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As a disabled person and avid gamer, I'm really pleased to welcome you to Scope and delighted that you are part of this group.

Over the past year we've seen a huge growth in different ways many of us are staying connected with friends, family and loved ones. Gaming is being seen as less and less as a niche hobby and more and more a powerful way to connect with one another and have fun.

For those of us who have been shielding, or who have family who are shielding, getting online into virtual worlds can be the only escape we have.

At Scope we know how important communities - whether physical or virtual - are in providing disabled people up and down the country with a sense of independence, and in tackling isolation and loneliness that sadly many in this country are experiencing.

With this project we want to help tackle this.

We want to use gaming for good.

We want to create something that provides a meaningful contribution to the gaming world and brings together communities of disabled and non-disabled gamers who are committed to equality for disabled people.

And we want to work side by side with you - hearing about your experiences, your expertise and your views to do just that.

At Scope we know that to achieve change we need to work and produce together with the millions of disabled people up and down the country and, around the world. We need to have diversity in our thinking, accessibility at the heart and equality running through everything. We cant create things on our own, nor do we want to. And no one person is more important than any other.

So your role in this group, as an equal partner, is to help us and to challenge us create a project that gets all of us gaming for good.

Who we are

We’re Scope, the disability equality charity and we won’t stop until we achieve a society where all disabled people enjoy equality and fairness. At home. At school. At work. In our communities. We provide practical advice and emotional support to disabled people and their families whenever they need it most. We use our collective power to change attitudes and end injustice. And we campaign relentlessly to create a fairer society.

Why we exist

• There are 14 million disabled people in the UK – 22 % of the population.
• Disabled people are over twice as likely to be unemployed.
• On average, disabled adults face extra costs of £583 per month.
• Half of disabled people feel excluded from society.
• 72% of parents of disabled children have experienced mental health problems.
• 58% of disabled people have experienced bullying or discrimination at work associate with their impairment or condition.

We have a range of practical and emotional support services for disabled people and their families to access, including our employment services, helpline and family services.

Hi, I’m Graham and I’m the Co-Production Lead at Scope. This means I make sure all the work we do at Scope involves and includes the expertise of disabled people.

I'm really excited you've joined our Gaming for Good group. I identify as a disabled person and I’ve worked on disability rights issues for most of my career.

I can't wait to see what fundraising event the group develops for the gaming community. Thank you for being a part of this and hopefully we'll get the opportunity to meet in some of the sessions.  

Co-production at Scope

At Scope, we’ve made the courageous commitment to embed co-production into all areas of the organisation. It’s essential that disabled people inform and steer our work so that what we focus on are the issues that matter most to disabled people and their families. Co-producing our work with disabled people means we will move towards everyday equality both within our own ways of working, and what we challenge outwardly too.

Scope has adopted 4 co-production principles to help guide our work.

• Disabled people and their families are actively considered as partners from the very beginning through to the end of a project or activity.
• Decisions and responsibilities are shared between everyone who has a stake in a project or activity.
• Disabled people’s lived experience and expertise is valued.
• The relevance, focus and impact of all our activity should directly benefit from doing co-production with the people we serve.

Gaming for Good, as it’s known within the charity sector, has been popular in the US for several years, with many charities seeing great success from investing time and money in developing their own gaming fundraisers.

In the UK, the uptake has been a little slower, however in recent years, and especially now with the impact of Coronavirus, many more charities are turning to gaming as a way of reaching new audiences, fundraising and raising awareness of their cause.

In light of the impact of Coronavirus, the Scope Public Fundraising team have recently developed a new Community and Events strategy, with a view to developing new Scope-owned fundraising activities and events. Gaming and livestreaming are key areas posing opportunity for fundraising while providing a positive impact for disabled people.

The project so far

Gaming is a completely new area for Scope, so our focus so far has been on learning and research. We’ve conducted market research across the charity sector looking at other gaming fundraising activities that already exist, as well as learning more about the gaming industry as a whole.

Audience Insights

At the end of last year, we commissioned a survey focussing on disabled and non-disabled gamers in England and Wales.

Our 4 main research goals were to:

• Understand who gamers are and identify Scope's key audience
• Understand people’s behaviour around gaming, and their motivations for playing. Understand how this may have changed as a result of the pandemic. Understand any differences in behaviour between disabled and non-disabled gamers. 
• Understand any issues or barriers disabled gamers face, and their perception of the gaming industry. Pinpoint what matters most and what they’d like to see change.
• Understand gamers’ previous charity interactions and propensity to support in the future (including non-financial support) .

The findings from this research, along with your gaming experience and input to the co-production group, will be instrumental in shaping our fundraising event/activity and will be discussed in future co-production group meetings.

The Gaming Co-Production Group will be fundamental in shaping Scope's Gaming for Good offering. Group members will be asked to draw upon their own experiences to:

• Identify opportunities for public fundraising within gaming and livestreaming.
• Identify key accessibility considerations and features for potential fundraising events/ activities.
• Share expertise and their own personal experience around audience motivations and behaviours.
• Share expertise and their own personal experience around accessibility, representation, and socialising through gaming.

The chair of the Group will provide guidance and support on how to go about these activities.

Specific tasks will include:

• Reading information in advance of meetings in order to stay updated and make comments in meetings
• Reviewing and commenting on materials and resources
• Providing suggestions and feedback on features, concept, messaging and creative
• Examining marketing strategies and content to target disabled audiences and making recommendations

Scope's Commitment

Scope will facilitate the Group to deliver a joint approach to the accessibility of the product development process.

