Tag Archives: SpecialEffect

Train2Game News Several companies join OneSpecialDay

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Bossa Studios, Curve Digital, Game Swing and Magic Notion have joined the growing number of games industry companies supporting SpecialEffect’s One Special Day fundraising initiative on Friday 15 July.

SpecialEffect say the event will become an annual flagship day for the games industry to be loud and proud about supporting gamers with disabilities, and are encouraging other companies to join the One Special Day team.

So far over 20 companies have signed up, with many donating an entire day’s revenue of one or more of their games to the work of the charity.

One Special Day kicks off with a celebration party on Thursday 14 July at the Develop Conference in Brighton. Other activities will include an online auction of rare and collectable gaming merchandise, due to commence on 8 July, and a showcase at the Ukie Westminster reception on 6 July to celebrate the inclusion and creativity of the UK games industry.

Bossa’s early One Special Day on 8 July will see the revenue from the Steam sales of I Am Bread, Surgeon Simulator and Deep Dungeons of Doom from that day being donated. “Bossa are really excited to be part of One Special Day and help SpecialEffect change the lives of more gamers with disabilities,” said Ricardo Rego, Product Manager at Bossa. “We know the sales of our titles on our SpecialEffect One Special Day will make a big difference to their amazing work.”

Curve Digital will be donating Steam revenues from Stikbold, Stealth Inc 2 and Stealth Bastard Deluxe. Simon Byron of Curve said “Curve and Game Swing are delighted to be part of the One Special Day Initiative. For us, games are an intrinsic part of life and so easy to take for granted, so it’s a perfect fit to be able to support SpecialEffect in putting smiles back on the faces of people who would otherwise miss out because of a disability.”

Rich Franke of Magic Notion commented, “Magic Notion are delighted to be a part of One Special Day and donate the steam sales of Kitty Powers Matchmaker on July 15th. The work of SpecialEffect to help people with disabilities to experience the magic of gaming is amazing and we are happy to help them make a difference.”

All the proceeds will be channelled into the work that SpecialEffect do to help gamers with disabilities. Gamers like Tom, a 26 year-old who has spinal muscular atrophy and very little movement in his fingers. 

“With SpecialEffect’s help I was able to play for the first time in years,” he said, “And nothing can describe the feeling that gave me. So many things in life are limited because of my condition, but when I play a video game I’m in a world where the only limits are the ones I allow to be there.”

SpecialEffect CEO Dr Mick Donegan said, “We’re honoured that the games industry are being loud and proud about supporting our work in helping people with all kinds of physical disabilities to play video games. Games are an amazing medium through which people make friends, socialise and come together for a common cause. To be able to extend that medium to people that would otherwise not be involved is both an honour and a privilege.”

“There is a warm welcome awaiting all companies who would like to join this exciting initiative.”

One Special Day is open to all companies working in the games industry. To find out more, visit www.onespecialday.org.uk

Train2Game News Twin Town SpecialEffect Challenge Success

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SpecialEffectOne hundred cars costing less than £500, laps around Silverstone and Abbeville circuits, a street party in Le Touquet plus lots of fun and games over the May bank holiday weekend, helped the Twin Town Challenge 2016 to raise over £250,000 for SpecialEffect.

The cars left Blenheim Palace on Friday 27th May and headed for Silverstone before crossing to France and on to Le Touquet, Witney’s twin town. During the weekend they undertook a series of fun challenges like blind driving, car boxing and car booty as well as a treasure hunt. There were also bonus points for the best-dressed car and team, which provided some amazing decorations and outfits from pink suited men, Christmas trees, Mexican bandits, golfers and shell fish.

On the Sunday night, French and English gathered together for a street party in Le Touquet with a live 10-piece band called The Village Idiots who had travelled from Stonesfield in Oxfordshire to play for Twin Town 16.

The welcome home party on Monday 31st May was hosted at Abbott Diabetes who provided a British bake off style tea with cakes made by the staff. Over half the cars were donated for auction at West Oxfordshire Motor Auctions in aid of the charity.

Twin Town is the brainchild of SpecialEffect Vice President Brendon Cross and is organised by a team of volunteers, over 50 of whom acted as marshals, fundraisers, minibus drivers, mechanics, scorers and generally managed the 500 people taking part in the event, both in the UK and in France.

