Tag Archives: SpecialEffect

Train2game News SpecialEffect Accessible Games Room

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David Cameron opens Accessible Games Room at Oxfordshire Charity SpecialEffect

Witney MP David Cameron officially opened the SpecialEffect Accessible Games Room at the charity’s headquarters in Charlbury, Oxfordshire, on 12 February.

The facility, the first of its kind in the UK, will allow the charity to welcome people with disabilities from across the UK and help them benefit from the fun and inclusion of video games and other forms of leisure technology.

The room was established thanks to a £130,000 donation from the inaugural Twin Town Car Challenge Event, organised by Witney businessman and SpecialEffect Vice-President Brendon Cross of STL Communications.

Mr Cameron was joined by SpecialEffect Vice-Presidents Justin Tomlinson MP, Minister for Disabled People, and Tom Watson MP, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, along with senior figures in the UK video game industry and the local business community.

He described SpecialEffect founder and CEO Dr Mick Donegan as “one of the most inspirational people I have met”. He said: “You are making an enormous difference to lots of people and I will do anything I can to help.

“It is also bringing together the things I am passionate about, because it shows business can be a force for social and economic good.”

“I would urge games companies to join in whatever way they can to back this man, to back this great charity that is doing such extraordinary work.”

Minister for Disabled People, Julian Tomlinson said: “We are very proud to see how quickly SpecialEffect is growing and we will do all we can to get it support from the industry.”

Tom Watson MP, deputy leader of the Labour Party added: “It is a great pleasure to be on the same side as Mr Cameron for once and I am deeply honoured to be involved with the charity. I hope more and more people will support them.”

“We’re delighted and honoured that Mr Cameron is here for this launch,” said Dr Mick Donegan, the Charity’s Founder and CEO. “Leisure technology is an amazing medium for fun, inclusion and quality of life. To be able to level the playing field and extend that medium to people that would otherwise not be involved is a real privilege.”

“The response to our work from Oxfordshire businesses and, increasingly, the video games community has been overwhelming so far. Their support will be pivotal to the success of the SpecialEffect mission to help more people worldwide experience the very real benefits that this technology can bring.”

Train2Game News GameBlast16 almost here

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Gamers’ charity SpecialEffect have set the countdown clock running for GameBlast16, the UK’s biggest charity gaming weekend.

The event, held over the weekend of 26-28 February, is aiming to raise £150,000 to support the work of SpecialEffect, who help people with disabilities to access and benefit from video games.

Over 200 individuals and teams of gamers from around the world have already signed up to fundraise through their own gaming marathons and gaming events during the three days.

Many major names in the video games industry are backing the event, including GAME, Jagex, Twitch, Multiplay, FACEIT and ukie.

Both GAME and Jagex are planning 24-hour livestream events from their headquarters, with their streams featuring gaming personalities and giveaways. GAME will also be running a number of GameBlast16 fundraising initiatives in their 320 UK stores throughout February.

“GameBlast16 is going to be the biggest yet!” said Dr Mick Donegan, the charity’s CEO. “AND it’s the best excuse to game ever! The funds raised will enable us to help more people like Ben (http://bit.ly/14Chyt3), who never thought he’d be able to play video games again because his weakening condition stopped him using a standard controller.”

“GameBlast16 is an opportunity to bring together people to do what they love and level the playing field for people with disabilities at the same time.”

“There’s still time to get fully involved, and we’re inviting everyone from the global gaming community and industry to join us.”

More details about GameBlast16, including registration pages, can be found at http://www.specialeffect.org.uk/gameblast

Train2Game News GameBlast 16

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Gamer’s charity SpecialEffect today announced GameBlast16, the UK’s biggest gaming marathon weekend. People of all ages are invited to play video game marathons or hold gaming-related events to help people with disabilities benefit from the fun and inclusion of video games.

The charity is calling for teams of friends, family members or work colleagues to sign up to undertake their own sponsored video game marathons or gaming-related events anytime during the weekend of 26-28 February 2016.

“It’s the best reason to game ever. Gamers can enjoy doing what they love best and level the playing field for people with disabilities at the same time,” said Mick Donegan, the charity’s Founder and CEO.

