Featured Blog | This community-written post highlights the best of what the game industry has to offer. Read more like it on the Game Developer Blogs or learn how to Submit Your Own Blog Post
Some of the ways the industry embraced this year's GAAD event
Global Accessibility Awareness Day is event that takes place on the third Thursday of every May, with the goal of raising awareness about digital accessibility. Every successive year the games industry has been embracing it to ever greater levels.
2020 was no exception, even despite the usual in-person events not being possible this year. Some of the efforts are not public knowledge, companies holding private internal initiatives, individuals sending emails around their teams, and so on. But many are public knowledge, here's a list of some of the lovely things that I saw taking place over the day -
Twitch stream with the AG staff to come say hi and learn about the mission
https://twitter.com/AbleGamers/status/1263513821072809992
AccessJam, a week long accessibility & representation themed game jam
https://www.twitter.com/accessunlockanz/status/1262220709511565312
Twitch raid train with prizes, fun and games
https://twitter.com/a11ystreaming/status/1262492303723319298
Accessibilibuddies post-GAAD unwind
https://mobile.twitter.com/AmelianeFC/status/1262864301653663744
Survey on the habits and expectations of disabled gamers
https://twitter.com/be_player_1/status/1263499399197581316
New YouTube channel launched with an inaugural video by Cherry Thompson
https://mobile.twitter.com/CanIPlayThat/status/1263469528828317703
Website accessibility upgrades
https://twitter.com/CanIPlayThat/status/1263482835618447360
A lengthy video analysis of issues facing accessibility in the games industry
https://twitter.com/cherryrae/status/1263529112854884352
Showcase piece on disabled veterans, Warfighter Engaged and the Xbox Adaptive Controller
https://www.cnet.com/news/veterans-who-lost-limbs-learn-to-game-again-with-adaptive-controllers/
Video interview with Kirsty McNaught, giving an overview of how she helped to built Crayta with accessibility in mind
https://twitter.com/CraytaGame/status/1263484696710705159
PS4 Pro accessibility giveaway
https://twitter.com/DAGERSYSTEM/status/1262881212378611714
Interview with David Tisserand about Ubisoft is making accessibility part of the company's DNA
https://www.dualshockers.com/ubisoft-accessibility-features-games-exclusive/
A week of activities including virtual talks from Cherry Thompson, SightlessKombat and Ian Hamilton
https://mobile.twitter.com/AmelianeFC/status/1262810593565847552
Article on SE's ongoing commitment to accessibility, what has been done so far and a callout for feedback for the future including launching an accessibility feedback form
https://twitter.com/SquareEnix/status/1263545300615979009
Post on how they are making their games better in terms of accessibility, and a call out to hear from players about their experiences
https://www.frozenbyte.com/2020/05/global-accessibility-awareness-day/
Sharing some less well known facts through 20 question of accessibility trivia
https://forms.gle/uPEaZYZ4WchgQEtx7
A set of posters for use in studios centred around design challenges, backed up by gamer quotes, high level guidance, and data
https://twitter.com/ianhamilton_/status/1263632409255391232
Preview of some research material on key moments in game accessibility history from 1950 to 2019, due to appear in a few different projects in the future
https://twitter.com/ianhamilton_/status/1263642640274337794
Video piece on how to open the world of gaming to everyone, with Stacey Rebecca, Mick Donegan and Frankie Ward
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfp8mdCjRkk
Video compilation of past speakers' takes on what accessibility means to them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjZCmHKNgGE
All talks from GAconf EU now freely available online
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk1amg9GbQw&list=PLVEo4bPIUOslGkRId3eWyWH2o_EICUprW
Mixer fundaraiser for AbleGamers
https://twitter.com/GoTeamGG/status/1263530058011955200
Showcase video of full text to speech in Age of Empires 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHqQT7sNnxw
Callout for accessibility feedback on Candy Crush Saga
https://community.king.com/en/candy-crush-friends-saga/discussion/294902/help-us-improve-accessibility-for-players-in-candy-crush-friends-saga
Showcasing a hand movement controlled mobile game, with a call out for feedback from wheelchair users
https://twitter.com/LeelooMason/status/1263424664883343361
SpecialEffect showcase video
https://www.twitter.com/LogitechG/status/1262865710063259650
Game Changers podcast with Andrew Bromilow and Ian Hamilton
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/changing-perceptions-how-do-we-make-gaming-more-accessible/id1506765808?i=1000475047173
Creator spotlight video with Steve Saylor
https://mobile.twitter.com/stevesaylor/status/1263169145903947777
Colour blindness UI tips thread
https://mobile.twitter.com/MarcusSkov/status/1263428457943498752
Compilation thread of some great moments from over the history of the Inclusive Tech Lab
https://twitter.com/IncTechLab/status/1263504186584391680
Special Olympics virtual event announced
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/05/21/announcing-2020-special-olympics-xbox-virtual-gaming-event/
Xbox Ambassadors article on the work by SightlessKombat and others to develop a fully blind accessible Halo map
https://twitter.com/XboxAmbassadors/status/1263561047501201408
Featuring streamers with disabilities throughout the day
https://twitter.com/LadieAuPair/status/1263503424357715970
Building a gaming PC without fingers
https://twitter.com/nohandsnoexcuse/status/1263210873394327552
Why accessibility is important to me video
https://twitter.com/onehandmostly/status/1263530169236586496
Video interviews with a stellar lineup of game accessibility folk
https://twitter.com/Amadeus2k/status/1263219606488903680
Yuichi Haga announced as lead of Sony's accessibility employee group
https://twitter.com/InstallBase/status/1263486888326778881
Talk by Bryce Johnson on the Xbox Adaptive Controller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJi0lqpHqZw&feature=youtu.be&t=5387
Full day homepage takoever to showcase disabled streamers
https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2020/05/19/celebrate-accessibility-for-all-on-twitch/
Showcase of blind accessibility initiatives, with Brandon Cole and David Tisserand
https://news.ubisoft.com/en-us/article/4hE1D1MBWWssYuY7LaMmaS/learning-to-design-games-for-blind-players
Next year is the 10th anniversary of GAAD, set for May 20th!
Republished from ian-hamilton.com/blog
Read more about:
Featured BlogsYou May Also Like