Fundraising also included an online auction of money can’t buy prizes, bucket shakes in Le Touquet and donations from the teams, many of whom also held their own TTC16 events. Brendon said, “When we were planning Twin Town 16, we thought a target of £250,000 was quite ambitious, but with the amazing support of the Twin Town community, the teams and everyone involved with the event, we have not only reached this figure, but are likely to completely smash it.”

The money will be used by Charlbury based SpecialEffect to help more young people with disabilities to play computer games. Dr Mick Donegan, founder and CEO of SpecialEffect, commented, “The success of the amazing Twin Town Challenge 2016 has left the SpecialEffect team both stunned and humbled, not only by the remarkable funds raised but also from the feel-good factor generated by volunteers, sponsors and participants during a weekend that none of us will ever forget. We cannot thank Brendon and every single person involved enough for what they have done to help those who benefit from our life-changing work.”

Event sponsors included Playground Games, King.com, Sumo Digital, SEGA, Ghost Games and Turn 10. Teams from the games industry taking part included GAME, Gamer Network, Sumo Digital, Atomhawk, Green Man Gaming, Insight Studios, Playground Games, Hutch Games and Red Kite Games.

Train2Game News The Chinese Room joins OneSpecialDay

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30efa4_ce895465dc7d4c92b604c473ed6354d4.pngThe Chinese Room have joined the growing number of gaming industry companies supporting SpecialEffect’s One Special Day charity initiative in July.

One Special Day, held on 15 July, is an opportunity for companies to donate 100% of revenue in one or all areas of their business; a day’s sales of one or more games, or 100% of advertising revenue, in-app purchases or DLC, for example. The funds raised will be used by gamers’ charity SpecialEffect to level the playing field for people with disabilities.

Dan Pinchbeck, Creative Director at the Chinese Room, said “The Chinese Room are long-term admirers of SpecialEffect and their work to help people with disabilities experience the magic of games and on hearing about One Special Day had no hesitation in pledging our support.”

As part of their support the studio will be donating a vinyl copy of the soundtrack to their award-winning game Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture, signed by Jessica Curry, BAFTA-winning composer and co-founder of the studio. The charity will be auctioning the soundtrack as part of One Special Day.

One Special Day is open to all companies working in the games industry. To find out more, visit www.onespecialday.org.uk

Train2game News Topstone joins One Special Day

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30efa4_ce895465dc7d4c92b604c473ed6354d4.pngRipstone are supporting SpecialEffect by donating 100% of their sales towards the One Special Day initiative on 15th July 2016.

Ripstone will donate takings from across their entire catalogue of games including DLC on all platforms they publish on, including Steam, PlayStation®4, Xbox One, and mobile.

SpecialEffect’s mission is to enable anyone, whatever their physical disability, to enjoy video games. They’ve launched the ‘One Special Day’ initiative on 15th July to encourage the games industry to be loud and proud about levelling the playing field for gamers with disabilities.

Michelle Turner, Head of PR & Marketing at Ripstone, said “Ripstone love the work that SpecialEffect does to bring the joy of gaming to young people with disabilities and look forward to being part of an historic day for SpecialEffect and the games industry! We really hope the community will get behind this & help us spread the word & raise money for this worthwhile cause.”

Dr Mick Donegan, CEO and Founder SpecialEffect, said, “I’m genuinely stunned by the news that Ripstone have pledged 100% of takings for their entire catalogue of games and DLC on ‘One Special Day’. This amazing commitment will help SpecialEffect make a life-changing difference for gamers with disabilities.”

One Special Day is open to all companies working in the games industry. To find out more, visit http://www.onespecialday.org.uk

Train2game News Yogscast join SpecialEffect Event

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The Yogscast have joined the growing number of games industry companies who’ve signed up for SpecialEffect’s One Special Day charity initiative.

One Special Day, which will be held on 15 July, is an opportunity for companies to donate 100% of revenue in one or all areas of their business; for example a day’s sales of one or more games, or 100% of advertising revenue, in-app purchases or DLC.

