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The terrible, fantastic life of AbleGamers COO Steven Spohn
When Twitch streamer DrDisrespect won the Trending Gamer prize at the 2017 Game Awards, there was a tiny riot on Twitter. There's always a buzz of hashtag activity after a winner is announced as people congratulate or disagree with the pick, but this time around, there was a small yet clear consensus: Steven Spohn should have won. As the Chief Operating Officer of AbleGamers, a charity working to make video games more accessible to people with disabilities, Spohn was the face of positive change in the industry. He regularly shared insightful affirmations on Twitter, as well as deeply personal stories about the realities of living with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a disease that was progressively destroying his motor neurons and muscles. Meanwhile, DrDisrespect was best known for wearing a mullet wig and mocking his teammates with racist accents in Fortnite streams.
Adapter turns power wheelchairs into Xbox controllers
The Xbox Adaptive Controller already makes gaming more accessible if you're in a wheelchair, but wouldn't it be better if you could use the wheelchair itself as a controller? You can now. AbleGamers Charity has unveiled a Freedom Wing Adapter that lets you use the joystick on a power wheelchair as an Xbox One controller. The design revolves around the combination of an adapter board and an Adafruit Feather M4 that translates the input from the joystick into commands the Adaptive Controller can understand.
Logitech unveils an affordable button kit for the Xbox Adaptive Controller
Technology companies have been making more of an effort to include gamers with disabilities in their design recently, especially with the popularity of Microsoft's Adaptive Controller for Xbox One and PC. Now, Logitech is pushing the adaptive design one step further by producing an add-on for the controller to meet more accessibility requirements.
Microsoft demos its bid at creating 'secure' voting systems
Microsoft is keen to show that its election security system is more than just a theoretical exercise. The company has demonstrated the first voting system to use its ElectionGuard tech, promising a vote that's both easier and more trustworthy. The example hardware is pieced together from off-the-shelf parts and includes a Surface tablet (in a fiddle-free kiosk mode), an everyday printer and an Xbox Adaptive Controller to make voting more accessible. That's relatively unique in itself by proving that you can use regular components, but the software is ultimately what glues it all together.
Microsoft designs an Xbox controller with Braille
Microsoft is clearly invested in adaptive gaming controllers. Its Xbox Adaptive Controller for Xbox One and PC was the star of its latest Super Bowl ad. The company spent more than a year designing accessible packaging, and it recently teamed up with the Department of Veterans Affairs to bring Xbox Adaptive Controllers to rehabilitation centers across the US. Now, it looks like Microsoft could be working on a controller for blind and visually-impaired gamers. The company filed a patent application for a controller with Braille inputs and outputs.
Xbox Adaptive Controllers will be used for veteran therapy
The Xbox Adaptive Controller might just become an important tool for some US military veterans. Microsoft and the Department of Veterans Affairs have formed a partnership that will donate controllers, consoles, games and adaptive gear to 22 Veterans Affairs rehabilitation centers across the US. The accessible gamepads will help with rehab and therapy activities focused on hand-eye coordination and muscle activation, and should help veterans both have fun and socialize.
