Esme had never played a full game of FIFA without help.
For most teenagers, that’s nothing. For Esme, it was impossible.
She has dystonia. Standard controllers turn every game into a wrestling match with her own hands.
This summer, she played a full match. On her own.
Then she taught her teacher to play. And beat her.
The controller in her hands was Game-Changer. We built it with Cerebra, the national charity for children with brain conditions.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re not product designers.
True. We’re a behaviour change agency.
In behaviour change, when people don’t do something, you find what’s in their way.
Usually, it’s something in their heads. So we make campaigns.
This time, it was something in their hands. So we made a controller.
It began as an R&D project funded by Media Cymru. We asked disabled young people where the media world shut them out. They said gaming.
Turns out even “accessible” controllers aren’t that accessible.
So our engagement team, especially Ashrah Suudy, spent the best part of two years finding out why.
You can’t hand a questionnaire to a young person with complex needs and expect answers. Instead, we built workshops at Ysgol Y Deri, tailored around how each pupil communicates. We watched them play, session after session, and learned to hear what they couldn’t always say. Home gaming diaries and a survey of 147 families did the rest.
What they told us, Cerebra Innovation Centre’s designers built.
Modular buttons – fully customisable.
Kit that looks like gaming kit, not medical equipment.
Then we put it back in the same young hands and tested it again.
This video shows the whole journey, from first workshop to final presentation.
“I’ve seen dozens and dozens of accessible gaming devices over the past five years. The one you’ve got is the easiest and most accessible to use.”
Aaron Hawxwell, teacher, Ysgol Y Deri
Diolch to the pupils and staff of Ysgol Y Deri, and to the designers at the Cerebra Innovation Centre. It’s been a life-affirming project to work with you all on.
Heads or hands, we’ll always find what’s in the way.
Got a problem nobody’s solved? Let’s talk.
