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0 When I walked into the hotel on day one of the Gaming Accessibility Conference (GASIG), I already knew I’d leave full of inspiration, information, and new connections. The organisers reserved a private guest space for us, and most of the action took place in a spacious area usually reserved for wedding receptions. My table sat right at the back and centre, surrounded by fellow attendees from all corners of the industry—from tech giants like Amazon to indie accessibility champions like Many Cats.
Now, let’s get into the actual content. I won’t cover every talk in detail—just a few highlights—but if you want to catch any sessions from this year or past conferences, you’ll find them on the IGDA-GASIG YouTube channel.
Ubi Gets Stuck In
Jawad Shakil, QC Manager at Ubisoft India, showcased Chroma—an open-source tool Ubisoft developed to help developers simulate colour-blindness in real time. The team released it during the event, and so far, feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Ubisoft didn’t stop there as Lead Accessibility Designer Aderyn Thompson and Accessibility Design Specialist Stacey Jenkins shared best practices for preventing motion sickness, migraines, and seizures in games. They outlined which settings should be off by default, highlighted common barriers, and shared strategies every studio should implement to make games safer and more inclusive. You can view the full slide deck for more in depth
Ubisoft wrapped up their accessibility trifecta with a deep dive into Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown’s mobile version. Surprisingly, the mobile release includes more accessibility features than its console/PC counterpart—offering controller support, iterative controls, and helpful automations like auto-parry and auto-potion when health gets low. You can watch that talk as well.
Cake, Merch and Cats
Let’s talk about the business card table. After I added mine, I took a moment to admire everyone else’s slick designs, which is when someone emptied an entire a duffel bag onto the table. No it wasn’t gym gear, but a pile of Hitman 2 rubber ducks and Agent 47 figurines.
As you can imagine by the time the conference ended, my bag was full to the brim. Yes, mostly from merch! If only I could have taken some Battenberg cake with me. If you know you know! This sweet treat at Gaming Accessibility Conference stole the show.
Now, for the true star of the conference—Miso the cat. For the uninitiated, Miso belongs to Emile Sands, the event’s British Sign Language interpreter. Throughout the sessions, Miso frequently strutted into frame while Emile signed and quickly became an icon. Naturally, Miso earned a sticker in the community Discord as acknowledgement of their icon status.
Thanks to Marijn (aka activeb1t) from Can I Play That, we even got a perfect photo.
Other Talks
Cameron “Oak” Akitt, a PlayStation Accessibility Researcher delivered a standout session titled “Too Long Didn’t Hear – Deafness & Gaming”. He discussed the complexities of navigating the industry while being deaf/Deaf, all with humour, insight, and only mild terror (especially if you speak Dutch).
The day’s panel discussion, aptly titled “You’re Doing Well If You’re Annoying Someone” brought together voices from the accessibility world. These fine folk included Mathew Allcock, Melody Powell, Lauren Radford, and Dr Amy Kavanagh. With a wide range of lived experiences, they each offered fresh perspectives and that they’re not afraid to ruffle feathers. With the key take away being accessibility pushes are not done out of spite but to progress the industry forward.
Final Vibes
After day one wrapped up, a casual mixer gave us all a chance to unwind. I found myself chatting with developers from major studios as well as a PhD researcher from Cardiff University. It felt like old friends reconnecting and calling it a conference almost feels wrong—it felt more like a community.
Every talk had one shared belief: “Nothing about us without us”. The Gaming Accessibility Conference proved this isn’t just a slogan but a blueprint for better design.
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