Global accessibility awareness day 2021

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

Even with the usual in-person events still not being possible, 2021 saw the biggest involvement yet by far by the games industry. Rather than raising awareness it felt like a festival, a celebration of inclusion. Including personal stories from gamers, announcements of new featuresets, initiatives and resources, articles, streams, and much much more.

There was so much happening that it was hard to keep track of . So here's a handy list! 

If you want to help keep the momentum going, have a skim through, pick your favourite, share it on.

Accessibility Days

Talks on a development platform for blind accessible games, and the development of a spaghetti western audiogame
https://twitter.com/a11y_days/status/1392048742199701505

AccessU

Keynote talk on the good in gaming, by Tara Voelker
https://knowbility.org/programs/accessu-2021/keynote-and-lunch-may-19

Talk by Steven Lambert on designing accessible games
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SLTyNt_I13JncW-Pu4LKkMzhLcx3f1KFr3cNpUAq0XY/edit#slide=id.p

Activision Blizzard

Article showcasing the accessibility work of Adrian Letta (Toys for Bob), Nikki Crenshaw (Blizzard), and Emilio Jéldrez (King)
https://activisionblizzard.com/newsroom/2021/05/Global-Accessibility-Awareness-Day-Inclusive-Design-Matters

Alan Zucconi

Thread of tips and resources
https://twitter.com/AlanZucconi/status/1395389196228042757

Allied podcast

Episode with Belén Agulló García, discussing the importance of accessible gaming and immersive experiences.
https://twitter.com/Belen_Translate/status/1395277383855394818

Améliane Chiasson

Post-GAAD beer/tea meetup
https://twitter.com/AmelianeFC/status/1394368940797743113

Apple

App store accessible games showcase
https://apps.apple.com/at/story/id1561031340?l=en

Barrie Ellis (OneSwitch)

Accessible gaming lucky dip collection of recent news
https://switchgaming.blogspot.com/2021/05/gaad-2021-lucky-dip.html

And some game accessibility history from he early 1970s
https://twitter.com/OneSwitch/status/1395393425177026570

And earlier still
https://twitter.com/GamingMuseum/status/1395468709800591360

Barrierefreiheit in Deutschland

Panel discussion with Felix Falk (Game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche) Maxi Gräff (Xbox DACH) Rebekka Niederländer (Mixtvision) and Dennis Winkens (WheelyWorld), and screening of a film created as a collaboration between Xbox DACH and the
German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
https://twitter.com/ErdundBaer/status/1395327783010701314

BBC

Talk from Vivek Gohil and a panel with Nu McAdam, Andrew Bromilow and Brannon Zahand
https://twitter.com/BBCa11y/status/1394949500234616833

Bend Studio

Blog post showcasing features in Days Gone

https://www.bendstudio.com/blog

Be Player One

Week long talk showcase
https://twitter.com/be_player_1

Ben Bayliss

Thread of his favourite accessibility focussed articles and a bit about his journey
https://twitter.com/Ben_Bayliss/status/1394980315530137606

BrookLAN Esports Lounge

Announcement of XACs and other accessibility options from day 1 of the facility opening
https://twitter.com/BrookLAN_NY/status/1395391119098318849

CanIPlayThat

Thread from Courtney Craven on intersectionality and the future of the site
https://twitter.com/CyclopediaBrain/status/1395350840454565889

Data on the growth of the site
https://twitter.com/CyclopediaBrain/status/1394695096084439045

Codec

Article and one-pager poster on how gaming is emerging as a leading space in inclusive design and progressive thinking
https://blog.codec.ai/PLAY

Crayta

Thread of tips and resources on how to make gmes made with the Crayta platform more accessible
https://twitter.com/CraytaGame/status/1395327787821568004

DAGERSystem

PS5 giveaway, with lots of lovely stories being shared on the #DAGERSystemGAAD twitter hashtag
https://twitter.com/DAGERSYSTEM/status/1394729775650906112

Announcement of the Accessibility Games Database
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2021/05/20/new-accessibility-database-aids-discovery-of-suitable-video-games/?sh=38ccfe802f91

Diamond award given to Miles Morales
https://dagersystem.com/2020-diamond-award-winner-marvels-spider-man-miles-morales/

