Relationship will include a focus on building accessibility and usability into games for those who learn and think differently
Understood, a social impact, non-profit organization and lifelong guide for those who learn and think differently, today announced a new partnership with Games for Change, a non-profit which drives real-world impact through games and immersive media. The collaboration will focus on bringing awareness to the gaming industry about the 1 in 5 people with learning and thinking differences, such as ADHD and dyslexia, and representing their needs within game development.
“While there is increased awareness of accessibility issues in the gaming industry, efforts have largely focused on physical disabilities such as movement, vision, hearing,” said Jenny Wu, Chief Product Officer at Understood and Advisory Board member of Raising Good Gamers. “We know that games have both positive and negative implications for those with neurodiversities. Through this partnership, we will increase attention within the gaming community around learning and thinking differences in an effort to encourage building more inclusive games which, in the long run benefit everyone.”
To kick off the partnership, Wu will speak at the 2021 Games for Change Festival today about the importance of creating movement in the gaming industry around more accessible and usable games for the 1:5. She has also taken a seat on the Raising Good Gamers advisory board, which is focused on helping to develop and support gaming communities that cultivate empathetic, compassionate, and civically engaged kids. Raising Good Gamers is a partnership between Games for Change and the Connected Learning Lab at UC Irvine.
“Our mission is to empower game developers and the industry to create games that impact social change,” said Susanna Pollack, President of Games for Change. “Understood brings valuable knowledge about a very large population of gamers that often are underrepresented or unaddressed in development and design of games, so we’re thrilled to be working with them and bring awareness to the needs of those with learning disabilities.”
As part of this partnership, Understood will also participate in the Games for Change Student Challenge this fall.
