Global Accessibility Awareness Day is event that takes place on the third Thursday of every May, with the goal of raising awareness about digital accessibility. Every successive year the games industry has been embracing it to ever greater levels
Even with the usual in-person events still not being possible, 2021 saw the biggest involvement yet by far by the games industry. Rather than raising awareness it felt like a festival, a celebration of inclusion. Including personal stories from gamers, announcements of new featuresets, initiatives and resources, articles, streams, and much much more.
There was so much happening that it was hard to keep track of . So here's a handy list!
If you want to help keep the momentum going, have a skim through, pick your favourite, share it on.
Accessibility Days
Talks on a development platform for blind accessible games, and the development of a spaghetti western audiogame
https://twitter.com/a11y_days/status/1392048742199701505
AccessU
Keynote talk on the good in gaming, by Tara Voelker
https://knowbility.org/programs/accessu-2021/keynote-and-lunch-may-19
Talk by Steven Lambert on designing accessible games
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1SLTyNt_I13JncW-Pu4LKkMzhLcx3f1KFr3cNpUAq0XY/edit#slide=id.p
Activision Blizzard
Article showcasing the accessibility work of Adrian Letta (Toys for Bob), Nikki Crenshaw (Blizzard), and Emilio Jéldrez (King)
https://activisionblizzard.com/newsroom/2021/05/Global-Accessibility-Awareness-Day-Inclusive-Design-Matters
Alan Zucconi
Thread of tips and resources
https://twitter.com/AlanZucconi/status/1395389196228042757
Allied podcast
Episode with Belén Agulló García, discussing the importance of accessible gaming and immersive experiences.
https://twitter.com/Belen_Translate/status/1395277383855394818
Améliane Chiasson
Post-GAAD beer/tea meetup
https://twitter.com/AmelianeFC/status/1394368940797743113
Apple
App store accessible games showcase
https://apps.apple.com/at/story/id1561031340?l=en
Barrie Ellis (OneSwitch)
Accessible gaming lucky dip collection of recent news
https://switchgaming.blogspot.com/2021/05/gaad-2021-lucky-dip.html
And some game accessibility history from he early 1970s
https://twitter.com/OneSwitch/status/1395393425177026570
And earlier still
https://twitter.com/GamingMuseum/status/1395468709800591360
Barrierefreiheit in Deutschland
Panel discussion with Felix Falk (Game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche) Maxi Gräff (Xbox DACH) Rebekka Niederländer (Mixtvision) and Dennis Winkens (WheelyWorld), and screening of a film created as a collaboration between Xbox DACH and the
German Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired
https://twitter.com/ErdundBaer/status/1395327783010701314
BBC
Talk from Vivek Gohil and a panel with Nu McAdam, Andrew Bromilow and Brannon Zahand
https://twitter.com/BBCa11y/status/1394949500234616833
Bend Studio
Blog post showcasing features in Days Gone
https://www.bendstudio.com/blog
Be Player One
Week long talk showcase
https://twitter.com/be_player_1
Ben Bayliss
Thread of his favourite accessibility focussed articles and a bit about his journey
https://twitter.com/Ben_Bayliss/status/1394980315530137606
BrookLAN Esports Lounge
Announcement of XACs and other accessibility options from day 1 of the facility opening
https://twitter.com/BrookLAN_NY/status/1395391119098318849
CanIPlayThat
Thread from Courtney Craven on intersectionality and the future of the site
https://twitter.com/CyclopediaBrain/status/1395350840454565889
Data on the growth of the site
https://twitter.com/CyclopediaBrain/status/1394695096084439045
Codec
Article and one-pager poster on how gaming is emerging as a leading space in inclusive design and progressive thinking
https://blog.codec.ai/PLAY
Crayta
Thread of tips and resources on how to make gmes made with the Crayta platform more accessible
https://twitter.com/CraytaGame/status/1395327787821568004
DAGERSystem
PS5 giveaway, with lots of lovely stories being shared on the #DAGERSystemGAAD twitter hashtag
https://twitter.com/DAGERSYSTEM/status/1394729775650906112
Announcement of the Accessibility Games Database
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andyrobertson/2021/05/20/new-accessibility-database-aids-discovery-of-suitable-video-games/?sh=38ccfe802f91
