Celebrating GAAD with this life-enhancing inclusion charity
For Global Accessibility Awareness Day, we were so very delighted to welcome our fantastic guest, Nick Streeter, Fundraiser from SpecialEffect. Nick joined us to host a special presentation about the work this invaluable charity do on their mission to spearhead life-transforming inclusion.
SpecialEffect are an incredible charity who “put fun and inclusion back into the lives of physically disabled people by helping them to play video games”; “transforming the lives of physically disabled people right across the world through the innovative use of technology” and the charity are soon to celebrate a massive two decades of dedication to this mission when they turn 20 years old in 2-years time!
Nick shared with us some wonderful stories about the lives which this amazing charity have touched, using innovative technologies to make a difference to people of all ages and offering lifelong support to individuals and families.
Here are just two touching examples of SpecialEffect at work, watch Peter and Elliot’s story here:
Not only do this passionate team offer support, but we learned that they are also at the forefront of developing new - and their own! - innovate technology solutions. Working closely with developers to shape the future of accessible gaming, developing eye-tracking games, and offering free developer kits and resources for both developers and gamers alike such as GameAccess, SpecialEffect Dev Kit, EyeMine and Eye Maze Games.
We were so thankful to hear some of the stories from those whose lives were so positively impacted thanks to the work of people like Nick and his amazing team; learning more about the kind of accessibility considerations transforming the lives of players and how designing for improved accessibility can better level the playing field for all gamers.
Exploring these themes on Global Accessibility Awareness Day – a day to raise awareness for access and inclusion - was incredibly touching and fitting, and thanks to the knowledge Nick shared, we all felt much more educated on a topic already so close to our hearts.
With that in mind, we’re so excited to support our friends at SpecialEffect again with another fundraiser for their upcoming Northern Masters Tournament charity!
Every year, SpecialEffect host a fundraising ‘Games Industry Fives’ five-aside football tournament to raise money and awareness for their incredible charity. We’ll proudly be taking part again in this year’s Northern Masters in Liverpool! Our previous participation has raised over £2,500 for this invaluable charity so far, and we’re excited to cheer on the team again this year on May 23rd, raising and contributing what we can for such a worthy cause.
A huge thank you to our Northern Masters Team Firesprite 2025: Wyn, Tommaso, Ricardo, Carlos, Ruslan, Kevin and Aiden, who will be representing our studio in the charity’s annual tournament - we wish them all the very best of luck!
And from our whole team - our warmest and most sincere thank you again to Nick for your time and expertise, we all truly appreciated your visit! Games are for everyone, and watching this phenomenal charity bring access to the joy, immersion and adventure that gaming can offer us all into the lives of those who they support left an impression on us all that we’ll never forget.
Read more about the charity’s very exciting announcement for Global Accessibility Awareness Day here!! And learn more about SpecialEffect, their free resources, and how to support their work here:
- SpecialEffect Website: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk
- GameAccess resources for gamedevs: https://gameaccess.info
- SpecialEffect Dev Kit: https://specialeffectdevkit.info
- One Special Day annual fundraising initiative: https://onespecialday.org.uk
- Eye Maze Games eye-tracking games catalogue: https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/how-we-can-help/eye-gaze-games
