Fundraising for Special Effect
0 Comments Published by OneSwitch.org.uk on Friday, November 7, 2008 at 5:57 PM.
The following is taken directly from Retro Remakes a community of game programmers and huge long-term supporters of the accessible gaming movement:"As you're all no doubt aware, we've dedicated a category to getting some games made to help out the SpecialEffect Games For Helen project. Well, that's not all we fancied doing for the cause.
As well as trying to get a bunch of games banged together, we figured we'd try and go the extra mile and raise some cold hard cash for Special Effect so that they can keep on doing the damn fine work that they do in making games more inclusive and getting more young people out there playing not just our games, but games as a whole.
Now, I know there's a credit crunch, times are hard, it's coming up to Christmas and all that - I also know that not everyone has a few quid to spare. We've set the target pretty low - £500. If enough people chuck in just a few pounds then we'll get there in no time. If you can't afford to donate, and I know that with all the best will in the world sometimes you just can't give - that's fine, no pressure whatsoever people. But if you can spread the word, tell people about it - make a blog post, pass it on, then it'll help us get to that £500 target in no time and I'll be eternally grateful.
We're going through JustGiving - it's the fastest and easiest way to get your cash to the charities and to get the GiftAid for UK donations sorted. Our page is here: http://www.justgiving.com/retroremakes - it's not very pretty, but it doesn't have to be, right?
It's open for 12 months so there's plenty of time to do this and in the very near future I'll be announcing this on the front page, there'll be links on all the competition pages too.
Here's that page again: http://www.justgiving.com/retroremakes
Thanks chaps and dig as deep as you can, spread the word wherever you can. We're all gamers here of one variety or another, lets help bring some games and some smiles to some kids faces."
Retro Remakes Big Compo 2008: A Game For Helen
0 Comments Published by OneSwitch.org.uk on Thursday, August 28, 2008 at 2:13 PM.
Retro Remakes ”A Game for Helen" competition links up with the Special Effect project of the same name to bring an inclusive arcade experience to kids and young adults in the hospices Helen and Douglas House. This is especially aimed at bringing games to those who cannot play arcade type games using conventional controls due to disability.
This category of the Retro Remakes competition will be looking for entrants to create accessible updated counterparts of real or imagined arcade games from the 1920's to date. These can include mechanical, electro-mechanical and video games. Basically - anything at all you might find in an amusement arcade through the ages.
Hopes? Eye Tracker and One Switch compatible games for PCs with some good additional accessibility features/options (more on that later). Genres? Pinball, Fortune Telling Machines, Crane Machines, Fruit Machines, Bowling games, Shooting Gallery, Horse Racing games, Whack-a-mole, Shove-a-penny, Pool, Air Hockey, Pachinko, Table Football, Atari SteepleChase for one or more players, something with big explosions in, humour... Anything!
You may ask how on earth do I create a game for Eye Trackers or for a single switch? Fear not – if you have a mouse, a left-mouse button and a space bar – you have all the hardware you need. Next? Follow these links to “Design Tips For Eye Tracker Games” and “Design Tips for One Switch Games” for more.
Extra accessibility features? “Barriers in Games: Why Can’t They Play?” still stands as a very useful guide. But really - anything you can imagine. Just don’t forget to make your game fun for as many people as you can.
Useful Links:
Retro Remakes 2008 Big Compo Page
Retro Remakes Competition Forum
Retro Remakes Accessibility Assistance Forum
Labels: A Game For Helen, Charities, Competition, RR 2008
A Game for Helen - Special Effect
0 Comments Published by OneSwitch.org.uk on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 3:28 PM.
Last Friday Special Effect launched themselves formally in Oxfordshire. Here past, present and future projects were demonstrated and explained to the gathered crowd. Likely future UK Prime Minister, David Cameron was there as a speaker. He mentioned that after being shown around a nuclear submarine packed full of technology the day before, it was great to see technology that's designed for enriching people's lives, rather than for blowing them up. He also made mention of his 6 year old son who has Cerebral Palsy, and pledged to open any doors he could for the charity.Have a good look around their newly spruced web-site to learn more of their projects. I'm especially excited to be involved with the "Game for Helen" project. And again, visit their Facebook page to see photos of the recent Accessible Gaming Roadshows.
Labels: Charities
