For a video games journalist, I haven’t played many video games recently.
Mostly, the absence of gaming in my life isn’t my fault. My laptop is almost four years old, and it’s quite determined to remind me of its age. If I were to anthropomorphize it, I would say it has needed frequent clinic visits (repairs) and therapy sessions (software reinstallation) to remain functional enough for work and play in the past year. I could go so far as to call it “disabled.” (Allow my SMA patient butt this joke, please.)
Sure, I probably should buy a new one. But between the rising cost of living, new international trade policies, and the push for artificial intelligence in our daily lives, the price for computer parts has increased significantly since the last time I bought a laptop. I need to save about 4,000 SGD (about $3,100) for the model I’m eyeing. I have other bills to pay. That amount of money isn’t easy to come by when you require flexible job opportunities due to fatigue and chronic pain caused by SMA.
Who knows, though? I may be able to save enough in the coming months, or I may be asked to come aboard a project that’ll provide a new device outright; the latter is exactly how I came into possession of my iPhone 17. That phone is how I’m getting my work done whenever my laptop decides it needs a rest and a visit to its doctor (repairman).
People say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I feel that saying keenly at the moment. Without my laptop or phone, I wouldn’t have access to the world. I wouldn’t get to do my jobs. I wouldn’t know most of my friends. I wouldn’t have learned about my passion for video game design.
Love at first tap
At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, the iPhone 17 runs much, much more efficiently than the iPhone XS I was using. One of the first things I did after I booted up the new device was download a game called Love and Deepspace.
The main pull of Love and Deepspace, for me, was that it’s a sci-fi fantasy role-playing, dating simulation game. You step into the shoes of a Hunter in the fictional Linkon City who has been reincarnated with her various lovers across space and time. Intrigued by the premise, I attempted to download the game about a year ago after seeing an ad for it, but my iPhone XS didn’t have enough storage to run it.
Conversely, my iPhone 17 runs the game at the highest settings without a single glitch or lag. It’s been an impressive treat, as I discovered Love and Deepspace is much more expansive than I thought it’d be. In addition to the main narrative and combat gameplay, resource-collecting, and interactive activities with the Hunter’s lovers, you can use the game to journal, set reminders, take digital photographs, build a home, and more.
Every time I log on, it’s like the part of my brain that still aspires to be a video game writer returns from a long slumber. I had forgotten what it was like to instinctively analyze a game’s features — why they exist, how they balance out in the overall experience, what I’d do differently with what I’ve learned about video game development.
I had forgotten how happy studying a game makes me.
Access granted
I grew up in an era when smartphones didn’t exist and computers were big, bulky things not everyone could afford. As a kid, I filled my time with books, arts and crafts, radio, and television. It’s therefore somehow easy for me to hypocritically brand the giant leaps in modern technology as a luxury.
But owning the newest generation of a device can be the difference between inclusion and exclusion. Not just socially, but spatially, intellectually, societally, and economically. This is particularly true if you’re disabled and rely on your devices to navigate the world around you. For example, Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 and 3 have a clinical-grade hearing aid feature.
The second thing I wanted to do most with my iPhone 17? Film and edit videos of myself doing my makeup to increase disability visibility in TikTok’s beauty community. Because not only could I do it faster, and with a longer battery life, but I also know people are much more likely to pause scrolling for a video that’s in 4K.
I need at least one of my devices as a portal to the life I’ve built for myself. So do countless others. If prices soar higher and faster, making it harder to access cutting-edge technology, we’re going to need to do something about that.
Note: SMA News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of SMA News Today or its parent company, Bionews, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to spinal muscular atrophy.