Diamond award given to Miles Morales
https://dagersystem.com/2020-diamond-award-winner-marvels-spider-man-miles-morales/
David Libeau
PhD project that aims to offer auto-generated audio description for streamed footage
https://twitter.com/DavidLibeau/status/1395273555114405892
Doublefine
A close look at the various accessibility features in Psychonauts 2
https://twitter.com/DoubleFine/status/1395512738529566720
Family Video Game Database
Launch of accessibility tag search and accessibility reports, in partnership with the VSC ratings board
https://www.askaboutgames.com/news/global-accessibility-awareness-day-gaad-new-accessibility-tools-aid-video-game-discovery
Showcase of games enjoyed by autistic people, put together in collaboration with Autistica's Play Ambassadors
https://twitter.com/TamingGamingDB/status/1395382684214562818
Fox News
Interview with Randy "N0M4D" Fitzgerald
https://twitter.com/FOX9/status/1395381053888544773
Frankfurter Allgemeine
Article by Melanie "melly maeh" Eilert, including chat with Jan Wawrzik of Ubisoft
https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/medien/barrierefreiheit-im-videospiel-damit-alle-spielen-koennen-17349109-p3.html
Game Maker's Toolkit
Tips for making YouTube videos more accessible
https://twitter.com/gamemakerstk/status/1395316932900003841
Game Verband der Deutschen Games-Branche
Germany's games industry body sharing research showing that 7.6 million German gamers are disabled, 10% of whom use assistive devices
https://twitter.com/game_verband/status/1395320896697499651
Globo
30 minute TV show on game accessibility (Portuguese)
https://globoplay.globo.com/v/9096805/programa/
Grimoire Groves
Footage of colourblind simulation testing
https://twitter.com/GrimoireGroves/status/1395288189431017474
Hannah Elizabeth
Twitch stream highlighting accessible games
https://mobile.twitter.com/luneetetoiles6/status/1395538482681024521
Humphrey "nohandsnoexcuses" Hanley
Full day of Twitch fun
https://twitter.com/nohandsnoexcuse/status/1395136854148542465
Hunterson Studio
Announcement of accessibility featureset for Mine 2 the Beat
https://twitter.com/HuntersonStudio/status/1395372754430566402
Ian Hamilton
Annual GAAD game accessibility trivia quiz
https://forms.gle/KaiWBb1otnizL1B68
IGDA Game Accessibility SIG
GAconf accessibility quotes screensaver
https://igda-gasig.org/what-and-why/accessibility-quotes-screensaver/
Game accessibility top ten refresh
https://igda-gasig.org/how/sig-top-ten/
IGEA
Accessibility category for Austrian Game Developer Awards, and reworking of accessibility criteria for all other categories
https://mobile.twitter.com/The_AGDAs/status/1395541683383664643
Imaginary Friends Games
Unveiling of captioning functionality for important sounds
https://twitter.com/GamesFriendo/status/1395410709811499009
Insomniac
Long tweet thread announcing the full accessibility featureset for Ratchet and Clank
https://twitter.com/insomniacgames/status/1395407201355845633
Internet Matters
Guide for gamers on some of the ways games can be made more accessible
https://www.internetmatters.org/hub/guidance/accessibility-video-games-designed-for-everyone/
Inverse
Showcase of ten accessible games
https://www.inverse.com/gaming/best-accessible-games-gaad-2021/amp
Jameson Durall
Twitch chat with Tara Voelker
https://twitter.com/JamesonDurall/status/1395016150266826757
Jesse "IllegallySighted" Anderson
Showcase of past content
https://twitter.com/BGFH79/status/1395368881661775877
KindaFunny
Steve Saylor co-hosting
https://twitter.com/stevesaylor/status/1394740874735669254
Knights of the Braille
Announcement of a new accessibility awareness event for tabletop games this october, called Everyone Games
https://twitter.com/brailleknights/status/1395323616070447107
Kyle "onehandmostly" Abbate
Week long highlighting of accessibility features that are important to him
https://twitter.com/search?q=%40onehandmostly%20day%20week&src=typed_query&f=live
Level Access
Chief accessibility officer Jonathan Avila shares why game accessibility matters to him
https://www.twitter.com/LevelAccessA11y/status/1395559410932625412
Logitech G
Creator spotlight twitch stream series, with Jay Justice, Radderssgami
