Steve Saylor

Last updated
Saylor at TwitchCon San Diego 2022 Steve Saylor at TwitchCon San Diego 2022.jpg
Saylor at TwitchCon San Diego 2022

Steve Saylor is a Canadian based game and media critic, host of Blind Gamer with Steve Saylor, and consultant that looks at accessibility within gaming. [1] He is known for his YouTube and Twitch channel, along with having worked on the accessibility aspects of games such as The Last of Us Part II , Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion .

Life and career

Saylor was born with albinism [2] and nystagmus, a condition that causes involuntary eye movement. [1] [3] He created and is the host of the Blind Gamer series on YouTube, which involves him playing video games while discussing accessibility in the medium, along with larger discourse on ableism and disability. [4] [5]

Steve Saylor has appeared in numerous publications, including Kinda Funny, and has been covered in Vice Media, [4] CG Magazine, [6] BBC Radio, [7] and CNN, [1] [8] and has written articles for IGN . [9] He is also an Accessibility Advocate that has spoken at GAconf, [10] and was nominated for the 2021 Canadian Game Awards. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browser game</span> Video game played in a web browser

A browser game is a video game that is played via the internet using a web browser. They are mostly free-to-play and can be single-player or multiplayer. Alternative names for the browser game genre reference their software platform used, with common examples being Flash games, and HTML5 games.

<i>Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas</i> 2004 video game

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a 2004 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the fifth main game in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2002's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and the seventh entry overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, the game follows Carl "CJ" Johnson, who returns home after his mother's murder and finds his old street gang has lost much of their territory. Over the course of the game, he attempts to rebuild the gang, clashes with corrupt authorities and powerful criminals, and gradually unravels the truth behind his mother's murder.

An audio game is an electronic game played on a device such as a personal computer. It is similar to a video game save that there is audible and tactile feedback but not visual.

<i>Tekken 4</i> 2001 fighting video game

Tekken 4 (鉄拳4) is a 2001 fighting game produced by Namco, released on their System 246 hardware and then ported to the PlayStation 2 home console in 2002. It is the fourth main installment in the Tekken series as the sequel to Tekken 3 (1997), and the fifth overall following the non-canon title Tekken Tag Tournament (1999). The game harbored many gameplay revisions, such as the series-unique ability for the player to move about before the round begins and the introduction of walled stages.

Kenshi (<i>Mortal Kombat</i>) Mortal Kombat character

Kenshi Takahashi is a character in the Mortal Kombat fighting game franchise by Midway Games and NetherRealm Studios. He makes his series debut in Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance (2002) as a blind swordsman and Special Forces operative. In addition to his sword skills, he possesses telekinetic abilities.

1995 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest VI, Mega Man 7, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Tekken 2, along with new titles such as Mario's Picross, Battle Arena Toshinden, Chrono Trigger, Rayman, Twisted Metal, Star Wars: Dark Forces, Destruction Derby, Wipeout and Jumping Flash!

<i>Grand Theft Auto</i> Video game series

Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is primarily developed by British development house Rockstar North, and published by its American parent company, Rockstar Games. The name of the series is a term for motor vehicle theft in the United States.

<i>Grand Theft Auto</i> clone Video game subgenre

A Grand Theft Auto clone belongs to a subgenre of open world action-adventure video games, characterized by their likeness to the Grand Theft Auto series in either gameplay, or overall design. In these types of open world games, players may find and use a variety of vehicles and weapons while roaming freely in an open world setting. The objective of Grand Theft Auto clones is to complete a sequence of core missions involving driving and shooting, but often side-missions and minigames are added to improve replay value. The storylines of games in this subgenre typically have strong themes of crime, violence and other controversial elements such as drugs and sexually explicit content.

<i>Wii Sports</i> 2006 sports video game by Nintendo

Wii Sports is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in North America along with the Wii on November 19, 2006, and in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month. It was included as a pack-in game with the console in all territories except Japan, making it the first sports game included with the launch of a Nintendo system since Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy in 1995. The game was later released on its own as part of the Nintendo Selects collection of games.

Within the field of human–computer interaction, accessibility of video games is considered a sub-field of computer accessibility, which studies how software and computers can be made accessible to users with various types of impairments. It can also include tabletop RPGs, board games, and related products.

