Tag Archives: gamer

Inspirational Gamer of the Week: Keith “Aieron” Knight

Posted by Chad Knick on

It’s been ages since I’ve posted one of these, but this story hit my desk this morning and I felt compelled to share it:

How many of us have lost loved ones to some form of physical disability? – some form of debilitating disease? Well in the case of Keith Knight – he’s losing many. He, along with many of his friends, deal with a variation of muscular dystrophy. Knight, though not having dystrophy himself, suffers from a condition known as Amyoplasia Arthrogrypos. This condition caused him to be born with less muscle mass than he was supposed to be born with. The condition has worsened over time – causing his joints to stiffen and fuse. He has an intimate and close relation with those of the MDA community. A friend of his recently passed away due to complications with the disease. In honor of his friend’s passing it has inspired him to take a stand for the MDA community in one of the most positive ways I can ever dream up.

This guy is truly a Legend in my book!

He intends to play games for charity.

Knight has been streaming his play sessions of Guild Wars 2 and League of Legends  in efforts to raise money for Walk for Muscular Dystrophy that took place in Canada on Sept. 22nd, 2012. Now certainly we’ve heard of people playing games to raise money for charity. I make mention of it all the time on here, but why is this special to me? – because of how Knight does what he does! You would never think that he could play like he does because of his stiff joints and lessened mobility, but he has found a way to make himself competitive despite his physical hardships. I’ll gladly try and embed the stream link on this article for you all to follow today and tomorrow. This guy is fantastic and an inspiring hero for people struggling with this disease.

He may not be able to walk, but his message will reach millions.

He uses his face for all of the inputs! He uses his chin to move the joysticks, and his nose and lips to input button presses. He has since moved on to PC gaming, as you can clearly see, but he still remains competitive. He places the mouse next to his cheek and uses a pen to provide for the button inputs! He’s remarkable and Keith, if you get a chance to read this, just know that I love what you’re doing man. You are truly an inspiration – not only to the MDA community – but to people around the world. I admire you for your strength and positive outlook in times of hardship and I can’t wait to show your video to everyone to get the word out.

So, please, if you have a moment – stop by his Twitch.tv thread and watch him play.

It’s pretty amazing to watch, and thank you to all who donated to this wonderful cause – Keith raised over $ 7,797.00!

Keith – more power to you man! I noticed in the article that you’re an aspiring game designer: Let me know when you graduate man. I would love to work with you some day, as I’m sure many of my fellow readers would as well. You are truly someone special and meaningful to this world sir!

Inspirational Gamer of the Week: Quadilious – Quadriplegic WoW Player

Posted by Chad Knick on

Well, I’ve been digging the inter-webs and last week was a difficult one to find any new inspirational gamers abound. Low and behold though, I was able to scrounge up a wonderful story [ and even though he’s been a gamer that’s been covered for a couple of years now ] I’m proud to be covering Quadilious’ story on Gastrogamer this week! Now – what’s so special about Quadilious that makes me admire him as an inspirational gamer? Well, to start, ‘Quadilious’ has been playing World of Warcraft [ WoW ] since 2006, and he’s been doing so as a quadriplegic gamer!

Please watch in FULL SCREEN. His video is hard to read if you’re watching it on screen.

He has a spinal cord injury that he suffered during a diving accident that affected his vertebrae. The injury affects his motor skills in his arms and hands, not just lack of movement in his legs. This, to most people, would be looked as a major issue when it comes to gaming, but somehow, Quadilious has overcome his struggles and he’s been playing as a part of DPS raids for years now. He’s been helping to form his own resource website for other WoW disabled gamers.

A WoW’er that makes me go: ‘Wow! I’m so blessed to know his story!’

Quadilious’ Resource Website

I think this is great, because even though it hasn’t been up for many years, it shows off some solutions to how quadriplegic gamers can get involved with PC gaming. You can check out his website, and I would also suggest that you check out the full interview articles from WoWInsider. They share a lot of wonderful inspirational gamer stories of gamers who play World of Warcraft. I’ll probably be covering a couple of other great stories like this, but I personally think it’s fantastic when I see a fellow gamer reaching out to his gaming community!

WoW Insider: Quadilious Interview #1

WoW Insider: Quadilious Interview #2

So here’s to you Quadilious! So glad to see you’ve found happiness and joy in sharing your story and gameplay with others and I am so inspired by you, because despite your hardships you seem to have truly found a happiness through gaming and the community around you! Congrats man and I wish you the best in your future WoW playing!

Inspirational Gamer of the Week: Giddeon

Posted by Chad Knick on

Now most of you who have been following recently have heard me talk about the Able Gamers Foundation – how I love them and how I’m honored that I’ll be getting a chance to work with them in the very near future, well today is no different and, in fact, I’m humbled in the presence of this next Inspirational Gamer of the Week.

The Able Gamer’s Foundation met this kid named Giddeon at one of their Accessibility Arcades that they hold down in Atlantic City, and this story seriously made me cry.

This kid is amazing. So glad he’s getting to enjoy gaming!

Giddeon was born with a rare birth defect that caused the bones in his arms to have stunted growth. This resulted in only a few fingers forming on one arm. This caused Giddeon to be especially shy towards the idea of playing video games. He felt that holding controllers was a difficult experience, and so Mark Barlett sat him down with the Adroit Switchblade controller. Giddeon loved it and after a while Barlett wanted to show Giddeon other gaming alternatives for his condition. He demonstrated the Microsoft Kinect. I found this to be the most inspirational portion of the article:

Check out his Fruit Ninja skills!

A mother’s love is beautiful to watch.

Giddeon tried out the Kinect, but the scanner couldn’t recognize his arm. Barlett found a piece of foam craft board and had Giddeon hold it. This helped the Kinect track Giddeon’s movements and allowed him to play games like Fruit Ninja. Giddeon’s mother grew so emotional as she saw her child gaining access to a plethora of gaming enjoyment. It brought her to tears – and with that I just have to say these are the moments I hope that can be brought to gaming on a daily basis.

A smile is priceless and the greatest reward for developers!

I would love nothing more than to design games that allow for accessibility and enjoyment from all players. I’m so inspired by Giddeon, because he assumed that the gaming industry was out of his reach and that he couldn’t participate the the fun medium like other able-bodied gamers. Instead, after being shown that he – in fact – could participate his life was filled with joy and entertainment. These are the reactions that I want to live for and look forward too.

The moments when I can take a game and present it to the masses and get a response back from someone who is just appreciative for how a game design enriches their lives. I’ve seen many gamers devoted to certain games, but when you can make a game more accessible to a community that doesn’t believe that there is an accessibility inherit in your medium – and you see the appreciation that comes from their reactions. The reactions and appreciation alone are the reason why I want to get involved with game design and helping to provide this world with accessible games everyone can enjoy.

Here’s to you Giddeon! Enjoy your newly found world of gaming and I hope you continue to find great games that you can enjoy! Thanks to the Able Gamers Foundation for showing off this kid’s story and I’m just glad that I could share it with others who may not have seen this kid’s awesome discovery of the gaming universe!