreen() {
  renderExplosion(); // full-screen white flash at 12fps, no toggle exists
}

Why it matters

A customer playing the bank's rewards mini-game while transferring money hits an explosion effect that strobes well above the safe threshold.

How to test

Review canvas game explosion/strobe effects with PEAT, and check for a photosensitivity/reduced-effects mode: above-threshold effects with no such mode fail.

How to fix

Cap flash rate below three per second and let players opt into a calmer effect.

function flashScreen() {
  if (photosensitivityMode) return renderSoftPulse();
  renderExplosion();
}
// <label><input type="checkbox" onchange="togglePhotosensitivity()"> Reduce flashing effects</label>

Outcome

Switching on the new photosensitivity setting, a customer plays the rewards game strobe-free.

Who is affected

Players with photosensitive epilepsy have no way to disable the strobe effect and risk a seizure trigger.

Learn more

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