Advocating accessibility for players and creators
The catalyst for me telling you this story is that I recently beat my friend Don 4-1 in FC 24! I won a match, for the first time in seven years! To win the match, I used a PlayStation Access Controller and it was then I realised just how much of a game changer it has been for me. But that’s not where the story begins, let me take you back to March 2017…
I caught a flight with one of my best friends, Rob, from Southampton, to Jacksonville in Florida. We planned to cycle across America - from Florida to San Diego - to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. Rob loves cycling. He is a big enthusiast! Me? Not so much… I didn’t really practice. Why did I agree to cycle across America? Well, I enjoy travelling… and, cycling is a pleasant activity, right? Sure, I’ll go. Why not.
It was a huge adventure; we cycled 2554 miles! It was amazing, I’m so glad we did it! Our shortest cycle day was 3.67 miles (on day number one, the day we collected the bikes!) and our longest day of cycling was 95.53 miles. Tiring? Just a bit.
We had cycled as far as Arizona (we were 83% of the distance to San Diego!) when a pickup truck crashed into me. I suffered several broken bones, a traumatic brain injury and the impact caused me to go into a coma.
I was taken in a helicopter to Scottsdale Hospital’s ICU, and they saved my life. It truly is a miracle. I think about it Every. Single. Day (I always will - it is a positive feeling!).
My incredible family and friends helped me to recover; I have infinite love and gratitude towards them and the people at Scottsdale Hospital, and Southampton Hospital for their perfect care and support for me (perfect IS the correct description - I recovered!). I still keep in touch with my Case Manager at Scottsdale Hospital and my Head Injury Nurse at Southampton Hospital.
My Amygdala in my brain was damaged, so my emotions function differently than they did before the accident and I feel anxious a lot of the time. I am happy though! I am incredibly fortunate. My Olfactory Cortex was also damaged, so I no longer have a sense of smell. However, I can now eat the hottest chilli ever (I never used to eat any spicy food!). I finished First Place in a chilli eating competition at Winchester Chilli and Cheese Festival a couple of years ago. I won a bottle of chilli sauce as a prize (how suitable!). Oh, and I also now have 26 pieces of metal in my body (no… the metal does not set off the metal detector at airports!). I can’t consume anything cold. If I try and eat some ice cream, the 18 screws in my upper jaw result in a discomfort akin to ‘brain freeze’ in my mouth, so lukewarm food is best!
One serious (miraculous!) moment that my parents told me about, occurred a few days after my accident. I was lying on the hospital bed whilst in a coma, and apparently with my right arm - my good, uninjured arm - I reached out and grabbed my dad SO tightly and didn’t let go (I had not yet opened my eyes); it needed several nurses to come to my bedside and relieve my grip. I believe that was me telling my family I will be okay, I will be happy. And, I am!
Severe nerve damage in my left arm resulted in my hand being disabled; I cannot move my fingers very well. The PlayStation Access Controller negates this problem, enabling me to effectively press buttons – meaning I can play my PlayStation in the same way I did before my accident! I am extremely grateful that there is also no detrimental effect on my ability to create animation. I can still play PlayStation games, and make them too!
I have spent most of my career working as an animator for Sony. I joined in 2007 - where I met my close friend, and now fellow sprite, Rob Thornley - until 2015 when I ventured into creating a game of my own with a friend, (Featherpunk Prime, which is no longer available to purchase, so you will have to get your Cyber Flamingo fix elsewhere!). And as of 2021 I’ve been proudly back working for the Sony family again - at Firesprite!
I have always been happy working at Firesprite. I have worked on exciting projects, and at no point have I been put under any pressure - everyone I have worked with is friendly and enjoys making great games! I work hard (I enjoy working hard, I always have!) and I am given freedom to work through my tasks independently. I really am thankful for the support Sony, and Firesprite, and PlayStation have always given me.
When my accident happened, Sony sent me a signed PlayStation FC shirt. I hung it up on my wall in my room in the Neuro ward (well, one of my family members hung it up - I don’t remember anything for about two months).
Sony has a special place in my heart - it being a part of my life since I received a PlayStation 1 on my 13th birthday in 1999. Eight years later, I evolved from playing PlayStation games, to creating them!
In December 2023, my amazing partner Deepthi and our daughter Indy bought me my own PlayStation Access Controller, and I could play PlayStation again!! It’s such an awesome piece of tech. You can adapt them and customise them, swap around buttons however you like; anyone can find a configuration that works for them!
It’s been about seven and a half years since my accident and I’m still psychologically recovering but I feel so thankful for the support of those around me. Let me end my story with something funny that I apparently said in the Neuro ward at Southampton General Hospital in the very early stages of recovery. My dad said to me one day when my family were visiting me, that when I have recovered well enough to return home, we will then all go on a family holiday together.
‘Where would you like us all to go, Stevie?’
I told my dad I would like us to go to…
ZOMBIELAND!!!
