British trade association UKIE has announced a two-day game jam in honour of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD).

GAAD is a community-driven initiative aimed at introducing the topic of accessibility in highly digital fields - such as gaming, software, mobile/apps, etc. - for people with disabilities.

UKIE's event, dubbed A11yJam, is based on the theme of accessibility with a focus on making mainstream gaming more accessible to gamers with motor, cognitive, hearing, speech or vision impairments.

Come one, come all

A11yJam is open to up to 30 experienced game developers, who'll have 48 hours between 16 - 18 May to learn and experiment with ways to include people with impairments into a new, themed game.

These developers will be supported by talks and hands-on advice for veterans in the area, such as Barrie Ellis of SpecialEffect and OneSwitch - who has experience in controller adaptations for gamers with impairments - and Antoine Pastor of Somethin' Else - the designers of blind-accessible audio games such as Papa Sangre.

Speaking on the GAAD game Jam, UKIE's CEO Dr. Jo Twist stressed the importance of the initiative.

"Games can be life changing for people with accessibility issues and it is so important that we help raise awareness of the issues facing the 20 percent of gamers who have some form of impairment," she said.

"The game jam will help challenge creativity and make the developers think outside the box when creating their game. With the help of the accessibility expert’s and support from Special Effect I can’t wait to see the projects that will come out of the jam."

Entry to the game jam is based on donations, with all proceeds going to the UK charity SpecialEffect. For more information on A11yJam, you can visit its Eventbrite page.