The Yogscast have pledged their support as a promotional partner. Mark Turpin, Yogscast CEO and SpecialEffect Vice President, said “Games allow us to escape our world to visit another, experiencing anything and everything and loving every second of it. SpecialEffect give the gift of gaming to people who thought it was lost from them. The tireless work and passion to help that Mick Donegan and the team display never ceases to amaze me.”

“We think One Special Day is a fantastic idea and are delighted to get behind the day as a promotional partner and I hope to get the chance to play some of the games on the day.”

Payload Studios, Revolution Games and Escape Technology have also joined the event this week as contributory partners. Russ Clarke, Founder of Payload Studios, added “As long-time supporters of SpecialEffect, we’re delighted to be joining the One Special Day line-up, helping to turn sales of TerraTech into magic moments for people with disabilities.”

One Special Day is open to all companies working in the games industry. To find out more, visit www.onespecialday.org.uk

Train2Game News One Special Day

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Video games community announce One Special Day to support gamers’ charity SpecialEffect.

Leading games publishers First Touch Games and New Star among the first to pledge 100% of their daily revenues to support charity initiative.

Some people would give everything to play video games. On 15th July 2016 some games companies are giving everything to help them. The One Special Day initiative will enable games companies of all shapes and sizes to give everything to help SpecialEffect level the playing field for gamers with disabilities.

On that day, games companies can donate 100% of that day’s sales of one or more of their games, or 100% of their advertising revenue, or 100% of the in-app purchases or maybe 100% of their DLC. Or it could be 100% from a dedicated activity or promotion. Or 100% of something else!

As well as games developers and publishers, SpecialEffect will be working with well-known YouTubers and Streamers to highlight and promote all the games that are part of One Special Day.

Charles Chapman, CEO of First Touch Games said, “One Special Day is an opportunity for the games industry to follow other industries by uniting on one day to help a cause that is so close to our work and I would urge other developers to join us on One Special Day and donate 100% of revenue from the day to SpecialEffect.”

Founder of New Star Games, Simon Read added, “When you spend your life creating and playing games it’s easy to take them for granted, so when I try to imagine having this hobby and passion taken away from me it makes it all the easier to see what wonderful work SpecialEffect are doing.  New Star are long term and passionate supporters of SpecialEffect and are delighted to be part of One Special Day which will be a life changing day for the charity and the people they help to game.”

Dr Mick Donegan, Founder and CEO of SpecialEffect said, “We’re asking the games industry to be loud and proud about supporting our work in helping people with all kinds of physical disabilities to play video games. It’s a great opportunity for companies to demonstrate CSR in a way that resonates with their own communities, and we’ll be promoting One Special Day to the national media with the message that this is an industry in unity for a worthwhile cause.”

Ian Livingstone CBE, Co-Founder Games Workshop, and Founder and Chairman of the Livingstone Foundation added “I was excited to hear about One Special Day at the VIP opening of the SpecialEffect Centre in February, and would urge people to back this exciting project in support of the life-changing work of the charity.”

All the proceeds from One Special Day will be channelled into the work that SpecialEffect do to help gamers with disabilities. Gamers like Tom, a 26 year-old who has Spinal Muscular Atropy and very little movement in his fingers. “With SpecialEffect’s help I was able to play for the first time in years”, he said, “And nothing can describe the feeling that gave me. So many things in life are limited because of my condition, but when I play a video game I’m in a world where the only limits are the ones I allow to be there.”

Other companies who have backed the initiative so far include Ripstone Games, Nomad Games, Tag Games and nDreams.

One Special Day is open to all companies working in the games industry. To find out more, visit www.onespecialday.org.uk

Train2game News Green Man Gaming Supporting SpecialEffect

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Green Man Gaming, a global e-commerce technology company in the video games industry, has today announced their participation in the Twin Town Challenge from 27 – 29 May 2016 in support of Special Effect, a charity enabling anyone with physical disability to enjoy video games, leisure technology and communication. 

The Green Man Gaming team aims to raise as much money as possible for the charity by offering its partners a chance to sponsor the team and donate directly through its donation page.