“People like Ceyda (LINK), who’s always wanted to join in with her friends and family, but her cerebral palsy meant that she couldn’t use a standard controller. The funds raised through GameBlast16 will help us change the lives of many more people like Ceyda through the gift of gaming fun and inclusivity.”

GameBlast is the charity’s biggest annual gaming event. Over £120,000 was raised through GameBlast15 last February, and SpecialEffect are aiming to reach a target of £150,000 in 2016.

Teams and individuals can sign up for Gameblast16 at
http://www.specialeffect.org.uk/gameblast

Train2Game News GameAid raises huge funding

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UK games industry charity GamesAid has smashed its funding record for the eighth year in a row.

£564,000 has been raised by the UK games business over the last 12 months, an increase of 29 per cent over previous years. This money will be split between eight charities – more than ever before.

Accuro, Action for Kids, The Clock Tower Sanctuary, Lifelites, MAPS, Safe @ Last, SpecialEffect and Jigsaw 4 U have all received £70,500 each.

“2015 has been another incredible year for GamesAid” commented GamesAid Chair Emily Britt. “Once again we’ve raised more money, supported more charities and distributed bigger individual cheques than ever before.

She added: “Before I step down after my three year tenure as a Trustee at Christmas, I am happy to say that GamesAid has never been more supported, stronger and positioned to make a massive difference to the lives of kids and young people throughout the UK.  We’re now support the work of eight diverse children’s charities. I’d like encourage anyone involved in the video games industry to become a member today and see what we can achieve next year!”

“GamesAid only exists thanks to the energy, passion and fundraising efforts of the UK video games industry. Thank you so much for your support. You are simply amazing.”

GamesAid has raised £1.7m in its eight-year history.

GamesAid charity initiatives this year have included the Stand Up For GamesAid comedy night, the GamesAid Golf day, the Brighton Poker Night and a variety of Humble Bundle initiatives. Games industry members are welcome to join the charity for free by signing up at gamesaid.org.

Train2Game News This Cake Is Not A Lie

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First ever Gamerbake kicks off at London’s Meltdown bar next Monday, in partnership with Special Effect.

Founded by culinary experts George Osborn and Chris Kerr, Gamerbake is the friendliest cooking themed networking event in the world…and probably the only one at the moment.

The event is simple: a game related theme is announced and attendee bakers must make something vaguely related and bring it along. A panel of judges decide who’s produced the best bake, and there will be some prizes for the winner.

The first ever Gamerbake will take place next Monday (15th June) at 7pm in the Meltdown bar, North London. Jordan Erica Webber, Alan Williamson and Caitlin Goodale will form the judging panel for what promises to be a unique night of cake-fuelled revelry, gaming chit chat, and casual networking.

There is also a huge range of prizes up for grabs including:

• An exclusive, one of a kind Gamerbake apron
• A bundle of indie steam games
• A load of MadCatz goodies from controllers to headphones

As well as these awesome prizes, there’ll be a couple of secret prizes, provided by the kind folks at Ubisoft which will be handed out on the night.

Co-Founder George Osborn said “We have been overwhelmed by the huge amount of support we have had since announcing Gamerbake. I think it is clear that the games industry is full of secret baking experts who were all just waiting for the opportunity to show off their culinary talents. I am really glad that we can give them a stage to show off their sweet treats”

“With Gamerbake, we wanted to take all of the stress and social awkwardness out of networking and create a casual, friendly event for those who just want to meet  likeminded gamers in a fun, relaxing environment. “ Co-Founder Chris Kerr comments “We also really, really wanted an excuse to get a bunch of people together for a night of cake-scoffing, game-playing, chin-wagging mayhem. Given the fact that we’ve now sold out, it looks like that’s an idea everyone can get on board with.”

All information about Gamerbake can be found on the official website here: http://www.gamerbake.com/

Train2Game News Talisman character funding SpecialEffect

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A new character for the million-unit selling Talisman PC and mobile game will be launched on June 10th thanks to a fantastic collaboration between Nomad Games and SpecialEffect, the charity which helps people with physical disabilities enjoy games.

The new Shaman character will be available as DLC from this week and is the result of a competition which Nomad Games launched earlier this year in conjunction with SpecialEffect. Fans of Talisman were invited to submit ideas for characters, with the winner voted by Nomad Games’ enthusiastic community.

