SpecialEffect

This week all involved in the brilliant Games Talks Live events across Scotland have raised ￡2,000 in support of SpecialEffect and we can't thank them enough! Attendees were shown recent stories about SpecialEffect but "hot off the press" we wanted to share this lovely story about out BubbleBusters project that has helped a number of children across Scotland this year to show the kind of difference events like Games Talks Live enable SpecialEffect to keep on having! A last hug for ‘Cocobot’ as Coco rings the bell on cancer Coco’s mother contacted our?BubbleBuster?project a few months after her daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia. Coco had already missed several months of school and had lost the confidence to video chat with her friends. She was also finding it difficult to hold up a phone. We were able to lend her one of our characterful AV1 telepresence robots which began to bring her back into contact with her school and her friends. She called it ‘Cocobot’, and it became her eyes, ears and voice in the classroom, with Coco controlling it remotely at home through a tablet computer. “It was a real lifeline for Coco and for all of us during a really difficult time,”?said her mother.?“In terms of reducing her feelings of isolation, it was invaluable.” “We had a difficult few months where Coco barely managed more than one day every few weeks in school. She would really look forward to turning ‘Cocobot’ on in the morning and having a chat with friends over break time.” By the summer of 2023 Coco’s health was slowly improving. Gradually she managed one or two days at school each week and needed ‘Cocobot’ less. And we recently heard the wonderful news that Coco has finished her treatment. She’s ‘rung the bell’ at hospital and happily returned to school. As you can see, she gave ‘Cocobot’ one last hug before returning it to us. “The AV1 has been amazing,”?said her mum.?“It’s made a significant difference to her journey, and as a family we’re all hugely grateful!” Since the BubbleBusters Project started we’ve connected over 100 families with schools across the UK, and we look forward to our little loan robots, made by?No Isolation, being reused again and again to help many more pupils in the future. Find out more about our?BubbleBusters?project here. https://lnkd.in/e7Ngwka8

The Annual Games and Interactive Salary and Satisfaction Survey for 2024/25 from our friends Skillsearch │ Games & Tech Jobs is LIVE and once again kindly supporting SpecialEffect and Ecologi | B Corp?! ???? We'd ask all #games and #Interactive professionals to donate a few minutes of your time, support two good causes and also help uncover key trends, address challenges, and celebrate successes across the sector. ?? Complete the survey now and get involved in shaping tomorrow's industry landscape! ?? Take the survey here - https://lnkd.in/eT8ZbCK4

Games Talks Live starts tonight in Edinburgh followed by Dundee and Glasgow with more brilliant speakers and support from sponsors in another special event put together by Colin Macdonald The talks are also generously supporting our work at SpecialEffect with a raffle (link below including how to register to watch online) and stories about the charity will be shown each night. https://lnkd.in/e5uQEs2f Huge thanks to all the kind donors of prizes and good luck for another very special series of events

HUGE NEWS! I am so proud to announce that ***Bonus Stage raised over ￡10,000 for SpecialEffect!*** ?? ?? When?1minus1?set out to create Bonus Stage, it was a pure passion project; we stated that first and foremost, it had to be a night of celebration for the music of video games and support a great charity (hello?SpecialEffect!). We felt the rest would fall into place – and wow, did it. - The music was incredible - The vibe was perfect - We made new friends - We raised money for a great cause There are so many people to thank, and I am going to try my very best to cover everybody here. Firstly I want to start off with our headline sponsor Turtle Beach, which provided us with financial support and helps of enthusiasm and love of #videogames. Without Turtle Beach's Keith Hennessey and the team, Bonus Stage would not have been half the event it was. THANK YOU! Then there's the amazing poncle, Hello Games, and Wired Productions, who very generously supported their artist's involvement. Without you, no event! Saber Interactive and TrailerFarm for their generous sponsorship and passion, Mathematic Studio/Player Two for filming the event, ACM - Academy of Contemporary Music for donating the amazing The Electric Theatre for the evening, and the support from Paul Clarke, the Barclays Games & Creative team and Elaine Dowman for covering a round of drinks for everyone, and Red Bull for supplying ... Red Bull (!) ?? you also deserve our vast thanks! And then there's our amazing artists. Paul Weir of Hello Games and Paul Wolinski of 65daysofstatic, Filippo Vicarelli, Daniele Zandara and Stefano Sacchi Muci of poncle with Vampire Survivors, and Aisha Vaughan, Kieron Pepper, Matt Jackson and Leo Zullo of Wired Productions and Black Razor Records, all with our Bonus Stage Orchestra led by the incredible Nathan Britton and Lorenzo Bassignani of Soho Live Studios, Joel Baylis and Shelby Harvey of Bytten Studio with Cassette Beasts, and ACM - Academy of Contemporary Music with their talented student artists. Did everyone deliver with the music. I am not ashamed to admit that I got a tear in my eye more than once during the performances. Kudos to all of you; you made the night! It was absolutely transcendent. Also, a big thank you to those who donated frankly amazing things to the raffle – Riot Games, Turn 10 Studios and Playground Games, Wired Productions, Black Razor Records, BULKHEAD, Larian Studios, and many more! Finally, thank you, of course to SpecialEffect and in particular Liam Lawler and Maddy Meeson, SpecialEffect! We are truly, truly grateful. ?? Bonus Stage last Thursday night was one of the best nights of my life. It was definitely the best of 1minus1's life.?Maybe there will be more to come! More soon! I'm just getting all the videos and photos together! We have all the music recorded, a lot of videos too. In the meantime, here's a rehearsal shot while I do that!

