{"id":6875,"date":"2021-12-30T14:50:42","date_gmt":"2021-12-30T20:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ablegamers.org\/?p=6875"},"modified":"2022-10-27T11:00:04","modified_gmt":"2022-10-27T16:00:04","slug":"december21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ablegamers.org\/december21\/","title":{"rendered":"December Community Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Peer
\nGoodbye, 2021! Hello, 2022!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

It has been\u00a0<\/span>a very busy<\/span>\u00a0year here at AbleGamers. Our team has DOUBLED in size since last year, bringing new minds, new skillsets, and\u00a0new people driving our mission. There is so much more work to do in 2022 and we are excited to continue enabling play for everyone in so\u00a0<\/span>many different ways<\/span>!<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
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<\/span>As the year ended games were highlighted for their accessibility wins!\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Forza Horizon 5 won the Innovation in Accessibility award<\/span><\/span><\/a> from The Game Awards<\/span><\/span>, while\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Can I Play That\u00a0<\/span>team <\/span><\/span><\/a>gave out\u00a0<\/span><\/span>many awards celebrating<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in<\/span>–<\/span>game\u00a0<\/span>accessibility<\/span>\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span>amazing\u00a0<\/span>efforts of the industry<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>We had the honor of\u00a0<\/span>working alongside\u00a0<\/span>a lot of\u00a0<\/span>these studios<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>who\u00a0<\/span>created these<\/span>\u00a0accessible\u00a0<\/span>experiences,<\/span>\u00a0and we are so thrilled to see<\/span>\u00a0so many games being highlighted for their accomplishments<\/span>\u00a0in accessibility<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Even though we are gearing down and closing the books on 2021<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>we\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0been busy ensuring that some of our partner facilities get to start their 2022 with fun! We sent some accessible tech to the team at\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Ability KC<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0to support their efforts of customizing dolls and other toys to be switch enabled.<\/a> (Think the Xbox Adaptive Controller but instead of plugging in switche<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>a<\/span>\u00a0controller<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0they plug directly into a toy!\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s<\/span>\u00a0very cool stuff). We also have been\u00a0<\/span>send<\/span>ing\u00a0<\/span>hardware and supporting\u00a0<\/span>many of\u00a0<\/span>our partners\u00a0<\/span>like the teams at<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>TTAP in Texas<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span><\/span>West Virginia Assistive Technology System<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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As a te<\/span>am<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0we talk about video games often<\/span>. <\/span>M<\/span>ost weeks we talk about games more than we get<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>play<\/span> them.\u00a0<\/span>We decided to ask <\/span>some of our\u00a0<\/span>team what\u00a0<\/span>they\u2019ve<\/span>\u00a0been playing this busy December.\u00a0<\/span>Our team plays a variety of games which\u00a0<\/span>creat<\/span>es interesting Slack conversations and makes it\u00a0<\/span>REALLY\u00a0<\/span>difficult<\/span>\u00a0to pick a game for a team game night.<\/span><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\"A<\/td>\nAndy<\/span>
\n<\/span>Sr. Director of Peer Counseling<\/td>\n		\u201cI\u2019ve been playing\u00a0<\/span>Clash of Clans on my iPhone. Need to be mobile while attending to a 7-month-old baby and it’s an easy way for me to sneak in a little play between diaper changes.\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"A<\/td>\nJessie<\/span>
\nDirector of Engineering Research\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n		\u201c<\/span>I’ve been heavy into GTA RP. It’s such a creative way to play GTA where I can improv and roleplay with others as we get into funny or serious interactions, which in turn creates interesting stories\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"A<\/td>\nVinny<\/span>
\nProgram & Marketing Admin<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n		\u201cI have been playing Halo Infinite\u2019s campaign and Halo\u00a0Infinite\u2019s multiplayer on my Halo Infinite edition Xbox with my Halo Infinite controller. If you couldn\u2019t tell, I like Halo Infinite.\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"A<\/td>\nSam<\/span>
\nSenior User Researcher<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n		\u201c<\/span>I have a Switch and went ham on the Nintendo\u00a0eShop\u00a0Black Friday sale…so I’m currently playing the first Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney game! It’s been a flood of nostalgia and I’m sharing it with my pre-teen niece who loves it and is getting it for her Switch now too!\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"A<\/span><\/td>\nSteve<\/span>
\nDirector of Professional Development\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\n		\u201c<\/span>I’ve been having fun playing Guardians of the Galaxy on PS5 – and by “playing” I mean: taking 5 steps before toggling on and off Raytracing to see where the pretty reflections pop up. At this rate, I expect it’ll take me 10 years to finish the game (admiring fancy bounced light all the way)\u201d<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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AbleGamers News:<\/h3>\n

Dell\/Alienware is one of our biggest supporters who have helped our entire team<\/span>, from<\/span>\u00a0providing<\/span>\u00a0playtesting hardware\u00a0<\/span>enabling us to playtest accessibility for upcoming\u00a0<\/span>games to<\/span>\u00a0directly supporting our peer counseling efforts with funding and hardware.\u00a0<\/span>To celebrate International Day of People with\u00a0<\/span>Disabilities day<\/span>\u00a0they put together this nice spotlight video of our mission. To our\u00a0<\/span>Alienfriends<\/span> We agree, games are best when we all can enjoy them!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Games are best when we all can enjoy them!@AbleGamers<\/a> works to make gaming accessible by designing adaptive controllers & connecting with studios to improve inclusivity.<\/p>\n

We’re proud to support them through hardware and financial donations to help continue their mission. #IDPD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6GxJ1EfuLU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 ALIENWARE (@Alienware) December 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n