US-based Graham Zaretsky was the winner of the fiercely-fought competition, with his ideas then brought to life by three artists and gamers supported by SpecialEffect, namely Amandeep Singh Heer, Ben Clark and Gareth Garratt. The three produced sketches and collages to develop the look and feel of The Shaman.

This week Zaretsky, plus Singh Heer, Clark and Garratt will see her brought to life in the game, with The Shaman available to download for £1.49, with revenue raised from the DLC going to SpecialEffect.

In addition, fans of the PC sku will be given the opportunity to choose what they pay for The Shaman character, with Nomad Games hopeful that its loyal community of Talisman fans will raise even more money for SpecialEffect.

“We’re delighted that The Shaman will finally be available for Talisman,” said Don Whiteford, MD of Nomad Games. “She’s a very special character, given that she’s been created jointly by the Talisman community and SpecialEffect.

“We are blown away by the work that SpecialEffect does to support people with disabilities to play games, and we’re honoured to lend our support to them in terms of raising awareness for this very special charity, but also to support them financially via sales of The Shaman.”

SpecialEffect’s Fund Raiser Nick Streeter added: “We can’t thank everyone at Nomad enough for this brilliantly original way of supporting our work, and for their team to involve some of the people we help in the design process was a magnificent gesture.

“All the staff at SpecialEffect are immensely excited about the launch of the Shaman, and the money raised will go straight into helping more people, whatever their physical disability, to benefit from the magic of video games.”

Graham Zaretsky, who won the competition earlier this year, offered: “I’m deeply honoured that The Shaman was selected to help raise money for SpecialEffect. I love the artwork and that it is exactly in the spirit of the character that I imagined. I hope that it helps raise a lot of money and awareness for the charity.”

Train2Game News GameBlast15 break last years record

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GameBlast, the UK’s largest charity video gaming marathon event, has raised over £120,000, smashing the £70k raised by last years’ fundraiser.

Gamers from across the world took on gaming marathons of up to 48 hours over the weekend of 20-22 February to raise money for gamers’ charity SpecialEffect, who help people with physical disabilities to experience the fun and inclusion of video games.

As well as the hundreds of individuals and teams that took part, over 50 games companies backed the event including GAME, Ginx, Twitch, Jagex, SEGA, Bossa, KING, Gamer Network, Frontier, Team17, Radiant Worlds, Fragers and Insert Coin.

Mick Donegan, SpecialEffect CEO, said, “We are genuinely blown away by the huge amount of support that we’ve had from gamers and the gaming industry all over the world. Everyone who contributed will make a massive difference, changing the lives of hundreds of people with disabilities who can only watch everyone else experience the many benefits of video games. A huge, heartfelt thank you from all the SpecialEffect team.”

Jagex, the developers and publishers of RuneScape were the biggest industry fundraiser. Their 24-hour marathon at their Cambridge offices raised £50,000.

The biggest individual total came from BBC Technology Correspondent and SpecialEffect VP Kate Russell, who raised £12,000

The dates for GameBlast16 are 26-28 February 2016

Donations for GameBlast can still be made at http://www.justgiving.com/gameblastlive

Train2Game News SpecialEffect raise money at Twickenham

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A fundraising lunch, with rugby legends Paul Wallace, Simon Shaw and Zinzan Brooke, raised £22,484 on the day through donations, raffles and auctions for the gamers’ charity, SpecialEffect.

The three former International players were the guests of honor at the inaugural Legends Lunch in aid of SpecialEffect, held at Twickenham Stadium last month, and they entertained an audience of 120 guests with tales of sporting and not-so-sporting experiences on and off the rugby field.

Paul (former Ireland International and British & Irish Lion), Simon (former England International and British & Irish Lion) and Zinzan (former All Black International) were delighted to be able to assist the charity which provides life changing support through the use of leisure technology, to enhance the quality of life for people with severe physical disabilities. 

“We’re honored that Paul, Simon and Zinzan have made such a difference to our fundraising,” said SpecialEffect Fundraiser Nick Streeter. “The money raised from this superb event will help us meet the growing demand for our specialist services including our video games loan library and our StarGaze project, that provides the loan and support of eye controlled technology to those that really need it “

Matt Hampson, a former England International and Patron of SpecialEffect, suffered a major spinal injury while training with England in 2005 and is the inspiration for the StarGaze project;

“When I regained consciousness I couldn’t move and I couldn’t speak – all I could do was move my eyes. It’s impossible to explain the fear, desperation and helplessness you feel when you are totally unable to communicate.”

