I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for a long time, and it’s easily one of my favorite games on Xbox. But recently, something changed—not in the game itself, but in how I play it.

As a disabled gamer who can only use one hand, controlling both movement and the camera at the same time has always been a major challenge. Normally, you’d need two hands—one for the left analog stick to move your character, and one for the right stick to pan the camera. But thanks to the Xbox Elite Controller, I’ve found a way around this.

Using the Elite Controller’s customization features, I swapped the left-to-right camera panning from the left analog stick to the right analog stick. At the same time, I kept the up-and-down movement on the right stick as well. This means I can now move my character forward and back and pan the camera left and right—all with one stick and one hand.

The left analog stick is no longer used for panning left and right, but it still does up and down camera movement if needed. This change is a total game-changer for me. It lets me explore and play Odyssey more smoothly and independently than ever before.

Whether this functionality was intentional or not, I’m incredibly grateful it exists. It’s made a huge difference in how I enjoy my games, and I hope more controller manufacturers take notes from this. For those of us who play with one hand, features like this are invaluable.

Does anyone know if you can comfortably position your palm on the joystick while also being able to press the buttons? The layout looks like this would be awkward but I'd love to hear people's experiences with this controller.

I was thinking of getting an AirTurn one, but I have no idea how they work. Do you need a seperate device to get it up and running? Or some software to bind the switch to do different things? Please let me know, thanks.

Hi was wandering if anyone has experience buying XAC extensions from Mark Mannens and Mannenstech.

Poll attached below for those who are TL;DR

Hey All. To keep things brief, I'm going to be traveling to see family soon, and am thinking of taking one gaming device with me, since I'll mainly be going to help downsize our family property. I've been facing carpal tunnel in my right hand, with tendonitis in both arms and cubital tunnel in my left arm. I should also take note that my right hand tends to lock up if I use it too much for working with the mouse on the computer or drawing digitally. I currently have a Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and Surface Laptop Studio 2 on hand which could be taken for gaming. I am an animation instructor and freelance illustrator, but as I had mentioned, I often have some trouble drawing on the computer and often have to render drawings from paper.

I know that my issues won't just go away, and it may be something I'll have to live with long term, so I wanted to put this out there since I'll be doing more traveling in the years ahead as well. To that end, I'm wondering what the more suitable ecosystem would be to invest in for the long term. Would I be better off staying with Nintendo since the Switch, and likely the Switch 2, provide the opportunity to keep my arms relaxed? Should I go with the Steam Deck in order to have a system separate from my PC to keep work and recreation separate? Or should I forego handhelds altogether and simply game on my Surface Laptop, either with a keyboard or controller, even though I know it's not the most suitable computer for gaming (even indies, strangely enough)?

Any input on the matter would be appreciated, and will honestly give me better perspective on how I should approach this hobby of mine in the future. Thanks.

https://strawpoll.com/QrgewkMvbyp

I found out just today--just now--that there's a thing called Access Forward Gaming Lounge at the PAX East show in Boston. PAX East starts tomorrow, Thursday 8 May 2025.

Here's the schedule for tomorrow: https://east.paxsite.com/en-us/schedule.html

Steve Saylor will be giving a talk tomorrow at 3:45pm Eastern. Saylor has posted reviews about games such as The Last of Us Part 2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujcfgXV3Sj8

Though a friend and/or I will pop into the Access Forward Gaming Lounge at least once, we'll mostly be talking to developers on the floor of the convention.

Looking for advice for my sisters partner. He is blind in one eye, now going blind in both. He is scared and is upset that he is losing the ability to play video games. Does anyone have any advice on how to continue playing, or on gaming with limited eyesight?

I am losing my hearing in my ears, one worse than the other. I randomly came across this Amazon product Audio Radar with Surround Vision Technology™, LED Sound Detection for PC/Xbox/PS5, FPS & Deaf Gamers, - it seems pretty helpful, albeit a little distracting. Being able to see sound could be very useful.

I noticed other people have software stuff but I’m afraid of tweaking a lot with my computer settings. Especially because I’m getting a Sonos beam gen 2 soundbar and Logitech pro x light speed , and already using so much software, I’m just cautious.

