Our guest this week is DOTS RPG Project, specifically their president, director and guild master Jess Dempsey. 

​

DOTS RPG Project begun when Jack (former director) wanted to make tabletop role playing games accessible for his visually impaired friend D. Jack got the support from local gaming group and was able to raise funds to get a braille embosser to provide D with his own rule-books and sheets for various games. Unfortunately in January of 2018 D passed away but the project moves forward in his memory. In August 2018 Jack stepped out from the daily tasks and passed the torch to Jess Dempsey who we have interviewed below. DOTS is an official non profit organization with 501(c)(3) charity status.

​

​

Where do you operate? 

 

• Primarily out of New York, USA but our volunteers are worldwide.

​​

How long have you been doing it? 

​

• The DOTS RPG Project began as a discussion between friends in 2017. In 2018, DOTS shared it’s work with the public. In 2019, DOTS became an official nonprofit charitable organization.​

​​

What do you do? 

​

• The DOTS RPG Project is a nonprofit focusing on improving accessibility in gaming for disabled individuals. We work on creating accessible gaming aids, transcribing printed books into braille, creating sign language to be used in games, and many other things. Partnerships with game developers and publishers allow us to work on communicating accessibility needs at the beginning, helping the creators address potential obstacles.

​

What are your current goals?  

​

• In many different ways, we’re working on accessibility needs for tabletop gaming. Our hope is one day disabled gamers will be able to run, play, and experience the magic of TTRPGs with complete independence.

​​

What's your story, how did you get to this point? 

 

• Jack and D’s project needed to be shared with the world, to be able to help more people. Once it was, we realized the need to help people with other disabilities as well.

​​

What inspired you to start? 

​

• Jack wanted to make tabletop gaming more accessible for his friend D. Realizing there were not many items available for blind or visually impaired gamers, Jack set out on a mission to change that.

​​

What other passions/hobbies do you have?

 

• Tabletop gaming of course is a huge passion of mine. Outside of the tabletop world, I’m a big lover of video games, writing, and photography. Many things I do in life are geared toward my creative side, always working on something new.

 

Any final message for the community? 

 

• The gaming community has welcomed us excitedly with open arms, proving just how wonderful it is. The concept of welcoming more people to the table and doing what we need to make it accessible is something that the community has declared their need for. We can’t thank everyone enough for their interest and passion for our efforts, we wouldn’t be able to do as much as we have without the support of everyone from fans to volunteers.

​​