We’re super excited to announce our #RaiseTheGame stream taking place next Thursday, discussing accessibility in gaming and SpecialEffect’s work, with special guests Dom Shaw and Topher Winward. Tune in from 5PM GMT: https://lnkd.in/g7ZuipQ

Later today SpecialEffect Vice President and broadcasting legend Jim Rosenthal is kindly hosting a very special lunch at North Oxford Golf Club that will raise funds and awareness for our work. The event is the perfect reason to share this lovely story from a few years ago featuring Jim talking to one of our amazing SpecialEffect families. Thank you so much to Jim for donating his time along with our sponsors and partners Smith & Sons (Bletchington) Ltd IND-TECH LIMITED First Sight Media Clarity Video and our generous hosts North Oxford Golf Club along with our event volunteers (Frank, Michele, Jo) and all the guests who are set to make it a very special afternoon making a real difference.

Thank you to our friends at Jagex and Humble Bundle who have been passionate supporters of SpecialEffect and the gamers we help for many years for their support with this amazing Runescape Humble Bundle! You can now pay what you want for the ultimate RuneScape: Ode of the Devourer experience, featuring the core game, a one-month membership, and a legendary collection of add-on content that supports our work! https://bit.ly/3YUTgXV

It’s #OccupationalTherapyWeek2024 and we’d love to take a sec to celebrate our incredible team of Occupational Therapists, who help bring inclusion and access into the lives of people with physical disabilities. We’re also hiring right now! https://lnkd.in/eE3cEU8P

Please see and share this post from Tim Stokes ?? CES ahead of the final SpecialEffect Golf Society event of the year. Thank you to Tim alongside the rest of the amazing volunteers, sponsors and players involved in making these events possible! "The next SpecialEffect Golf Society (SEGS) golf day will be held at Worksop Golf Club on Fri 29th?November. To date SEGS has raised over ￡5,000 for SpecialEffect, so if you are a golfer and want to also help support this amazing charity, please get involved! Worksop GC https://lnkd.in/ewcb5ASC is the home of the golfing legend Lee Westwood?“I still get a thrill each time I tee it up on the 1st, at some of our lesser-known courses as well as our championship venues, but my golfing heart lies at Worksop, a hidden gem if ever there was one.” https://lnkd.in/ecMEpEEP Outline plans for the day as follows: 09:30 Meet for bacon rolls & tea/coffee 10:30 First group tees off 15:00 Last group finishes 15:30 Lunch & prize giving 16:00 Departures Price: ￡56 SEGS Members/ ￡69 Non-members Places are filling up fast, so please secure your spot here: https://lnkd.in/eyFRqYfF or email / DM me if interested in becoming a SEGS member and/ or playing as a guest."

Congratulations to SpecialEffect Ambassador Andrew on completing the New York Marathon and flying the SpecialEffect flag on Sunday! If you are inspired by Andrew and would like to know more about SpecialEffect running events next year including the London 10K and Oxford Half Marathon please do contact [email protected]