ADA Tech and Gaming Influencers to Follow
It’s been 30 years since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark piece of civil rights legislation that protects disabled individuals from discrimination. The law makes sure that people with mental or physical disabilities have equal access to employment, the purchasing of goods and services, and cannot be denied a government position due to their condition.
In the three decades during which the ADA has been in effect, gaming has undergone drastic technological changes that have helped make the medium more accessible to those who can’t use a traditional controller or mouse and keyboard setup. Now there are controllers people can operate with just their mouths, custom peripherals that can be configured in countless ways, and even head tracking technology that’s sensitive enough to support all kinds of subtle head gestures.
Microsoft’s Adaptive Controller became the standard in adaptable controller design when it debuted in 2018. The idea for the controller came from tests the company had been doing for its 2017 Project Copilot, a program that would allow two controllers to function as one. The idea had been that it would enable a more skilled friend or family member to jump in and assist if someone was struggling through a gameplay section. However, the developers noticed that some disabled gamers were delighted to be able to use their hands and feet more effectively with the two controllers. This led Microsoft to work with organizations like AbleGamers and Warfighter Engaged, groups that have long advocated for gaming accessibility and work to provide customized gaming setups to disabled gamers.
The release of Microsoft’s Adaptive Controller has led other companies to offer lower-priced peripherals. Typically, gaming controllers for the disabled could cost staggering amounts of money with custom setups and highly specialized devices that could easily cost $500+. The Adaptive Controller itself runs about $100 with additional inputs going for $50+ apiece. Logitech, however, recently came out with a bundle of additional inputs for $100 – far cheaper than Microsoft’s offerings.
Despite the challenges, disabled gamers find a way. If you need to broaden your selection of streamers and public figures doing their best to battle the misconceptions around physical disabilities, here are four that should absolutely be household names:
Dubbing himself “the best Chun-Li player with no hands,” BrolyLegs is a professional esports competitor in Street Fighter IV and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. Born with arthrogryposis multiplex congenital, BrolyLegs’ infant muscles didn’t grow in his arms and legs and now cause him significant mobility problems. In order to play video games, BrolyLegs holds his controller to his face and manipulates the device by using his tongue against the inside of his cheek. While often such means of playing games might put a player at a considerable disadvantage, BrolyLegs instead excels, becoming world-renowned for his gaming abilities. Capcom even produced a mini-documentary about BrolyLegs called Brolylegs: The Fighter.
Chris is a deaf gamer who is committed to helping build the deaf community on Twitch! His goals include spreading Deaf awareness, stopping discrimination and audism, and advocating for gaming accessibility for deaf/hard of hearing gamers. Jumping into his stream? You’ll most likely find him playing something from his favorite genres including fighting games, RPGs/JRPGs, & FPS. Check him out on Twitch, YouTube and Twitter.
Have you ever seen someone snipe in a competitive FPS game? Check out RockyNoHands and you’ll see he does it just about every day. Rocky makes his plays using a device he manipulates with his mouth called a QuadStick, a specialized controller designed for quadriplegics that can replicate the functions of a game controller, mouse, keyboard, and flash drive. In fact, Rocky claims to be the best player using a QuadStick in the world – something backed up by his induction into the Guinness World Records for both the most Victory Royales in Fortnite using a QuadStick and the most eliminations in a Fortnite Battle Royale using a QuadStick. Rocky views gaming as a way of challenging himself while also showing the world what disabled folks are capable of achieving.
The Chief Operating Officer of AbleGamers, Steven Spohn has dedicated his life to connecting disabled people into the empowering and communal experience of gaming. He lives with a condition called spinal muscular atrophy, an illness that weakens muscles over time and relies on a ventilator to breathe and a wheelchair for mobility. For his personal gaming, which he streams on Twitch, he relies on TrackIR, a technology that tracks head movements and interprets them like strokes on a keyboard. If you are looking for a force for positivity and good in gaming, Steven should absolutely be one of your go-to gamers.
Don’t forget to sign up for Extra Life to help sick and injured kids in hospitals around the US and Canada by playing games!