The gaming community is, despite what many 12 year old Call of Duty players with tell you, inclusive and accepting of one another.
We log in to our games, play for a few hours and log off without a problem. What most of us fail to consider is the ease with which we play. We pick up a control pad, press buttons, and use a mouse without difficulty to jump, shoot, drive and run our way to victory in our games without a second thought for those people for whom a control pad or keyboard presents an insurmountable challenge. Consider for a second the impact it would have on your life and your gaming if you lost the use of a hand, or even a finger. Scary thought eh?
Special Effect is a UK charity set up to help disabled gamers engage properly with games to the same level as able bodied gamers. They help to develop advanced technology to allow disabled gamers to control the game with one hand, or drive a car in a racing game with their eyes, or even act like a jedi and control a game with their mind. They regularly attend the conventions and shows we all enjoy and have hands on demonstrations for you to experience. As someone who has tried the eye controlled racing, I can confirm it’s not as easy as it sounds, but it’s magnificent technology that is changing lives and so deserves all of our support.
Special Effect are currently running a campaign to try and get some items into Team Fortress 2, of course with the benefits going to the charity. If you have a steam account, we at Geek-Pride urge you to go , read about the good work that Special Effect are doing, and then go to vote for their charity set.
From the press release:
Gamer’s charity SpecialEffect are asking the industry and communities to vote for the inclusion of three charity Team Fortress 2 items in the game’s online store.
If successful, the vote will see the items available online this summer, with 99% of the profits going to help disabled players enjoy games to the best of their abilities.
Votes for the items can be registered a the link below where people vote / rate by pressing the thumbs up button http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=156361911
The idea is the brainchild of James Schall, SEGA’s Director of Digital Distribution.
“Demand for SpecialEffect’s help is rocketing,” said James. “And I’m excited about the potential of these generous artwork donations to kickstart a big-hearted response from the TF2 community to help meet that demand.”
The artists, Psyke, Svdl, Twilight Sparkle and Void, have designed a viewfinder, cabinet and belt pack with the charity’s branding.
“It’s a fantastic gesture,” said charity CEO Mick Donegan. “Gamers get what we’re trying to do, and to get that support from artists within the community is a real endorsement of our work.”
“We need £750k this year to give people a fighting chance through specialised games control equipment. We’re bringing this technology directly into the homes and hospitals of the people who need it most, and transforming the lives of people with the most severe disabilities through cutting-edge equipment like eye control and brain control”
Gamers are an extremely generous bunch of people; look at Humble Bundles as an example. Don’t let us down Geek-priders, go and vote now!