David Libeau

PhD project that aims to offer auto-generated audio description for streamed footage
https://twitter.com/DavidLibeau/status/1395273555114405892

Doublefine

A close look at the various accessibility features in Psychonauts 2
https://twitter.com/DoubleFine/status/1395512738529566720

Family Video Game Database

Launch of accessibility tag search and accessibility reports, in partnership with the VSC ratings board
https://www.askaboutgames.com/news/global-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad-new-accessibility-tools-aid-video-game-discovery

Showcase of games enjoyed by autistic people, put together in collaboration with Autistica's Play Ambassadors
https://twitter.com/TamingGamingDB/status/1395382684214562818

Fox News

Interview with Randy "N0M4D" Fitzgerald
https://twitter.com/FOX9/status/1395381053888544773

Frankfurter Allgemeine

Article by Melanie "melly maeh" Eilert, including chat with Jan Wawrzik of Ubisoft
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/barrierefreiheit-im-videospiel-damit-alle-spielen-koennen-17349109-p3.html

Game Maker's Toolkit

Tips for making YouTube videos more accessible
https://twitter.com/gamemakerstk/status/1395316932900003841

Game Verband der Deutschen Games-Branche

Germany's games industry body sharing research showing that 7.6 million German gamers are disabled, 10% of whom use assistive devices
https://twitter.com/game_verband/status/1395320896697499651

Globo

30 minute TV show on game accessibility (Portuguese)
https://globoplay.globo.com/v/9096805/programa/

Grimoire Groves

Footage of colourblind simulation testing
https://twitter.com/GrimoireGroves/status/1395288189431017474

Hannah Elizabeth

Twitch stream highlighting accessible games

https://mobile.twitter.com/luneetetoiles6/status/1395538482681024521

Humphrey "nohandsnoexcuses" Hanley

Full day of Twitch fun
https://twitter.com/nohandsnoexcuse/status/1395136854148542465

Hunterson Studio

Announcement of accessibility featureset for Mine 2 the Beat
https://twitter.com/HuntersonStudio/status/1395372754430566402

Ian Hamilton

Annual GAAD game accessibility trivia quiz
https://forms.gle/KaiWBb1otnizL1B68

IGDA Game Accessibility SIG

GAconf accessibility quotes screensaver
https://igda-gasig.org/what-and-why/accessibility-quotes-screensaver/

Game accessibility top ten refresh
https://igda-gasig.org/how/sig-top-ten/

IGEA

Accessibility category for Austrian Game Developer Awards, and reworking of accessibility criteria for all other categories

https://mobile.twitter.com/The_AGDAs/status/1395541683383664643

Imaginary Friends Games

Unveiling of captioning functionality for important sounds
https://twitter.com/GamesFriendo/status/1395410709811499009

Insomniac

Long tweet thread announcing the full accessibility featureset for Ratchet and Clank
https://twitter.com/insomniacgames/status/1395407201355845633

Internet Matters

Guide for gamers on some of the ways games can be made more accessible
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/guidance/accessibility-video-games-designed-for-everyone/

Inverse

Showcase of ten accessible games
https://www.inverse.com/gaming/best-accessible-games-gaad-2021/amp

Jameson Durall

Twitch chat with Tara Voelker
https://twitter.com/JamesonDurall/status/1395016150266826757

Jesse "IllegallySighted" Anderson

Showcase of past content
https://twitter.com/BGFH79/status/1395368881661775877

KindaFunny

Steve Saylor co-hosting
https://twitter.com/stevesaylor/status/1394740874735669254

Knights of the Braille

Announcement of a new accessibility awareness event for tabletop games this october, called Everyone Games
https://twitter.com/brailleknights/status/1395323616070447107

Kyle "onehandmostly" Abbate

Week long highlighting of accessibility features that are important to him
https://twitter.com/search?q=%40onehandmostly%20day%20week&src=typed_query&f=live

Level Access

Chief accessibility officer Jonathan Avila shares why game accessibility matters to him

https://www.twitter.com/LevelAccessA11y/status/1395559410932625412

Logitech G

Creator spotlight twitch stream series, with Jay Justice, Radderssgaming, nohandsnoexcuses, and Steve Spohn
https://twitter.com/search?q=%40logitechg%20accessibility&src=typed_query&f=live