“SpecialEffect were there for me with an eye-controlled computer that allowed me to speak using an artificial voice. I know first-hand the difference that SpecialEffect can make”

The event was organised by Limelight Interactive, and it is hoped to be an annual event.

Train2Game News Jagex GameBlast funds raised

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Jagex Games Studio, custodians of the long-running fantasy MMORPG, RuneScape, is pleased to announce that £50,000 was raised during the recently held 24-hour GameBlast15 marathon for SpecialEffect.

The figure compares favourably against the £48,000 raised by RuneScape and Ace of Spades during last year’s inaugural GameBlast event.

On 20th February, around 90 people – both staff and players – embarked on the challenge to play RuneScape, Block N Load and many other games in Jagex’s permanent LAN arena and the attending Fragers GamersBus. The marathon, which included a series of outrageous challenges, was livestreamed on the official GameBlast15 channel on Twitch.tv and watched by tens of thousands of people online.

In addition to making direct donations, the community also utilised RuneScape’s ‘Well of Goodwill’ to bequeath in-game gold, items and Bonds to SpecialEffect. These were then converted into a real world contribution on behalf of the charity.

“We were thrilled to host SpecialEffect and kick off GameBlast15 with our telethon-style livestream. It not only showed off the dedication of our players and staff, but also highlighted the crazy antics people are prepared to do in the name of charity,” said Jane Ryan, director of community and events at Jagex. “I think that after a second successful year of fundraising to help people with physical disabilities play videogames, both Jagex and the wider community are looking forward to offering our support for GameBlast16!”

“The support and enthusiasm of Jagex and their communities in supporting GameBlast has been truly staggering. Being personally present during their livestream was an amazing and humbling experience, and on behalf of all the staff of SpecialEffect I’d like to pass on my heartfelt thanks to everyone who took part or donated,” said Dr Mick Donegan, founder and director of SpecialEffect. “Yet again they’ve raised the lion’s share of the overall GameBlast total, and it will make a huge difference in ensuring we can continue to bring the magic of video games to those who would otherwise be excluded from their many, many benefits.”

A number of companies supported the Jagex hosted marathon, including We Got Game, Multiplay, CoolerMaster, and Fragers, as well as local franchises of Domino’s Pizza and Subway.

Train2Game GameBlast15 exceeding previous years

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Donations to GameBlast, the UK’s biggest charity gaming marathon weekend, have already exceeded the £70,000 raised in the 2014 event.

Over £80,000 has already been pledged in online and offline donations, with more still to come. The final total will be announced at the beginning of March.

Last weekend saw thousands of gamers from across the world take on gaming marathons of up to 48 hours to raise money for gamers’ charity SpecialEffect, who help people with physical disabilities to be included in the gaming community.

Hundreds of individuals and teams across the world took part, and over 50 companies from the games industry backed the event including GAME, Ginx, Twitch, Jagex, SEGA, Bossa, KING, Bethesda, Gamer Network, Frontier, Team17, Radiant Worlds, Fragers and Insert Coin.

SpecialEffect’s own 24 hour livestream event, GameBlast LIVE, comfortably broke its £5k target. The event saw UKIE CEO and SpecialEffect vice President Jo Twist beat BBC technology presenter Kate Russell in an eye-controlled racing game challenge. Kate then played Elite Dangerous for 12 hours and raised £12k, including a £10K donation from BT.

Jagex ran a spectacular 24 hour livestream from their Cambridge HQ that attracted thousands of Twitch viewers, as did the streams from GAME and Ginx.

Nick Streeter, Fundraiser at SpecialEffect, said “We’ve been absolutely blown away by the generosity of the gaming community and the games industry. The money raised will change the lives of hundreds of people with disabilities who can only sit and watch everyone else experience the fun and inclusion of video games. A huge and heartfelt thank you to everyone who took part or donated from all the SpecialEffect team.”

Donations for GameBlast can still be made at http://www.justgiving.com/gameblastlive