Weston-super-Mare MP Celebrates Victory for Epilepsy Sufferers as New Guidelines Are Launched

 

Weston MP John Penrose is celebrating victory in his

long-running campaign to protect young people playing computer games from

photosensitive epilepsy.

TIGA, the trade association representing the UK

games industry, has announced it is issuing advice and guidelines on how

to create games, which minimize the risks of triggering a photo-sensitive

epilepsy attack, so that games businesses can build the right safety features

into all their games in future.

 

John Penrose took up the issue after a constituent contacted

him because her son, who played video games, had suffered an epilepsy attack.

Since then John and TIGA have been working

together to ensure that all TIGA members will be properly briefed on how to

build safer games.

 

Dr. Richard Wilson, TIGA CEO stated: "We are very

grateful to Ubisoft for their work in developing the new advice and

guidelines. 

"The booklet can be downloaded by TIGA members direct from our

website www.tiga.org.  I would like thank John Penrose MP for his work on this issue."

 

John Penrose said: "I am very pleased that TIGA has

published this advice to help games developers avoid problems with photo-sensitive

epilepsy. 

"The film and TV industries have had a set of guidelines in place

for years, so I'm delighted that UK games developers have followed their

example in such a responsible and sensible fashion."

 

Gareth Edmondson, Managing Director of Ubisoft

Reflections stated: "Ubisoft takes the issue of photo-sensitive epilepsy

prevention very seriously and we provide all our development studios with

information on this issue.

"The company is very happy to share this information

with TIGA's membership, especially smaller studios that perhaps do not have the

resources to research this issue.

"We hope this will lead to the widespread

adoption of best practices in photo-sensitive epilepsy prevention among all UK

developers."