To help increase awareness of Special Effect and raise money for the charity, the Green Man Gaming team will be taking part in The Twin Town challenge which will see 100 cars costing less than £500 drive from Witney to its twin town of Le Touquet and back via Silverstone and Croix en Ternois.  Paul Sulyok, Founder and CEO and Callum Jay, CFO of Green Man Gaming will be representing the Green Man Gaming team.

“We are truly inspired by the great work that Special Effect do every day enhancing the quality of life of people with physical disabilities through technology and video games. The Green Man Gaming team are honoured to support Special Effect as our main charity and will work hard to raise as much money as possible for the charity,” says Paul Sulyok, Founder and CEO of Green Man Gaming.

To find out more about Green Man Gaming’s participation in the Twin Town Challenge and to donate, please visit the Green Man Gaming website.

Train2game News Jamchester

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The UK’s biggest ever game jam for professionals is to take place in Manchester this May, bringing together more than 200 developers working within the industry across three days to create brand new games from the ground up.

The first major game jam of its kind to take place in Britain, ‘Jamchester’ is the brainchild of local games industry network Gameopolis and HackManchester, which has successfully hosted scores of 24 hour coding competitions over the last five years. Jamchester will also be supported by headline sponsors Microsoft, mobile publishing giant Chillingo and regional business accelerator Tech North.

Other sponsors lined up include PlayStation, Unreal, recruitment agency Amiqus, and local game development college SSR. Jamchester is designed to fly the flag for games development within the North West of England and the UK as a whole, highlighting its strength, diversity and, most importantly, its future.

“We’ve created Jamchester to have fun and to showcase Greater Manchester on the national stage as a great place to make games,” said Gameopolis chair Simon Smith of the event. “In the past year alone our local game jams have produced Titan Souls, Sublevel Zero, Unbox, and Super Rude Bear Resurrection with more on the way. We welcome everyone to come along and be inspired by the creative spirit of our fantastic city.”

Jamchester also has the support of UK trade association Ukie, with CEO Dr. Jo Twist claiming the body is “excited to support Jamchester as a new celebration of creative skills development in the UK.”

“Game jams are one of the best ways for devs to learn new skills, stretch their creative thinking, network within the industry, and ultimately have fun. We’d love to see as many Ukie members as possible taking part in this event, and I look forward to seeing some of the work that is produced!”

Teams of between one and four people will compete on a level playing field, with Jamchester’s defining theme set to be revealed at the start of the competition. Student teams will also be taking part, giving them the perfect opportunity to network with other studios and industry professionals in attendance.

Jamchester has also teamed up with Special Effect, with all ticket proceeds going to the charity to help gamers with disabilities. “We are honoured to have been chosen as the charity partner for Jamchester,” offered Nick Streeter of Special Effect. “It will raise vital funds and awareness of our work helping gamers with disabilities, both in the north west and across the UK. As demand grows for what we do, support from events like Jamchester really are a game changer for the charity.”

With a judges line-up that includes Gary Napper of PlayStation VR, Creative Assembly’s Catherine Wooley, Microsoft’s Technical Evangelist Lee Stott, local indie developer Alex Rose and PlayStation’s Claire Blackshaw, Jamchester will take place in The Studio, an events space right in the centre of Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

Prize categories will include (TBC) – Best Game, Best Audio, Best Graphics, Best Gameplay, Best Tech Achievement, Innovation Award, Best Company Game, Best Student Game.

You can find more information at www.Jamchester.org.uk , or contact jamchester@hackmanchester.com

Tickets are onsale at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/jamchester-2016-tickets-21038079462?aff=es2

Train2game News GAME Stores raise big money for SpecialEffect

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Marathon month at GAME smashes records in aid of GameBlast16

GAME today announces their partnership with SpecialEffect is going from strength to strength on the back of raising a record-breaking £37,000 for SpecialEffect’s GameBlast16. Thousands of UK gamers took to consoles throughout the month of February to support the charity, which enables anyone, whatever their physical disability, to enjoy video games and leisure technology.

With hundreds of GAME stores around the UK joining in the fun, a series of epic gaming challenges and competitions were on offer for gamers of all levels during February, including events like the Street Fighter V GAME OFF, GAME Loves and Drawlanders.