Announcement of the Adaptive eSports Tournament
https://twitter.com/LogitechG/status/1395416681875484673

Many Cats Studios

60 second accessibility tips
https://twitter.com/ManyCatsCIC/status/1395289028124098560

Media Molecule

Showcase of accessible games created in Dreams
https://twitter.com/mediamolecule/status/1395393798440689665

Microsoft

Launch of the Xbox Accessibility Insider League, a new feedback mechanism within the insider hub to allow developers to get accessibility feedback direct from players
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/05/20/introducing-the-xbox-accessibility-insider-league/

Updated Xbox Customer Support Page for Accessibility
https://support.xbox.com/en-SG/help/accessible-gaming

Launch of a new resource - the Gaming and Disability Player Experience Guide, a supplement to the Xbox Accessiblity Guidelines that organizes common barriers to gameplay and related best practice guidelines by type of disability
http://aka.ms/GDPlayerExperienceGuide

Showcasing winners of CIPT, DAGERS and TGA accessibility awards in the Xbox and Windows stores
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/collections/GAADGFY21/XBOX

Donations to AbleGamers, Warfighter Engaged and Special Olympics
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/05/20/xbox-celebrates-global-accessibility-awareness-day/

GAAD wallpaper
https://www.xbox.com/en-US/wallpapers/

Understanding Function to Design for Disabilities -  a framework outlining the cognitive, mobility, vision, hearing, speech, and sensory demands of the technology we all use daily
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/inclusive-tech-lab/understanding-function-to-design-for-disabilities

Xbox ANZ video with Humphrey "nohandsnoexcuses" Hanley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzT3nB6insk

Tara Voelker & Steve Saylor Twitch stream
https://twitter.com/stevesaylor/status/1394740874735669254

Talk by Ryo Morishita of for GAAD Japan
https://twitter.com/GAAD_jp/status/1393768944654114820

CanIPlayThat community management workshop
https://twitter.com/CyclopediaBrain/status/1394317294185091076

Xbox DACH & Tino Albrecht tips for an Xbox Adaptive Controller setup for duchenne muscular dystrophy
https://news.xbox.com/de-de/2021/05/20/xbox-adaptive-controller-tino-albrecht/

Minecraft

Showcasing accessibility features, including three new ones
https://twitter.com/PlayCraftLearn/status/1395334748076191746

Mitchell B

Blind playthrough of Mario Tennis Aces
https://twitter.com/dontRunOff01/status/1395154901383122951

Mobilesyrup

Interview with Steve Saylor
https://mobilesyrup.com/2021/05/20/steve-saylor-blind-gamer-global-accessibility-awareness-day-interview/

Netspeak Games

Sharing a collection of resources
https://twitter.com/NetspeakGames/status/1395312283400740864

PikPok

Video preview of accessibility features in Agent Intercept

Https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1502710/view/3044975266209076695

PlayStation

Blog post showcasing the company's work on accessible hardware, software, workplaces, and support of partner organisations
https://www.sie.com/en/blog/creating-a-world-with-no-limitations/

..including opening up their internal inclusive language guide as a publicly available resource
https://www.sie.com/uploads/sites/15/2021/05/Sony-Interactive-Entertainment-ABLE@PlayStation-Inclusive-Language-Guide-1.pdf

London Studio sharing the collection of accessibility resources they use to educated themselves on making games accessible to all
https://twitter.com/LondonStudioHQ/status/1395369490607714309

Detailed look at some of the key accessibility considerations in Ratchet & Clank
https://www.sie.com/en/blog/inside-the-accessibility-features-of-ratchet-clank-rift-apart/

Interview on accessibility consultancy with Morgan Baker, Paul Amadeus Lane and Brandon Cole
https://www.sie.com/en/blog/accessibility-consulting-opening-new-doors-for-all-gamers/

Raven Software

Announcement of new accessibility menu for COD Warzone
https://twitter.com/RavenSoftware/status/1395504396906024963

