The charity using technology so Everyone Can game together

By combining technology, training and gaming, Everyone Can helps improve and enrich the lives of disabled people.

We pulled their General Manager, Jules away from his controller to tell us more about their innovative use of technology, how they’re making gaming more accessible, and why Minecraft is so popular!

Please introduce yourself and the charity to our readers

My name is Jules and I’ve worked for the charity for over 20 years.

Everyone Can is a charity based in Sale, Greater Manchester, serving the UK and beyond. We find solutions for those who find themselves excluded from video gaming and other computer technologies.

From talking to shopping, from working to playing, technology has become an important part of life. However, instead of using technology to empower the lives of disabled people, many find themselves excluded from this integral and influential part of society. This exclusion is not by design, but often through the lack of it, as well as a lack of support and knowledge that could enable them to join in.

Everyone Can designs and develops solutions that ensure disabled people are included. We even show how disabled people can play side-by-side with their non-disabled peers, through our inclusive gaming sessions.

Can you explain how you use technology?

The technology that we use for a person often reflects the unique complexities of the person’s disability. We will often use current adapted technology such as Microsoft’s Xbox Adapted Controller, switches (buttons) that can be placed around the body to take advantage of any controlled movement a person has, and plug-in joysticks that can be placed in an accessible position. However, to play games which are designed to take advantage of how the controller is moved and controlled, we must think outside the box!

One example of how we adapt technology is how we help Amy, a teenage girl who has cerebral palsy that prevents her accessing the buttons and two joysticks found on a controller. Some of the games she would like to play involve using two joysticks, but Amy only has the range of movement needed in one arm and can only use a joystick in one place. To play the games she wants to, we designed a device that enables her to toggle the one joystick between the two needed.

If a person can’t play a game because they aren’t able to work a standard controller, we’ll design one that they can use

How does this technology help?

Gaming is fun. Gaming is liberating and gaming is social. This is why the video games industry is one of the biggest industries on the planet. We help disabled people take part in the most popular pastime out there.

The social side of gaming is often overlooked by many. Millions of people play games online and they make friends whilst doing so, as communities base themselves around the games. We also run face-to-face gaming sessions. We run over 200 a year, where around 30 people will play the latest games on the latest consoles and computers. Some of the gamers need adapted controllers and some don’t. We have many people with neurodiverse conditions or learning disabilities at our sessions and what’s more, we actively encourage friends and families to play too as part of our unique and completely inclusive policy.

You also work with some big companies

Our charity has spent nearly 50 years helping disabled people to gain access to computer technology and now we are placed at the forefront of giving them access to the world of video gaming.

We are working with two of the largest technology companies, Google and Sony, to help the games industry better understand the barriers that some disabled people have when it comes to playing their games.

We also work with colleges and universities to ensure tomorrow’s game developers think of accessibility as they design their games.

What’s the most popular game at Everyone Can?

The most popular played at our gaming sessions is tricky to answer, as the games we have available are so diverse and so many. But I would say Minecraft, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros have always been popular. Honestly, I could go on and on.

The most asked for game when a person comes to us for the first time, having never been able to play a game before, tends to be one that their siblings like to play, or a friend at school, or a well-known title such as Minecraft.

It’s like asking a person who has never tasted food before what is your favourite dish, they need to try the games before they find their own favourites. Often, we find an initial solution for them to play the game they have in mind, and then over time their controller will develop as well. So too will their taste in games as they try others and find the genre and titles that they, as an individual, like to play the most.

Gaming is fun. Gaming is liberating and gaming is social

What’s your favourite game?

My favourite is Sea of Thieves and Age of Empires 2. I try to push these games at our gaming sessions so I can play them too, but often without success!

Find out more about Everyone Can at www.everyonecan.org.uk

You can book their child gaming sessions (aged five to eighteen) and adult gaming sessions online at www.everyonecan.org.uk/what-we-do/gaming-sessions