At long last we have reached the final level in our Accessibility In Gaming series. In the season finale of our podcast series, I sit down to talk with Aksel Englund. Aksel Englund works for Mojang Studio where he works as a UX and accessibility designer on Minecraft. Aksel started making games, because he believes games are something everybody should get to experience no matter who they are. Aksel has over ten years worth of experience working with accessibility outside of the gaming industry. Aksel helps create prosthetics and tools together with and for people living with physical disabilities. Aksel believes it is thanks to this experience that has helped him learn how to think about accessibility in a much broader manner. If you want to learn more about Aksel and all of his work then please visit his website at https://www.akselenglund.com. create

In part eleven of my accessibility in gaming series, I sit down with Rosie Taylor of Safe In OUr World. Rosie is the Content & Community Manager at Safe In Our World, which is a non-profit based out of the United Kingdom. The goal of Safe In Our World is to create and foster worldwide mental health awareness within the video game industry. Additionally, Safe In Our World focuses on eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health by making it a natural topic. Rosie and I talk at length about the impact video games have on our mental health. Additionally, I talk to Rosie about the Good Game Playbook, which is a partnership between Safe In Our World and Ubisoft that focuses on combating toxicity in online gaming. If you would like to learn more about Safe In Our World then please visit their website at https://safeinourworld.org. If you want to learn more about Rosie Taylor then follow them on Twitter @rtparty3 or find them on LinkedIn at https://uklinkedin.com/in/rosie-taylor-3179bb1a5.

It is time for part ten of my accessibility in gaming series. So get excited! In level ten, I sit down with Huw Millward the developer of War Sim: The Realm Of Aslona. War Sim is a deep and rich text based kingdom management game unlike anything else. Complete with charming graphics it is up to you to navigate the millions of procedurely generated races, events, and environments. With a huge emphasis on player choice no day of playing the game will ever be the same. Did I mention that the game is accessible and playable for gamers who are totally blind. Huw and I talk about his motivation for becoming an independent game developer, and what games helped influence War Sim. I talk at length with Huw on what motivated him to add accessibility features for blind gamers to his game. Additionally, Huw shares with me how big of a role the audio game community played in helping to guide him on always making sure the game is playable for blind gamers. If you would like to follow and support Huw Millward then make sure to find him on Twitter at https://x.com/HuwMillward.

You can find the link to the War Sim steam page pinned in his bio.

It is time to take my Accessibility In Gaming series off of pause and press start once again. In part nine of my accessibility in gaming series, I sit down with the wonderful Jenna "Jennissary." Jenna works as a producer for live and interactive audio description at Descriptive Video Works. Jenna is the industry's leading expert on in-game audio description. Jenna has spoken at JAMTL, the Game Accessibility Conference, and has guest lectured at UCL. Jenna has produced audio description for major titles (Mortal Kombat One and Spider Man 2), events (The Game Awards and Xbox Showcases), and event trailers. If you are working on a project that is in need of audio description then please reach out to Descriptive Video Works. To contact Descriptive Video Works visit their website at https://descriptivevideoworks.com.

In part eight of my twelve part accessibility in gaming series, I sit down with the great and powerful May Wong. May Wong is the Lead Designer for Interior Night and the Lead Designer on As Dusk Falls. I will bury the lead here by saying As Dusk Falls is one of the best blind accessible games I have ever played. I talk to May about how they got into the gaming industry, and how they started working for Interior Night. Obviously May and I talk extensively about As Dusk Falls, and they explain what the inspiration for the game was. Additionally, I ask May what convinced them to include accessibility features in As Dusk Falls. Furthermore, I ask May how it feels to have the game recieve world recognition for its accessibility. This interview means so much to me, because I get to talk with the Lead Designer of one of my favorite accessible games. If you or anyone would like to learn more about As Dusk Falls then visit https://www.asduskfalls.com.

In part seven of my twelve part accessibility in gaming series, I sit down to talk with Jesse Anderson AKA Illegally Sighted. Jesse or Illegally Sighted is a technology, gaming, and XR accessibility advocate and consultant. When Jesse is not busy advocating for accessibility in the digital sector, Jesse works as an assistive technology instructor. Jesse helps teach transitional students how to learn and master the various assistive technology available to the visually impaired. Jesse and I talk about his fondest memories concerning video games, in addition to why gaming was so therapeutic for him growing up as a blind gamer. Jesse shares with me how he started uploading video game related content to his YouTube channel, and how he leveraged his social media presence into a consulting career. If I had to pick a stand out moment from this episode then it would be the discussion Jesse and I have on accessibility in virtual reality. I hope you all enjoy Level 7 of my accessibility in gaming series! You can find Jesse everywhere and anywhere on social media under the name Illegally Sighted. Please check out his YouTube channel over at https://m.youtube.com/user/illegallysighted.

In part six of my twelve part accessibility in gaming series, I talk to Bjorn and Zoey who are the Global Product Managers for Tobii Dynavox. Tobii Dynavox is a global team that works to help people with communication and mobility challenges live bolder and richer lives. Tobii Dynavox's technology benefits those who use it, in addition to the people around them. Tobii Dynavox empowers people with complex communication and mobility needs to decide on what they want to say and do. I would like to dedicate this episode to my dear friend Komori. Komori was a VTuber and content creator living with Muscular Distrophy. Sadly in January of 2023 she lost her battle to Muscular Distrophy, and I miss her every day. Komori did not have the ability to communicate nor move on her own. However, thanks to eye tracking technology created by Tobii Dynavox she was able to continue playing games and entertaining her followers. It would mean a lot to me if you listened to this episode and learned just how much Tobii Dynavox empowers people like Komori.

It is time to press start and begin the second core of my accessibility in gaming series. In level five I sit down with solo developer Alex Leone who is developing the blind accessible game Upheaval. Upheaval is a text-based open-world rogue like adventure game where every decision you make matters. Alex and I talk about his childhood love for gaming and how from a young age he was invested in learning how games were created. Alex shares with me how his brother unintentionally inspired him to go all-in on being a developer. I talk extensively with Alex on why he decided to focus on accessibility for his game. Additionally, Alex shares with me how gamers who are visually impaired encouraged him to make Upheaval accessible. Alex is a dear friend of mine, and I have played several builds of Upheaval personally. I believe Alex is creating a wonderful game so please consider supporting Upheaval! If you would like to play the demo for Upheaval then please visit https://store.steampowered.com/app/2253300/Upheaval/