A new level of gaming: designing video games for all abilities, with Vivek Gohil

Made For Us

11-01-2024 • 23 mins

As a gamer living with a disability, Vivek Gohil has strong opinions about the accessibility of video games. Diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy at the age of nine, his muscles have become weaker over the years but that hasn’t deterred him from gaming. He now uses his experience to advise game developers and console makers on improving gaming for people like himself with severe motor disabilities. In this interview, he talks about the solutions he’s found, including coding accessibility features into games that lack them, and why he’d like to see more developers tapping into the expertise of gamers with disabilities.

Other topics we cover in this episode:

  • How Vivek has adapted his gaming setup
  • How accessibility in gaming has evolved and areas for improvement
  • The impact of the Xbox Adaptive Controller
  • The representation of disability in games

This is the second of two episodes on accessible gaming. Check out part one, an interview with Mick Donegan, founder of the gaming charity SpecialEffect, here: https://pod.link/1711282282

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About Vivek Gohil

Vivek is an accessibility consultant who lives with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. He uses his lived experiences to advocate and elevate the voices of disabled gamers with similar conditions. Vivek regularly writes for the gaming website Eurogamer focusing on accessibility.

Vivek’s website: https://uncannyvivek.com/

Follow Vivek on Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncannyvivek

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