Culminating on 27th February, GAME HQ hosted a 24 hour livestream with over 70,000 tuning in to watch guests including Wheelchair Basketball European gold-medallist Mark Fosbrook, Microsoft’s Graeme Boyd, Lauran Carter from Lionhead and comedian John Robertson.

Gamers also had the chance to get their hands on exclusive gaming gear donated by GAME through SpecialEffect eBay auctions. Up for grabs were fifty life-size Vault Boys courtesy of Bethesda and signed gaming items. Microsoft also donated two exclusive custom-made Titanfall and Gears of War Xbox one consoles, in addition to a very rare Fable Legends Xbox One console donated by Lionhead Studio and previously unavailable to the public. The console fetched over £3,000 at auction.

GAME will continue to work closely with SpecialEffect going forward. Customers can get involved from today by donating in all 319 stores or even trading in old games and donating their value to SpecialEffect. Over the next 12 months, GAME will also be running various fundraising events in stores and is now working with SpecialEffect in ensuring they have all the latest gaming equipment and games.

Fred Prego, Marketing Director at GAME said:

“We are overwhelmed by the incredible response from our GAME community to GameBlast16. Their involvement has helped us support SpecialEffect in not only making GameBlast16 a fun and successful event, but also in helping us to raise five times more than we did last year which will contribute to the fantastic work that the charity does all year round.

“With most of our staff being dedicated gamers, we recognise the responsibility we have to help make gaming a hobby that is accessible to everyone. We are committed to continuing our support of SpecialEffect and there are exciting plans in place to work together over the year, so watch this space.

Train2game News GameBlast16

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Donations to GameBlast, the UK’s biggest charity gaming marathon weekend, have smashed the £120,000 raised during last year’s event.

More than £170,000 has so far been pledged in online and offline donations, with more still to come. The final total will be announced next week.

Last weekend saw over 400 individuals and teams from across the world undertake hundreds of events and gaming marathons to raise money for Oxfordshire-based charity SpecialEffect, who help people with physical disabilities to be included in the gaming community by creating personalised technological solutions.

Headline streaming events were hosted by GameBlast partners Jagex and GAME, attracting thousands of viewers and raising over £120,000 between them. A further £50,000 was raised by individual streamers and teams, comprised of friends and colleagues.

The madness began at 12.00 on Friday 26th February, with Jagex staff undertaking a series of extreme challenges during a 24 hour livestream at their Cambridge HQ, including plenty of gunge action from ‘Get Your Own Back’ presenter Dave Benson Philips! Real-world auction items, such as signed merchandise and a tour of the Jagex offices, combined with contributions of in-game wealth via the RuneScape Well of Goodwill mechanic, encouraged their generous community to pledge over £100,000 in donations, more than triple what they raised in 2015.

The baton was then passed to GAME, who hosted their own 24 hour livestream at their Basingstoke offices from 10.00 Saturday 27th February. Guests included Wheelchair Basketball European gold-medalist Mark Fosbrook, Microsoft’s Graeme Boyd (aka. Acey Bongos) and comedian John Robertson. GAME stores across the country also joined in with their own events and collections, including auctioning off fifty ‘life size’ Vault Boys for bids upwards of £250 each (the highest price paid being £1,500)! In total, GAME have so far raised over £20,000 and counting, more than double what they achieved last year.

In one of the most heart-warming stories to come out of the event, the William Merritt Disability Living Centre in Leeds staged their own 24 hour GameBlast event, with many of the young people who took part using accessible controllers created by SpecialEffect. Other partners who contributed to the unprecedented success of GameBlast16 include ukie, Multiplay, Insert Coin, Face-It and Twitch, alongside many more companies and industry figures from as far afield as India, Norway and LA.

Summing up their experience of Game Blast, one team commented: “This is the first time we’ve ever been involved in the event. It was fun for all of our community and the staff were brought closer together by taking part too!”

Mick Donegan, CEO of SpecialEffect, said: “Once more, I’ve been completely amazed by the awe-inspiring generosity of the gaming community and the games industry. The money raised will enable us to make an immense and immediate impact on the lives of many more disabled people by enabling them to play mainstream video games. A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone involved – I can’t help feeling both proud and humbled at the same time.”

The dates for GameBlast17 have just been announced as 24-26 February 2017.