We will:

• Provide clear written agenda and guidance before meetings
• Offer ongoing telephone and email support if necessary
• Offer to financially reward members for their contributions (please see below)
• Ensure that all processes and meetings are accessible for every participant
• Send monthly email updates to all members
• Adhere to our 4 principles of co-production
• Group Member Commitments

Member commitment

We expect that members will:

• Make reasonable efforts to attend all meetings
• Prepare themselves for each meeting by reading through materials that we provide in advance
• Actively contribute to group discussions and workshop activities
• Be inclusive in how they discuss and talk through ideas and make contributions
• In the unlikely event of a serious disagreement, respect that sign-off decisions are the responsibility of Scope staff
• Treat all documents and personal experiences shared as confidential (unless clearly indicated otherwise)
• Sign an agreement where all parties agree to not disclose commercially sensitive information

SightlessKombat

I’m SightlessKombat (feel free to call me Sightless, Kombat or SK, whatever you prefer). I’m an accessibility consultant and gamer without sight (having never had any sight).

I work with both the software and hardware sectors providing feedback on how they can improve their current and future projects. My work also involves writing product reviews which are published on my website and creating YouTube content for my channel (including highlights from my live streams on Twitch).

I believe that whatever videogames you want to play, whether you have full sight or none at all, you should be able to do so completely on your own terms thanks to accessibility.

Chris Goodyear

Chris Goodyear is a deaf developer and freelance producer who started his own company, Many Cats Studios, to help bridge the gap between disabled and neurodiverse people and the games industry.

He is passionate about highlighting the amazing skills and talents of disabled and neurodiverse people within the industry and ensuring everyone has a platform for their voice.

Harriet Frayling

I’m Harriet, and I can talk for hours about cognitive accessibility given half a chance.

I’m a graduate of videogames production and design, focusing my final dissertation on inclusive games production processes, because accessible games come about much easier when you have disabled people involved in the development cycle.

I'm an AutisticaPlay Ambassador, advocating for the representation of Autistic people in the games industry.

Ian Hamilton

Game accessibility specialist with a 15 year background in raising the bar for gamers with disabilities, though advocacy and awareness raising – writing, speaking, organising events, community building and consulting, working with studios from the smallest indies to the largest AAAs, with publishers, platforms, industry and government bodies.

Co-director of GA Conf and coordinator of the Game Accessibility Guidelines website.

Just looking to be of assistance in any way that might be possible, such as event accessibility, connections with developers, gamers or industry bodies, or longer-term advocacy goals.

Lysander 'Anders' Hugo

Hi there!

I'm Anders, a 22 year old biochemistry student. I've been gaming since I was a kid, with a fondness for story-driven RPG games and strategy/simulation games.

I look forward to meeting you all!

Phoebe Gibbons

Hi, I’m Phoebe and I’m thrilled and excited to be part of the Co-Production gaming group for Scope.

I’ve grown up playing PlayStation and have had access to PlayStation 1, 2, 3 and 4. I’ve been able to observe how the games and quality of the console itself have developed over time.

I usually play FIFA as I love football but also play Call of Duty occasionally. I think one of the main reasons I enjoy playing these games is because the activities that the games portray are not as easily accessible to me in the real world due to my Cerebral Palsy.

I very much look forward to sharing experiences and learning new things and hope to be able to support the development of a gaming fundraising event for Scope. I would like to thank Scope for the opportunity to participate in this and look forward to working with everyone involved.  

Thines Ganeshamoorthy

Hi, I’m Thines, 27 from London and a Civil Servant. I’m in Year 1 of the Civil Service Fast Stream Graduate Programme. I also have a rare genetic disorder known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (Brittle Bones Disease) Type 4. Consequently, I’m more prone to fractures than the average person, thus far I’ve had in excess of 200 fractures.

I have been involved with Scope in a variety of ways since 2017, including user testing content for Scope’s website as well as engaging in sessions with the research panel. I’m thrilled to have the chance to work on this project with you all.

My foray into the world of gaming began in my early years out of necessity but has since turned into a passion and hobby. Lengthy hospital admissions, combined with equally long recovery times meant spending a lot of time on my own and very little time with others my age. This led to gaming becoming more than just a pastime, it was an escape and a lifeline.

The COVID pandemic has led to more of us turning to gaming and has become a predominate pastime for many as we wait through these uncertain time. The pandemic has certainly bought innovations such cloud based gaming and entertainment through streaming (both as a viewer and as a streamer) into more of our homes at a relatively affordable pricing structure. However, it has also drawn attention to how far the industry still has to go towards achieving true accessibility, inclusivity and being truly reflective of all aspects of society and life.

I look forward to engaging with this conversation as part of the wider remit of this project as well as supporting Scope and the group in innovating in this space to come up with a new gaming event to fundraise and raise awareness of great charities such as Scope in a way that works for us.

Vivek Gohil

Vivek Gohil is a gaming accessibility consultant/advocate, content creator and journalist for Eurogamer. He lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and has been a wheelchair user for 20 years.

Vivek started working with Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK) Trailblazers at 18, campaigning for disabled equality and access - in topics like transport, cinemas and education both at the local level and even to Parliament.

Through MDUK, Vivek worked with Microsoft to test their Xbox Adaptive Controller before launch, it was fortuitous because at that time he stopped gaming due to accessibility issues. When he discovered the accessibility community, he also found his calling in improving the gaming experience for all gamers.