keith-knight
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On the ground at the League of Legends World Championships
It was about 1 p.m. at the Staples Center on Friday, and there was already a crowd. Five hours later, the mass of people would swell to many times the size, as security officers struggled to cram people into the building. At first glance, one could confuse the fans flooding the street as normal sports fans, but then you notice the cosplayers, the Intel-sponsored jerseys and an enormous Tryndamere statue. The Staples Center was packed to the gills with fans all eager to watch one thing: the final matches to determine who would walk away with the Summoner's Cup and the title of League of Legends World Champions.
Free for All: An interview with disabled gamer Keith 'Aieron' Knight
There are literally millions of disabled citizens in the United States alone. How many of these millions play games or would love to if the developers and hardware manufacturers provided more options for control and accessibility? During my time volunteering with Ablegamers.com, I learned a lot about how disabled gamers are often ignored or simply forgotten during the making of a title. Despite the fact that MMOs are generally more accessible than, say, the latest FPS, the community and developers still have a long way to go. Don't tell that to Keith "Aieron" Knight. Besides having a killer name, he hasn't let his muscular dystrophy stop him at all. Recently he gained a bit of fame after being promoted by the official Guild Wars 2 and AbleGamers Twitter accounts. It turns out he was streaming his gameplay live, along with his webcam, as he played games to raise money for research. When I first tuned in to watch, he had over 3,000 viewers. The chat was mostly civil and showed just how educational it can be to show how a disabled player actually accesses a game. Many in the chat room didn't believe it was real. Why? Well, because Knight can pretty much kick some butt in both Guild Wars 2 and League of Legends... all while playing by using a pen in his mouth and his cheek on the mouse. I had to ask this guy some questions!
