Into The Game Accessibility Nexus

As proud supporters of the RaiseTheGame initiative and with the occasion of Access November we want to offer you information about our website and the work carried out by our team in hope that it will help other organizations to value accessibility as an essential tool for inclusion, diversity and equality.

Game Accessibility Nexus is a publication created with the aim of offering analysis of the accessibility of games from the point of view of people with disabilities. After all, who better than those who experience barriers in video games and in real life to explain how and why they occur and suggestions to avoid them?

Who we are

When I decided to create the site, I had a clear idea that we needed a team of people with different disabilities that would allow us to offer the most expert and broad vision possible of the different accessibility areas that a game should cover. For this reason, I began by asking the people with whom I had established a certain familiarity through social media as I also knew their personality and skills. Even though some of them had no experience doing analysis, the main quality I was looking for was passion. Passion for video games, passion for informing others with the most objective information possible about the titles analyzed and what they could expect from them. Something that we have always understood is that there is no one better able to decide if a game is accessible or not for themselves than the reader themselves, so we try to offer clear information that reflects the options, design features and gameplay the player is going to find so they can decide if that experience is accessible or not for them. It does not matter that different people share a disability because each of us is different and unique. And it is precisely this belief that everyone has something to contribute that makes our team have always been Diverse in all aspects. For us, diversity is richness, and offers an infinite capacity to learn, grow and create empathy. All the people who collaborate with us share an ethical and moral code based on respect, tolerance and a job well done.

How we work

Given that the web does not have financial support other than the founder's own, our workers are volunteers. I would prefer to have the possibility of being able to pay them a salary or a fee per article, but as long as we cannot solve these red tape issues we have had to opt for this formula. The first thing we try to make sure of is that our editors have access to every tool to make their work as accessible as possible for each of them, after all it would be absurd to write about accessibility without considering the needs of our team. This translates into editing software, capture tools and of course communication channels. This has allowed all the people who work with us to feel valued and included in all aspects, from the elaboration of plannings, what titles to be analyzed and always support each other, while keeping their own style. Of course, health management is our top priority and we never force deadlines if they mean a risk for our team members.

Present and future

In the 3 years that the web has been running we have had a very varied team that has changed over time. In some cases, this is due to the fact that they have reached positions of high responsibility in the video game industry, which for us is a source of pride because working with them has been an enriching experience on a professional and personal level. This has often meant that we must look for new people to fill these vacancies and we are fortunate that each person that has come after has brought something new and unique to the team. Thanks to the work of everyone in this team with their reviews and interviews we have earned the respect of our peers, industry professionals and the loyalty of our audience. All this also opens doors to opportunities for collaboration in events such as talks, panels, events like The Game Awards, consultancies and participation in other projects related to accessibility. And yet this is just the beginning.

For a modest team, it feels like a great success and once again demonstrates that the search to create a more equal, diverse, and inclusive world through accessibility in video games is always important and necessary. Not just for the advancement of the industry or in the quality of its products, but also when it comes to improving the lives of both the people working on it and opening these experiences to a more diverse audience. Because together we reach farther and can do more and better for everyone.