Certified APX Practitioner Course

Become a Certified Accessible Player Experiences® Practitioner

AbleGamers is proud to announce that we have moved APX Training into a 100% online remote course. Scroll down to the bottom to learn more. 

Become a Certified APX Practitioner (CAPXP) and master player-centric accessible design.

  • Apply our data driven APX Design Patterns and promote a focus on accessibility early in the design cycle
  • Learn to identify accessibility issues during the design cycle and implement solutions to fix them
  • Equip yourself with the data you need to show accessibility is a worthwhile investment in your title
  • Understand the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) and what it requires

Developed and delivered by the AbleGamers Charity, that has worked within the industry to make games more inclusive over the past 16 years #SoEveryoneCanGame. To sign up for public courses visit: https://ablegamers.org/apxschedule.

UPDATE: Given recent events around the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak, we have taken the time to transition the course into an online course experienced in a virtual classroom. The online APXP course is available now and will be offered going forward. We hope to offer this online option alongside the in-studio course option in the future as the world recovers from the effects of the outbreak. 

The APX Practitioner Course Overview

Day One

Introduction to the Course

What is The AbleGamers Charity? What will we learn together over the next two days?

10
mins

Cases for Accessibility

What is Accessibility in games? How can you become a champion for Accessibility at your studio?

50
mins

Defining Disability

When we talk about ‘disability,’ what do we mean?

45
mins

Taking A Break

Exercise: Spot the Barriers

Examining a game example and discussing potential barriers for people with disabilities.

~15
mins

Introduction to Design Patterns

What are design patterns? How they are applicable to Game Accessibility?

30
mins

Lunch Time

Access Patterns: Input Options

What Input Options exist in the current gaming landscape and how does this pertain to Accessibility?

30
mins

Exercise: The Same Game

Examine how Input and Controls affect the gameplay experience.

~15
mins

Access Patterns: Control Options

What Control Options exist in the current gaming landscape and how does this pertain to Accessibility?

30
mins

Taking A Break

Exercise: Super Awesome Fighter

Apply the Access design patterns you have learned to a game example.

~1
hour

Day Two

Access Patterns: Presentation Options

How do Presentation channels affect the gameplay experience? What are the design patterns related to Presentation?

45
mins

Exercise: Super Awesome Space Fighter

Identify Presentation barriers and potential solutions in a game example.

~15
mins

Access Patterns: Presentation Options (continued)

Continued examination of Presentation channels and accompanying design patterns

30
mins

Taking A Break

Challenge Patterns: Challenge in Games

What role does Challenge have in gameplay? What types of Challenges do games have?

30
mins

Lunch

Challenge Patterns: Preference

What are the design patterns important to Challenge in gameplay with a focus on player Preference?

40
mins

Exercise: Super Awesome Space Racer

Identify Challenge barriers in a game example based on what you’ve learned.

~30
mins

Challenge Patterns: Progress

Continued examination of Challenge in gameplay and design patterns important to player progression.

30
mins

Taking A Break

Exercise: Super Awesome Survival Game

Apply the Challenge design patterns you have learned to a game example.

~1
hour

Wrap Up

You are now a Certified APX Practitioner! Let’s talk about your next steps!

15
mins

You may have questions, here are some answers.

When does the course start?

The APXP Course has launched and is available now!

How is the course administered?

There are 3 options for how the APX Practitioner Course is administered and how you can attend.

  1. In-Studio Course (10-person minimum)- This form of the course is conducted over 2 days with instructors present at the studio.
  2. Studio-Only Online Course (10-person minimum)- This form of the course is conducted in a digital classroom setting. Studios can arrange to customize the scheduling of the course administration to meet their needs. (For example: 4 days, 3+ hours each day)
  3. Public Online Course– This form of the course is conducted over 2 days in a digital classroom setting. These course sessions will likely include developers from multiple studios and companies.

To schedule a studio-only course, please reach out to mark (at) ablegamers (dot) org.

How much will the certification cost? Are there bulk discounts offered if we want to certify a group?

There are several options for administration of the course: In-Studio Course (conducted in-person with our instructors), Studio-Only Online Course, and Public Online Course (an open registration of the course that may have developers from other studios in attendance). The pricing for each is as follows:

  1. In-Studio Course (10-person minimum)- $1800 per seat plus travel expenses for 2 APXP Instructors
  2. Studio-Only Online Course (10-person minimum)- $1800 per seat
  3. Public Online Course- $2000 per seat OR $1800 per seat for 5+ people from a company

If you would like to discuss further pricing for bulk discounts. Please feel free to reach out to the AbleGamers Charity here to start a discussion. To schedule a studio-only course, please reach out to mark (at) ablegamers (dot) org.

How long is the course? How much time will it take?

There is a lot of material to cover in the APX Practitioner Course, so we are going to need approximately 14 hours to administer the course. For additional details on what’s covered in the course, see the Course Overview above.

What materials will I need to complete the course.

For In-Studio Courses, we will require a meeting room/boardroom (that can comfortably accommodate all participants and the 2 APX instructors) and access to a projector or TV that APX instructors can hook their laptop into to display slides. We recommend having access to white boards or easel pads for group exercises as well as pen/markers.

For Studio-Only Online Courses and Public Online Courses, you will need a PC or laptop setup, a microphone, and we recommend a camera in order to participate in the activities and ask questions in the digital classroom environment.

Additionally, when you sign up for the course, the AbleGamers Charity will be sending each course participant (via mail) an instructional booklet that contains the course material covered as well as an APX Card Deck to be utilized during the course.

How many people can you teach at once?

We estimate that we can effectively train approximately 50 people in a course session.

Can you come to us?

If you would like to train 10 people or more, we would be happy to come to you for the In-Studio Course, as long as you cover the travel cost for the 2 APXP instructors required.

Will the course be available in my timezone?

In short, yes! For the In-Studio Course or Studio-Only Online Course (10-person minimum for either option), we can work with your schedule and timezone to meet your needs. For the Public Online Course, we will have scheduled time slots to accommodate East Coast, West Coast, and European time zones.

Should Mobile Developers take this course?

Yes. While you may be limited in some of the options you have when it comes to controls, this represents just ONE pattern of the entire APX Framework. All the rest are very much part of mobile software design.