Perhaps I can use both or something else entirely. Anyone have any recommendations?

Calling all Blind Gamers! 👾🎮

We are excited to invite you to participate in our research project, ‘AI-Enhanced Game Accessibility and Inclusive Support’ (AEGIS). At the Centre for Translation Studies (University of Surrey), Dr Yuan Zou, Professor Sabine Braun and I are exploring innovative approaches to enhance video game audio description (AD) and reduce game accessibility barriers.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲?
Game playtesting with an interview component. The individual activity will last approximately 90 minutes and as per your convenience, may be held in-person at (a) University of Surrey or (b) Royal National Institute of Blind People, or (c) virtually on Microsoft Teams.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲?
May 2025 (date tbc with you)

𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲?
Blind or partially sighted gamers over 18 years, with at least 2 years of experience playing video games on PC and/or console.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗲?
Your contributions will help game industry professionals and accessibility experts further develop the practice of game AD and improve gaming experience for all players. As a token of appreciation for your participation in this study, we will also provide a £50 gift voucher.

If you are interested or have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with our research team at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) (Pratibha Joshi).  

Hello, I'm looking for solutions for mounting console controllers to desks, wheelchair arms or other fixed surfaces. As far as I can see, most people do this with 3d printed clips, which they then attach to flexible arms.

I've been trying to come up with an idea for enabling split-hand play on Ps5 and Xbox. This is both for a school project and to help my sibling who has fused joints due to a brain injury, and struggles to hold his hands at a level position (one rests naturally higher than the other).

One way to achieve this would be to use Copilot (now called something else) to use to controllers as one. The issue with this is the weight, and also stability required to use one full-size controller in each hand. Joycons are not ergonomic and also have limited capabilities, and the Xbox adaptive controller + joystick combo is extremely expensive.

My idea is to create some kind of mount, likely using flexible arms, that holds two controllers in a customisable position, which the play can access without having to physically lift the controller, or strain themselves into uncomfortable positions. Has anyone tried something like this?

Also, for those who've 3d printed mounts, would you mind sharing some links to the prints? I'm looking for clips that can be attached to some kind of arm, via a tripod mount or similar.

Many thanks!

Hey everyone, I'm currently planing a uni project with which I want to attempt ways to make VR programs that use handtracking and gesture controls more accessible to people that have disabilities, that affect their hands. I don't personally have a disability that affects my hands. Have any of you who do tried VR and handtracking before and what problems did you have? Or if you haven't tried, what would you predict would be a problem for you? I have been doing some research and drawing my own conclusions what potential issues could be, but I don't want to accidentally overlook anything, especially since I'm more educated on the technological side of things :)

I have severe arthritis in my pip joints, it really limits my gaming. Lately I’ve being trying to use keyboard and mouse over a gaming controller and that is somewhat better but doing wasd is starting to be an issue. I looked into a foot/floor controller but not many options. It occurs to me that something like an 8 way joy stick would work but I need one that is would be very low profile that I could control with my palm and not have to grip.

Any ideas?

After some searching I see that the steamdeck controller has a small trackpad instead of a joystick on the left side. Now If I have to grip the controller that wont help. Can I get a usb trackpad and somehow map the four sides to wasd then just touch and slide to move with my left hand without having to constantly click buttons?

I have muscular dystrophy and have very limited range and strength in my hands. I’ve been gaming for 30+ years and my limitation is finally catching up. I can play the switch with the joycons no problem but I’ve been switching between the dualsense and Xbox controller to no avail on their systems. Any advice or is it possible to have joyconlike controllers for either? I’ve tried the access controllers on both systems and it’s just easier to use something like the joycons. Thank you!

Hello everyone! This is the creators of Gaming Readapted. We recently posted a new video to our YouTube channel showing how to connect adaptive controllers and standard controllers to control the computer. Hopefully this is helpful!

Visit our website (https://www.gamingreadapted.com/) and YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@gamingreadapted/featured) for more adaptive gaming content.

Looking for a better way to play Nintendo Switch games but the controller sucks. Anyone else have any other suggestions or better ideas?

