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Ablegamers Announces Player Panels Initiative

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Published: June 28, 2017 10:40 AM

Ablegamers, a charity focused on empowering disabled gamers through various initiatives, has announced the Player Panels initiative to help increase the accessibility of video games by working directly with developers and disabled gamers.

Player Panels is an effort to get gamers with disabilities on board as part of a team of players with firsthand knowledge of accessibility issues. The core requirements for joining the program are that you must have a disability that affects your gaming and that you enjoy video games. Participating disabled gamers won't have to do anything out of the goodness of their hearts, either - Ablegamers will be doing their best to ensure that participants are compensated for their time and the firsthand knowledge of the subject.

The program is a result of a collaboration with the University of York as well as partnerships with gaming publishers and developers both small and large. Every year, Ablegamers fields calls and e-mails from universities, developers, publishers, and other organizations that are looking for gamers with disabilities for various reasons. The program was created to serve these needs for the benefit of improving games for disabled gamers and conducting research while also protecting the privacy and dignity of the participants. All organizations that work with Ablegamers through the Player Panels program are vetted by the Foundation prior to being given access to any information of the participants.

If you have the time and energy to participate in the Ablegamers' Player Panels program, simply head on over to the project's page and fill out the form at the bottom of the page.

What do you think of Ablegamers' efforts to improve the accessibility of video games? Which developers & publishers do you think do the best job of ensuring that their games can be played by people who live with disabilities? Let us know in the comments below!

A photograph of TechRaptor Senior Writer Robert N. Adams.
| Senior Writer

One of my earliest memories is playing Super Mario Bros. on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've had a controller in my hand since I was 4 and I… More about Robert N