Arsalan Nami better known as Arsi Nami, is a Swedish-Persian actor, music therapist, singer, songwriter, screenwriter and philanthropist living in Manhattan, New York. He earned himself 14 international Best Actor awards in 2022/23 for his role of Dylan Steere in Aion, a film presented and sponsored by FujiFilm. The awards was given by the New York International Film Awards, Tokyo Film Awards, Chicago Indie Film Awards, Sweden Film Awards, Cannes Silk Road Film Awards, Brazil Visions Film Fest, San Diego Movie Awards and Best Istanbul Film Festival to name a few. Thanks to his remarkable performance in Aion, the film was also selected and screened at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Hollywood, California

<i>Grand Theft Auto V</i> 2013 video game

Grand Theft Auto V is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, following 2008's Grand Theft Auto IV, and the fifteenth instalment overall. Set within the fictional state of San Andreas, based on Southern California, the single-player story follows three protagonists—retired bank robber Michael De Santa, street gangster Franklin Clinton, and drug dealer and gunrunner Trevor Philips, and their attempts to commit heists while under pressure from a corrupt government agency and powerful criminals. Players freely roam San Andreas's open world countryside and fictional city of Los Santos, based on Los Angeles.

The AbleGamers Foundation is an American nonprofit organization dedicated to improving accessibility in the video game space, enabling more people with disabilities to be able to play video games. The charity creates resources, assists individuals in getting the peripherals they need, runs scholarships, and works with video game publishers and video game companies to improve accessibility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WB Games Montréal</span> Canadian video game developer

WB Games Montréal Inc. is a Canadian video game developer based in Montreal, Canada. It was founded as a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games in 2010 and is best known for developing Batman: Arkham Origins and Gotham Knights.

<i>Celeste</i> (video game) 2018 platform game

Celeste is a 2018 platform game developed and published by indie studio Maddy Makes Games. The player controls Madeline, a young woman with anxiety and depression who aims to climb Celeste Mountain. During her climb, she encounters several characters, including Part of You, a personification of her self-doubt who attempts to stop her from climbing the mountain.

<i>The Last of Us Part II</i> 2020 video game

The Last of Us Part II is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Set four years after The Last of Us (2013), the game focuses on two playable characters in a post-apocalyptic United States whose lives intertwine: Ellie, who sets out in revenge for a murder, and Abby, a soldier who becomes involved in a conflict between her militia and a religious cult. The game uses a third-person perspective; the player must fight human enemies and zombie-like creatures with firearms, improvised weapons, and stealth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alanah Pearce</span> Australian video game writer and journalist (born 1993)

Alanah Pearce is an Australian video game writer and former journalist. Since 2020, Pearce has worked for American game developer Santa Monica Studio.

Can I Play That? is an American video game journalism website founded in 2018. A self-billed ‘game accessibility resource for both players and developers’, Can I Play That? specializes in providing accessibility reviews, features and news coverage on accessibility in games and the wider games industry. Can I Play That? also advocates for diversity and inclusion in games, and educates developers and studios about accessibility.

<i>Grand Theft Auto VI</i> Upcoming video game

Grand Theft Auto VI is an upcoming video game in development by Rockstar Games. It is due to be the eighth main Grand Theft Auto game, following Grand Theft Auto V (2013), and the sixteenth entry overall. Set within the fictional open world state of Leonida—based on Florida—and its Miami-inspired Vice City, the story is expected to follow the criminal duo of Lucia and her male partner.

<i>HyperDot</i> 2020 video game

HyperDot is a minimal action arcade game where the goal is to dodge everything. Players control a dot in a circular arena, and must dodge a variety of enemies until time runs out. It features a single-player campaign mode, multi-player battles and a level editor where players can build custom challenges.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Andronico, Michael (September 10, 2021). "Here's how blind gamer Steve Saylor creates awesome accessibility content". CNN Underscored . Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  2. Squires, Jim (March 1, 2016). "Blind Gamer". Medium . Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  3. Cloutier, Danielle (March 23, 2017). "How a blind man plays mainstream video games and the future of accessibility in games". CBC News . Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Isador, Graham (25 May 2020). "This Blind Gamer Is Fighting for Accessibility in Video Games". Vice . Vice Media . Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  5. Scullion, Chris (September 12, 2023). "Blind player tries out Forza Motorsport's Blind Drive Assist feature, wins a race using it". Video Games Chronicle . Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  6. "Toggling Accessibility: A Blind Player's Walkthrough to a Game Awards Nomination" . Retrieved 2021-11-13.
  7. "The disabled gamers revolutionising video games". BBC Radio 4 . BBC. Archived from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  8. Elassar, Alaa (June 19, 2020). "A blind video gamer got emotional after seeing The Last of Us Part II's extensive accessibility options for players with disabilities". CNN. Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  9. Saylor, Steve (2020-11-19). "PlayStation 5: The Accessibility Review". IGN Africa. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  10. "Steve Saylor". #GAconf. Archived from the original on 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.
  11. "Steve Saylor". Canadian Game Awards. Archived from the original on 2021-11-09. Retrieved 2021-11-09.