Last Friday, I found out my mother had a stroke. When I initially got the news, my father said that she was fully aware but the doctors weren’t even sure if she could regain her ability to move her right arm, the right side of her body or even be able to speak.  She is still in the ICU right now, but the doctors have found positive signs for some neurological recovery but it will take a lot of work and therapy.  We are still awaiting a full prognosis and would appreciate you keeping my mother in your thoughts and prayers.

It’s times like this that you really evaluate what truly matters in your life and how small are the things we hold dear to ourselves.  All the things we waste time upon instead of truly treasuring the people who make life worth living.  And one of the serious offenders for taking time away from loved ones is games.

The key to games is understanding that games can be powerful servants but awful masters.  Few people realize that games are more than just a past-time – gaming is one of the most powerful tools for accessing and repairing damaged parts of the brain and can be a great boon for humanity rather than a massive time waster that widows wives and orphans children.

Games can repair the brain

Games are a powerful tool not just for education, but for real neurological benefit.  My initial foray into gaming was making games whose task is to stimulate neurological functioning.  Many of these games would seem very inane and resemble variations of the game “Memory”, but given enough time and practice these games can actually improve brain function, delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, and rehabilitate stroke symptoms.

What got me thinking was that my mother will need these kinds of games for her rehabilitation as well as entertainment to enjoy.  But a great number of games that she loves and enjoys are simply not accessible for persons without fine motor skills.  One may not think that using a mouse is a “fine motor skill” but for persons with severe neurological damage, a mouse is so much harder to use than a keyboard.  How many games out there do you know are designed for use with a single hand that is not a mouse?

Not meant for accessibility

I’ve taken a lot of thought and decided that after I release my fall game that I will dedicate myself to making not only games that my wife and kids will enjoy, but that my mother can access and use with limited motor function.  I used to be one of the first web technology experts at Booz | Allen | Hamilton for the U.S. Government standards for accessibility (Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act), and so I am familiar on how all technologies can be utilized to overcome all sorts of neurological and physiological disabilities.

Games don’t have to be just mere entertainment and escape.  Games can be an instrument of true freedom and a great boon to humanity and the human drama.