It's Topher Winward! ✌️
@topher.io
780 followers 720 following 470 posts
Joy finder && software developer. Accessibility, videogames, webdev, cloud, gardening, birding, gratitude. he/him 🏳‍🌈🌎 Working at @Rare.co.uk on @SeaOfThieves.com and beyond~ https://topher.io
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topher.io
#introduction time!
I'm Topher
Reposted by It's Topher Winward! ✌️
momoxmia.bsky.social
In fact, we can often learn from disabled folks by understanding how they are engaging with a product. It’s one of the best ways to improve the design and make it more better for everyone.

Maybe I am biased; I’m just surprised folks aren’t mentioning accessibility when this meme comes up. /rant 😆😄♥️
Reposted by It's Topher Winward! ✌️
lotusenta.gay
Why yes, the ability to remap every single ability is in fact accessibility, and I will take no fucking arguments on this.
topher.io
Don't make me tap the XKCD
topher.io
Happy World Standards Day! Which, hilariously, is not actually observed on the same day by all standards organizations
Though World Standards Day is officially 14 October, the date of observance varies by standards organization. The American National Standards Institute celebrated the day on 12 October in 2023 and 14 November in 2024.[6] The World Trade Organization and the Standards Council of Canada observe it 14 October, as intended, though the Standards Council of Canada celebrated on 12 October in 2012.[7]
topher.io
Here is a handsome Egyptian goose
An Egyptian goose. It has brown feathers and a dark park around its eye. It is standing on the edge of a pond, with autumn leaves fallen around it.
topher.io
I do a monthly round-up of accessibility news at work, and going straight to Can I Play That? as one of my sources is invaluable every time.

A brilliant team doing brilliant work, go give them a follow, and if you can, support with a donation!
caniplaythat.com
A colorblind mode is the latest in a series of accessibility updates for mountain climbing game sensation PEAK.

It follows a series of patches with photosensitivity and bug phobia modes among many other balancing and quality of life improvements.

caniplaythat.com/2025/09/10/p...
PEAK accessibility updates continue with new colorblind mode - Can I Play That?
A colorblind mode is the latest in a series of accessibility updates for PEAK, following patches with photosensitivity and bug phobia modes.
caniplaythat.com
topher.io
Absolutely brilliant stuff Tarja - your hard work and uplifting positivity are a shining light in this world ✨
Reposted by It's Topher Winward! ✌️
tarjapk.bsky.social
I won friends!! 😭❤️ I was acknowledged as one of the games industry leading women with the Aurora Award at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki!

It’s hard to put in words how much it means to me being amongst these honorees.
Tarja showing finger hearts and smiling slightly. Charly Harbord receiving the award on behalf of Tarja who wasn’t able to attend. Charly is on the stage at PGC Helsinki.
topher.io
But also yes, there's even more blurring of lines. If I'm at a busy party and having trouble understanding who I'm talking to, that could be a hearing problem, or a cognitive processing problem (distracted by others), or even both
Reposted by It's Topher Winward! ✌️
topher.io
One thing I've changed recently - instead of using "visual", "audio" etc, I now prefer Microsoft's Touch / See / Hear / Speak.
It makes it clear that you're talking about the user.

e.g. does "audio accessibility" refer to those who have sight or hearing needs?
Microsoft Inclusive Design toolkit, showing a Touch/See/Hear/Speak vs Permanent/Temporary/Situational matrix
topher.io
One thing I've changed recently - instead of using "visual", "audio" etc, I now prefer Microsoft's Touch / See / Hear / Speak.
It makes it clear that you're talking about the user.

e.g. does "audio accessibility" refer to those who have sight or hearing needs?
Microsoft Inclusive Design toolkit, showing a Touch/See/Hear/Speak vs Permanent/Temporary/Situational matrix
topher.io
Everything is accessibility, and everything is tuberculosis, ergo accessibility is tuberculosis.

Don't think that's a great tagline
topher.io
Currently writing an accessibility presentation and tried categorising a bunch of features into "needs" verticals.

Quickly realised none of them fit nicely into a single category, the whole structure has collapsed, and I've rewritten the slide simply as "Everything Is Accessibility"
Reposted by It's Topher Winward! ✌️
prisonculture.bsky.social
Mahmoud Darwish trans. by Mohammed Shaheen
black text on white background

"As you prepare your breakfast, think of others
   (do not forget the pigeon’s food).
As you conduct your wars, think of others
   (do not forget those who seek peace).
As you pay your water bill, think of others
   (those who are nursed by clouds).
As you return home, to your home, think of others
   (do not forget the people of the camps).
As you sleep and count the stars, think of others
   (those who have nowhere to sleep).
As you liberate yourself in metaphor, think of others
   (those who have lost the right to speak).
As you think of others far away, think of yourself
   (say: “If only I were a candle in the dark”)."
Reposted by It's Topher Winward! ✌️
gamemakerstoolkit.com
Here's a quick thread about the accessibility features and options that will be in the final version of Word Play!
The word Accessibility spelt in the game Word Play
topher.io
Wait how do I enable these?? I've got all notifications on but have never seen?

(Or maybe I never have new birds passing through my area 😭)
topher.io
Writing a résumé but instead of listing skills, listing every bird you've ever seen
topher.io
Lovely read - wasn't expecting how cheap those titles at the end would add up to! Curious how you got on with the Switch 1 in comparison, if at all?
Reposted by It's Topher Winward! ✌️
unburntwitch.com
A cool thing about the natural world is that if you kinda let your mind unfocus enough to not have all the shit we learned growing up at the forefront of your brain, batshit stuff happens constantly that can make you kinda see how we ended up with so many superstitions trying to make sense of it all
topher.io
Birding is a wonderful expression of curiosity and love for nature.
It's as easy as heading outside (though decent binoculars and the Merlin app help hugely!) and it's improved my life and mental health in so many ways.

Now get out there and find you a bird! 🐤
topher.io
I'd like to thank my binoculars for this particular achievement, but also cheers:

* @rspb.bsky.social Middleton Lakes for being so welcoming
* @steveatkinson.bsky.social + friends for tip-offs about cool species there
* @zookie-art.bsky.social for always having seen more birds than me
topher.io
I've not birdposted in a while, but I have a super cool update. After searching for this gorgeous Ruff for 3 hours yesterday and finally finding her, I can officially declare:

I have now seen ✨ 150 species of bird ✨ worldwide in 2025!!! 🐦
A ruff standing in water with her bill down looking for food. She is a wader with a white tummy, mottled brown feathers on her back, and a soft head.