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"I am treated equally by others, because in everyone's eyes I am not disabled, but a player."

"A lot of people who come to us will not be able to do what they should have been able to do for the rest of their lives. they can look at their brothers, sisters and friends, but they can't join them. a considerable number of these people have completely given up hope, and their self-perception is'I can't do it', which has been going on for years."

Dr. Mick Donigan, founder and CEO of the British charity SpecialEffect, talks about how they developed barrier-free devices for people with disabilities.

"it was at that moment that they probably realized for the first time that they could play video games, and from the expressions on their faces, it was a moment of change-their self-perception changed from'I can't do it'to'I can do it'. At this time, you will feel that you have helped them open the door to a wonderful world, and before that, they can only peep at the game world through the window year after year."

You may not have heard of SpecialEffect, but if you think back to the PlayStation 5 accessibility controller, or the promotional video of the Xbox adaptive handle, you will find that the name of this organization often appears. SpecialEffect played an important role in the birth of these two devices.

Code-named "Project Leonardo", the Sony PS5 accessibility controller has replaceable parts of various sizes, and all buttons are free to map "jump into the abyss." for the past 15 years, Donigan and his team have been quietly helping one physical challenge after another to find a way to play games. Whether these people are born with disabilities, accidents, or progressive diseases, SpecialEffect will find ways to enable them to play games and feel the joy of games.

When Donigan first devoted himself to the cause in 2007, he was often asked, "I hear you started a charity to help people play games?" At that time, social acceptance of video games was still very low. "I don't think that's a good idea." A friend advised him, "all the media say that video games are evil, but you want to help the disabled play games?"

However, many parents want Donigan to help their disabled children play games. Before that, Donigan focused on assistive technology for young people with disabilities. "A lot of parents tell me that it's great that you can help their children learn and communicate, but what can they do when they get home from school at 03:30 every afternoon? how do you spend your rest time?"

Without games, these children lose an important part of their lives, as Donigan said: "for physical reasons, they have never played with their siblings, and they want an environment in which they can interact with each other." But Donigan didn't know how to respond to the children's parents-he had no answer. "I have no idea, and I don't know where to get help. I realized that these kids had nowhere to go. However, I have my own experience in education, and I am sure that it is very important for children to regain their ability to play."

Donigan was awarded the British staff Medal for years of work in the field of education and accessibility, and after some consideration, Donigan decided to shoulder the burden himself. " At that time, I had two jobs and could only use the rest of my time to start this charity. If what we do is considered to be of value to the game industry or the game itself, then there will naturally be support. Over time, developers may work with us to make it easier for everyone to play games. "

"that's what I think." Donigan smiled and said, "I decided to jump into the abyss and try."

What SpecialEffect does varies from person to person when it comes to helping players with disabilities. Everyone's situation is different, and the help program is also different. In addition, the physical condition of disabled players may change frequently. Some people who are injured in accidents can recover their mobility through rehabilitation training, but if they suffer from a progressive disease, their body will become weaker and weaker. "that's why we provide lifelong support for every customer."

As an authority in the field of eye tracking, Donigan often goes to the intensive care unit to help patients who can only move their eyes. "when lying in bed, no matter how you physically and mentally feel, you can only stare at the ceiling. probably no one comes for most of the day, so it's really important for these people to play games."

Donigan is helping a boy play games with an eye movement device. Donigan tells the story of a scaffolding worker. The worker was accidentally electrocuted during construction, resulting in extensive burns to his body. To avoid infection, he had to stay in a special area of the intensive care unit, and the hospital imposed strict restrictions on visitors. "so he couldn't see his wife and children, but he was eager to communicate with his family. In this case, the most important thing for him is to send an email to his wife."

"We often talk about similar scenes." Donigan added, "We used eye tracking technology to help him write with his eyes, and I remember he successfully wrote'my dearest.'at the beginning of the email, we were all moved to tears."

Later, the person was transferred to the rehabilitation center, at this stage, patients tend to want to play games, Donigan will arrange for colleagues who know more about games to take care of them. "I can teach them to play Phantom Ball with their eyes, and that's my limit!" Fortunately, at SpecialEffect, many of Donigan's colleagues are proficient in video games, including his son Bill.

Donigan recalled that the scaffolding worker loved football, but he was unable to play football for a long time because of a leg injury, so he was extremely eager to play FIFA. "at that time, his forearm had almost recovered and could control the handle and a few buttons, so we made some adjustments to the equipment so that he could fulfill his desire to play football with the children in the game."