RNIB

Fundraiser and blind gaming video
https://www.rnib.org.uk/donations-and-fundraising/do-your-own-fundraising/gaming-rnib

Blind gamers podcast
https://twitter.com/scottish_nerd/status/1395389522893053953

Rocksteady

Tweets from Simon Brewer
https://twitter.com/search?q=%40rocksteadygames%20accessibility&src=typeahead_click&f=live

Sega

Internal panel session with Stacey Jenkins, Amy Kavanagh, Ben Bayliss and Kyle "onehandmostly" Abbate
https://twitter.com/StaceyofGotham/status/1394330057607368707

Soft Leaf Studios

Thread of resources
https://twitter.com/SoftLeafStudios/status/1395340128655224833

Thread on their experiences of working with the community on text to speech and audio description for Stories of Blossom
https://twitter.com/SoftLeafStudios/status/1395306909100617731

Thread of dev tools
https://twitter.com/SoftLeafStudios/status/1395375632805158920

Demo of text to speech and audio description
https://twitter.com/SoftLeafStudios/status/1395356645270724608

SOLAS 128

Launch of a wide-reaching accessibility update
https://caniplaythat.com/2021/05/20/solas-128-accessibility-update-becomes-available-during-gaad/

SpecialEffect

Blog post on embracing and sharing accessibility
https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/specialeffect-news/embracing-and-sharing-accessibility-for-gaad

Splash Damage

Week long series of internal talks
https://twitter.com/splashdamage/status/1394289679579721737

Square Enix

Internal talk series with Steve Saylor, Kyle Abbate and Regine Gilbert
https://twitter.com/SquareEnixMtl/status/1394729591575654401

The Coalition

Showcase of Gears 5's new features
https://twitter.com/CoalitionGears/status/1395394542036131841

TheGamer

Showcase of past accessibility articles
https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2021/05/20/introducing-the-xbox-accessibility-insider-league/

Twitch

Front page takeover with Steve Saylor, Radderssgaming Steve Spohn, Tiffany Witcher, DeafGamersTV, Ewok, nohandsnoexcuses, Brandon Cole, and more!
https://blog.twitch.tv/en/2021/05/20/celebrate-global-accessibility-awareness-day-on-twitch/?utm_referrer=https://t.co/dIzxcLTO6a

Session on how to make twitch streams more accessible, with Steve Saylor, Veronica Ripley and Humphrey "nohandsnoexcuses" Hanley
https://twitter.com/stevesaylor/status/1395156335692500995

Ubisoft

Video showcasing where the company is today
https://twitter.com/Ubisoft/status/1395390558185693185

Video showcasing accessibility efforts from Naughty Dog, Xbox and SpecialEffect
https://twitter.com/gTV_tweets/status/1395318381981487104

Video showcasing Björn Jönnson and his participation on workshops on Division 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRGbktongxk

Undead Labs

Case study of an inclusive design sprint for State of Decay 2
https://www.stateofdecay.com/inclusive-design

UKIE

Tweets & articles highlighting the work of accessibility organisations
https://twitter.com/uk_ie/status/1395288423947292679
https://twitter.com/uk_ie/status/1395303506072965120
https://twitter.com/uk_ie/status/1395333805704159232

UYU

Twitch stream with Brian Peddie
https://twitter.com/UYU/status/1395140534730174465

Vivek Gohil

A deep dive into his accessibility journey and set-up
https://twitter.com/uncannyvivek/status/1395327488490975236

Wayward Strand

Announcement of accessibility consultancy
https://twitter.com/WaywardStrand/status/1393048950878310407

Twitch stream on indie accessibility, with Access Unlocked
https://twitter.com/WaywardStrand/status/1394493859766308871

Interview with Pixelsift

https://www.pixelsift.com.au/post/cameron-hopkinson-wants-everyone-to-be-able-to-enjoy-wayward-strand

Wired

Profile article on disabled streamers who are changing the industry
https://www.wired.com/story/disabled-streamers-transforming-games-industry/

Article on accessibility making games better, with personal experiences of accessibility for narcolepsy

https://www.wired.com/story/more-accessibility-options-make-games-better/

GAAD 2022 is set for May 20th!

Republished from ian-hamilton.com/blog