“I realised how absolutely crucial it is for a child to be able to play.”
Their self image, basically, is of somebody who says, ‘I can’t do this.’
And it’s been going on for years.
It’s that moment.
Those are the words of Dr Mick Donegan, founder and CEO of UK charity SpecialEffect.
“You started a charity to help people play video games?
“I thought video games were bad for you.
But playing games was something people had been asking him about enabling for years.
How can they have downtime?”
Without play, there’s a fundamental absence in their life.
As Donegan says, “They’ve never played with their brother or sister - ever.
He wasn’t sure, though, what to say - he didn’t have the answer.
“Actually, I didn’t have a clue,” he corrects me.
Nor was he sure where to turn to for help.
“I realised that there’s nowhere to send these young people,” he says.
So he did the only thing he could think of at the time: he did it himself.
“That was the idea,” he smiles.
“It was just me chucking myself in the deep end and giving it a go.”
What SpecialEffect does varies with every individual they work with.
No two people’s challenges are the same and no two solutions are the same.
Moreover, the conditions people live with often change.
Donegan’s personal area of expertise is gaze-tracking, which he’s a respected authority on.
You might not see a visitor for the best part of the day or even longer.
So to actually be able to engage, enjoy, take control, is really important.”
“So he couldn’t see his wife, couldn’t see his kids,” Donegan says.
“And he was just desperate to be able to communicate with his wife.
“And you’re talking about these moments,” he adds.
“So these are journeys that we’re on.
These journeys are long.
They span many consultations and involve hours of design work, thought and bespoke equipment to be made.
That all means money.
But SpecialEffect never asks for a penny, and this is a founding principle for the charity.
“But that’s not compulsory.”
In other words, to let the stories speak for themselves.
Stories like, for example, John’s.
Or the story of Tom, who had a progressive condition too.
We set him up […] and he beat his brother five-one.
We had this email telling us that he thrashed his brother five-one at FIFA.
And he said, ‘Thank you for giving me my life back.'”
It’s stories like these that convince people to help SpecialEffect.
They’re shared online or in person at events like EGX.
Butthisis my charity,” and decided to support it from thereon.
It’s why it freely sharesvideos online instructing people on the best accessibility options in games.
“So the whole idea is toshareit,” Donegan says.
“I don’t want to take over the planet planting SpecialEffects all over the place - no!
The tide is, undeniably, turning.
They’re also beginning to open their eyes to the commercial benefits of better accessibility.
After all, “Do you want to sell more games or don’t you?”
“I’ve always wanted it to be like a movement and that’s how it feels.
[…] We’re just one of those organisations who are a movement towards greater accessibility.”
But there’s still work to do.
“Games could be a lot more accessible,” he says.
And the example he uses is gaze-tracking.
“What I’m saying is that is with justoneaccess method.
Dongean would also love to see more variation in gamepad controllers.
Mick Donegan was awarded an MBE last year for the work he’s done.
Typically, he puts other people’s achievements at SpecialEffect above his own.
However, the MBE did represent something special to him beyond personal recognition.
That was acknowledged as being something that is worthwhile.”
Undeniably, it is.
He also suggests checkingthe GameAccess archivefor tips on accessibility options in games.
If you’re a developer looking for help making your game more accessible,check out the SpecialEffect DevKit.