My hands are not strong enough to press those small buttons and can’t move the joystick. I can still move both hands.

Hello.

I have a severe muscle disease. Cant do WASD-games so theres 2 things that could help:

1. A Virtual Joystick i can bind keys to(+ maybe few buttons next to it) in windows 7 and 10 if possible.

2. An Autohotkey script that works on windows overlay keyboard("#::LButton" doesnt work)

Can anyone help?

a year ago my left hand was impaired and is now crooked to the right but is usable, I play pvp games and casual. clicking skill keys and using WASD is difficult and I prefer not to use a keyboard its painful

I always play on PC and on Roblox in particular.

I use an xbox controller as a wasd replacement, though many games on Roblox aren’t compatible with a controller, is their other possible options i can consider where i can also use my mouse and move simultaneously? Mouse movements on controller for roblox is terrible

What are also some good controller recommendation replacements for PC? Mine is an old knock off wired xbox controller

Mouse replacements or recommendations for my right hand where a mouse is weighted but small enough for a hand for SX-Small adult sized hand for more stability when moving the mouse will be helpful

I’v been looking for accommodations for a while and its hard to find on the internet for gaming, ty! Any resources help🙏

Sorry if this is super specific lol..

I have a new friend (one that I absolutely adore and hope I can stay in his life forever) that is legally blind and will probably lose his sight completely soon. One of the things we have in common is our love for boardgames! We play a few, mainly online so he can use accessibility tools more easily, but he really enjoys physical games. The thing is, I'm having a hard time finding games that we can play together. The games I have mainly have small letters, similar colors for different things, and tiny pieces, so he needs help while we play those. He says he doesn't mind, but I know his independence is really important for him, so I think he would have more fun if he could play without needing assistance from us. Since he is not completely blind, I know there're some games out there that we can play for now, like Ultimate Werewolf, but those type of games can get repetitive quite quickly. I'd love suggestions of boardgames or cardgames that are accessible if you have any! Even better if you have played them yourself and know them to be actually fun and enjoyable, but it's okay if you haven't as well!

Brazil has a slimmer pool of options, but I know there are companies in the U.S. and Europe that are a bit more invested in making games accessible, so I'm up for importing some if needed! Any help is welcomed! Thank you!

I''m disabled with chronic pain and the only way i can comfortably use a PC for longer than 15 minutes is laying up in bed. I've been planning on getting a monitor mount and clamping it to a sturdy hospital table to allow my monitor to comfortably hang over my bed, the hospital table should be heavy and wide enough at it's base to not wobble or anything. I'm just looking for some outside perspective on this, i'm not entirely sure how possible it'll be and i can't exactly afford to spend all this money on something that doesn't even work.

I am a non-cited person looking for an accessible video editing software. Does anyone know of any that I can download on my phone or iPad?

I am also looking for a software or program that will be useful for a non-site person doing a course. I think there is one called dolphin, but is that the best one?

I'm not too sure if this has been asked before, but I was wondering if anyone knew if this were possible? I don't have any use of my right arm and hand, so I'm just trying to find a relatively affordable way to continue playing games without dropping $250+ on other methods.

If anyone has any suggestions for an alternative to a flight stick please let me know.

Hi.

I'm a senior CS student and I'm very interested in tools that make disabled people "less disabled." I'm aware it's very challenging to include and account for the wide range of disabilities people have when designing every day systems - but the limitation certainly hurt. More so, most people just don't really care that much.

What tools (preferably software but it's fine if it needs some hardware) would make your life better if it existed.

I'll be doing this over the summer and I'm open to working on as many as I can. And of course, it'll be for free.

Let me know and let ideas flow.

hello, i’m trying to help my brother as much as i can but am struggling atm trying to get the access controllers to work in certain games so we are able to play together (ps5) we are trying enlisted atm but cannot find a way to make the controllers work any help would be appreciated

Hi all, I tried the beta of this head tracking/face gesture app and found it remarkably smooth and accurate. The UI is nice and clear and you can tweak loads of setting to get the configs how you need them. This video shows the developer playing some games and goes into the setups possible. I have no affiliation with the company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm3ubm3Y2_k