thePULSEBy Katey Khaos
As we all know, video games require an absurd amount of hand-eye coordination, which makes it difficult for those who are not able to use their hands to play many of the popular titles that are out today.
Keith “Aieron” Knight was born with a form of Muscular Dystrophy called Amyoplasia Arthrogryposis. “You could probably find a better explanation by Googling, but I’ll explain it. Simply, I was born with less muscle mass in my body and my joints have stiffened as I aged. I have very little movement in my arms, legs, and hands as a result of my condition,” Knight explains.
Because of that condition, Knight can’t play PC games with the conventional keyboard and mouse setup that many have become so comfortable with. Instead, he had to develop his own way of playing.
“For MMOs with auto-run functions, I primarily use my keyboard with a pen in my mouth. I only ever use my mouse for slight camera adjustments and some targeted AOE abilities. For MOBAs, I use my mouse a lot more, which I’ve converted to being left handed while playing as left clicking is easier. I also use a voice command program called Dragon Naturally Speaking to do most of my abilities,” Knight says. The voice commands correspond to keys on the keyboard, so for games like League of Legends, when he says the word “waffles,” his Q ability is used.
Of course, this setup isn’t perfect. There are some characters in games that, because of their skill set, make it extremely hard for Knight to play ~ Lee Sin from League of Legends, for example. Dragon Naturally Speaking also goofs sometimes, causing Knight to miss an attack. However, keep in mind that without this amazing idea, PC gaming wouldn’t be possible for Knight at all, so a few kinks here and there aren’t so bad.
Knight realizes thousands of people are affected by the same condition he has, and has used gaming as a way to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. He does so by live streaming his gameplay of League of Legends and Guild Wars II on Twitch.tv, to raise money for a Muscular Dystrophy walk in Canada.
To watch Knight live stream, be sure to check out his channel,www.twitch.tv/aieron!
