Something Special

The Stargaze Plus project, which centres around this sort of Eye Gaze technology, is at the extreme end of what the team do, both in cost (a unit can cost anything from £6000 to £20,000) and capabilities. Some of their other clients are just gamers who have struggled for years, or people who have been recently disabled and want to return to the pastime they enjoyed so much prior to their accident or illness.

Recently Bill has been working with a client who was disabled racing in the Isle Of Man TT event, and argues that while he needs less time and equipment than someone using one of the Eye Gaze systems, he's just as much in need of help.

"Since he's been home from the hospital he's been playing games, but on each of his games, he showed me, he's stuck at a certain level because he needs a little bit more dexterity to get past that certain bit of the game," explains Bill.

"So we're just finding a way to adjust the controllers so he can reach some new stuff. Like moving triggers round to the side so he can actually use them. So for some people its just a case of tweaking a controller, but for me they're just as important, as a gamer."

Mick agrees, showing me photos of a small girl called Ellie whose spinal condition meant the Wii controller was too heavy for her, so they adapted it by removing the battery pack.

We're interested in the leisure side of things but also the therapeutic benefits.

Dr Mick Donegan

"For some people it's kind of everything, from being able to do nothing at all to all of a sudden being able to play computer games, but in a way it's just as important for people who have always been frustrated at not being able to play at the level they'd like to, to really look in detail and take it up another level, is also hugely important."

And in some cases there can be unexpected bonuses that come from the team's hard work. Matt Hampson, the charity's patron, was an England Under 21 player when a training accident left him paralysed from the next down. Since learning to control games with head movements, he's noticed an improvement in the strength and tone of his neck muscles.

"We're interested in the leisure side of things but also the therapeutic benefits," points out Mick.

"Bill's working with a guy at a rehabilitation hospital for children where we're looking at controlling a computer as a way to improve their control, their ability to move their hands.They finding that far more motivating than going to the physio and doing exercises, and that's what its all about."

Looking at all the hard work, the busy days, the travelling and the frustrations of so many people to help with limited resources, and you have to ask yourself why anyone would do this. For Mick the answer is simple - people needed it.

"I did a project with another charity to see whether it was needed or not, to see how much this kind of technology was needed and basically we were overwhelmed by people who were desperate to play games. I decided that we must start a charity to meet that need."

His experience meant that he knew what technology was available, and the best way to adapt it for gaming. But, for an industry that appears cutting edge, games is lagging behind the assistive market.

"I realised actually gaming for people with disabilities is actually quarter of a century behind, other kinds of technology. Whether you look at wheelchair technology, or whether to you look at communication technology for people with disabilities, there's some serious catching up to do."

Not that he's pretending that it's all halos and smiling children, often the team's work means dealing with very ill people, or those who have just been in a life destroying accident and are at their lowest point.

"It's really demanding," he admits.

"It's demanding physically, it's demanding emotionally as well, I mean it really hit me when the guy with motor neurone disease passed, because it came completely out of the blue."

"But you get a high from people when you can help them, and you get a high from the people that support you."

And supporting them is so easy to do, especially when you're already part of the industry. Helping doesn't have to be a case of just signing a cheque or running a marathon. The team are keen for any sort of assistance the people can offer, starting with something as simple as putting them on a mailing list to receive promotional copies of newly released game, a simple move that can save them up to £50 a time.

"We don't want 15 copies, just one or two for us to be able to test, and then to loan out," says Nick.

And while fund-raising is vital to continue to the charity's work and to provide new equipment like the Eye Gaze systems that can cost up to £20,000 a time, the team also have another, simple request of developers.

One thing, to help the people that we're trying to help, is to just contact us.

Dr Mick Donegan

"One thing, to help the people that we're trying to help, is to just contact us," ask Mick.

"If they're interested in either when they update a game, or if its FIFA 2013 for example, they can get in touch before it comes out so that we can make some suggestions or at the point at which they're developing a game."

He points out the actual time and effort to make these tweaks is often minimal, but can make a huge difference to the levels of accessibility for disabled gamers.

Right now developers can access documents on the SpecialEffect site that list five simple steps for making a game accessible, with simple steps like adding new speed or difficulty settings, visual and audio aids, control schemes that can be easily remapped to suit special controllers and making those accessibility features clear to consumers.