Marc’s getting to grips with gaming again
Friday, August 7th, 2020
Marc’s up to speed with his favourite first person shooter games again with the help of a custom controller setup loan curated by our occupational therapists.
Gaming has been tricky for Marc, who’s a keen PC gamer. He has a spinal injury, and although he can move his arms and wrists, his hand movements are restricted and he has limited grip. Using a mouse and pressing keyboard buttons was possible, but he wasn’t able to play to the best of his abilities. He’d begun to wonder if a joystick would be easier to use than a keyboard, so he got in touch to ask.
Our therapists Joe and Frankie carried out pre-assessment planning with him via email to get a picture of his aspirations and abilities, and invited him to a video call where he was able to demonstrate the extent of his movements. They prepared a setup from our extensive equipment loan library that included five small finger switches and a mini-joystick connected to his PC via an Xbox Adaptive Controller. They also recommended the relevant software to make the components of the setup work together successfully for the games he wanted to play.
While the loan was being prepared, Marc tried out a standard controller with his left hand to get used to a joystick. When the equipment arrived and he’d positioned it in an arrangement that worked best for him, it wasn’t long before he was playing CS:GO and Call of Duty much more effectively. Joe and Frankie checked to see how he was getting on via a second video call and discovered he was getting on so well he was even making his own video about the setup!
We’ll be on hand to help Marc in the future if he needs support to get the best out of his gaming, of course, and we’re delighted that our loan is making a huge positive difference to the enjoyment and success of his gaming.
In-person assessment visits aren’t currently possible because of COVID-19, so our occupational therapists are helping Marc via online support and video calls. It’s proving to be an effective temporary way to provide our life-changing support and one that’s enabling us to carry on helping many people with physical disabilities. Below: Marc using his loan setup