During the long journey to help disabled players, SpecialEffect often needs to consult experts and spend a lot of time thinking, designing and making tailor-made equipment. These devices are highly professional, sometimes costing as much as hundreds of pounds per piece. Given this, mass production of accessible handles by Microsoft and Sony is important because it helps to reduce costs.

"when you are lying in bed, no matter what happens physically, you are staring at the ceiling psychologically." While doing these things, SpecialEffect never asks for a penny, which is a basic principle that the organization has long adhered to. Donigan prefers to provide equipment to players with disabilities on a long-term lease. If they like, they can buy similar equipment and then return the rented equipment to us. "but it's not mandatory."

SpecialEffect also decided never to actively raise funds. As a charity, SpecialEffect's decision sounds counterintuitive and confuses some businessmen, but Donigan and his colleagues' original intention was to do more good deeds and let the story speak.

Still need to improve. SpecialEffect helped a player named John, who had muscular dystrophy, so SpecialEffect made him a modified handle-lighter as a whole, and easier to press buttons and joysticks. " John often tells me that when he is playing online games, no one knows that he is disabled, which makes him feel great. He said he was treated equally because in everyone's eyes he was not disabled, but a player. "

Donigan also tells the story of another player, Tom. " He suffers from a progressive illness and his physical condition continues to deteriorate. We helped him realize his dream of playing with his brother in a FIFA' game for the first time in 15 years. Tom hasn't played football for 15 years, nor has he played FIFA'. We provided him with the right equipment and watched him beat his brother 5-1. Then we received an email from Tom, in which he said, 'Thank you for giving me a new life.' "

Some players are moved by the story, spread success stories spontaneously in online or offline activities, or find ways to help SpecialEffect. Donigan recalled that a few years ago, at the British game fair EGX, a man came up to our booth and publicly announced: "you know, I am ashamed that I have never helped any charity in my life. SpecialEffect is the charity I have decided to support all my life."

Microsoft launched a barrier-free controller for disabled players in 2018, with a large number of interfaces and external buttons that allow users to customize the control according to their own conditions. in the 15 years since its establishment, SpecialEffect has successfully helped many disabled players, expanded the team to 30, and attracted the support of giants in the game industry, such as Microsoft and Sony. Instead of pursuing personal success, Donigan hopes that SpecialEffect will ignite a spark and transform the entire gaming industry. It is for this reason that SpecialEffect has launched a new developer tool that is available free of charge to developers who want to make their game works easier to use. At the same time, the agency often shares videos for free to guide developers to add assistive features to the game.

In recent years, some game companies have indeed paid more attention to the needs of disabled players than in the past, adding more auxiliary options to the game. Donigan points out that developers are no longer worried about adding these elements, and they understand that this is not high-tech. These game companies also realize that accessibility often leads to greater commercial returns for game products. "after all, you always want to sell more games, don't you? in a way, we are like a catalyst for this gradual change. I feel like a movement, and we are just one of many organizations dedicated to promoting the barrier-free experience of games."

Every year, SpecialEffect elects a group of global ambassadors from inside and outside the industry to support changing the lives of people with disabilities around the world. Even though much has been achieved, Donigan believes that the gaming industry still has a lot of work to do. "Games can become much easier to use than they are now." Donigan cited eye tracking technology as an example. Personal computers have been able to support eye tracking technology since the 1980s, but the mainframe platform is still not widely available. If we can generally add eye tracking technology to the mainframe, I estimate that the gaming experience of up to 40 million people will be improved. "

Donigan also wants to see more different game handles on the market. "at present, all handles have only one size and require exactly the same strength for players to operate, and I want to see handles that can support different operating forces, or can adjust the degree of force on their own. in this way, even if some players' condition continues to deteriorate and their bodies become weaker and weaker, they can continue to play games."

In 2022, Donigan was awarded a British medal. Although he doesn't like to be in the spotlight and usually appreciates colleagues more than his own achievements, the medal does have a special meaning for him. "I see it as a recognition of video games and what we do. We set up this charity to help people with disabilities play video games. Now, it's considered valuable."

This article is compiled from: https://www.eurogamer.net/the-accessibility-company-helping-xbox-and-playstation-specialeffect

Original title: "The accessibility charity helping Xbox and PlayStation: SpecialEffect"

Original author: Robert Purchese

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