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Video games weren't just an escape for Kingett, though—they were a way to prove that he was better than the words of his intoxicated mother.He wasn't just playing games; he was picking up their different systems and rule sets. He was learning. "When people usually think of learning, they think of memorizing and repeating facts, but I think learning is taking original concepts and making new ideas or solving puzzles with them," Kingett tells me. "Video games in particular have helped me learn so many things about problem solving. I'm a gamer who firmly believes that gaming can, indeed, make a person smarter."On VICE Sports: Blind Tennis Is Going From Strength to Strength
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"Gaming is a huge and deeply embedded part of our culture and society," Hamilton says. "It's an industry that's now worth around $80 billion (worldwide), which is a figure pretty close to the total of all recorded entertainment put together. So it's a significant thing to be denied access to, especially when it's just off the back of a trivial design decision, such as which button does which action, or use of red and green for team colors."Being color blind myself, I know the relief of going into a menu on a competitive shooter like something from the Call of Duty series and seeing the option to turn on a filter to more easily tell allies and enemies apart. I can only imagine the joy felt by a motor-impaired child as they explore a virtual world. Ian Hamilton is helping developers create tools for everyone to experience their games—access ramps to another world.Follow Kirk on Twitter.Related: Meet the Organizers Behind What Might Be the World's First Disabled Orgy