Meet the Team: Alex
As a self-professed nerd Alex has a love of all games, be they video games, board games or anything else that is playable. He originally studied Design at Simon Fraser University and worked as a game and level designer on a little indie game called Sacre Bleu. He also has a disability called Spinal Muscular Atrophy Type 2 and uses a power wheelchair for mobility. Alex feels that his disability has given him a unique lens to view the world: When things aren’t made with you in mind, you do a lot of thinking about how things are made.
Alex tells his story like this:
Being a stereo typical Canadian my first love was hockey. All I wanted to do was play hockey with my friends. Unfortunately, as far as I know skate attachments hadn’t been invented for wheelchairs so that wasn’t something I was able to do and I felt left out; I felt excluded. What I was able to do was play NHL 2003 on the original Xbox. I could play game after game after game with my friends and through that I found inclusion. Games leveled the playing field and created a communal space for me and my friends. That feeling is always stuck with me, that through games. I felt included. That along with a few other things would be part of the journey that I am on now.
As I grew older and pursued a career in games that feeling of this medium being a space that had amazing potential for inclusion stayed with me. After a few solo Accessibility consulting projects, I also came to recognize that no one person has all the answers for a topic as broad as accessibility. This planted a seed of an idea. What if there was a team of consultants that represented the breadth of lived experience. Then after a good bit of work and planning PlayAbility Consultancy came to be.
When did you start playing video games?
I can’t even really remember when I started. I have a vague memory of playing a turn-based capture the flag game on DOS, so I guess it’s that.
What is your favourite game at the moment?
I’ve been on a real binge with Blood Bowl 2 & 3. Something about the weird blend of tactics/fantasy/sports just really tickles my brain!
Do you use any technology to make the gaming experience more accessible to you?
This might not always have been seen as a piece of accessible technology but the ability to choose between mouse and keyboard or controller depending on the type of game can dramatically affect my play experience.
What is a common barrier you come across when playing games?
I would have to say a lack of custom input bindings. Every so often I find a weird little indie game that wants you to make your hands into the shape of a pretzel to play it and I just end up thinking: “Damn I really wish I could just pick which buttons I want to use for this.”
What do you wish more people knew about your disability?
I think an understanding of spoon theory can really open up the door to an empathetic understanding of my own and many other disabled lived experiences.
