Deafverse

Image is a vertical rectangle which shows a depiction of outer space with a dark blue background, little white stars ranging from tiny pinpoints to slightly larger crosses, a long thin shooting star trail, and 3 planets. The largest planet looks like Saturn, situated at the top right of the oval. It is red with a white broad ring around the center and fades into the dark blue background. The next largest planet is beige and is near the bottom left of the oval, also fading into the background. The third planet is smallest and is blue and barely distinguishable from the background. White text reading “DEAFVERSE” stretches across the middle. The text is warped with the letters in the center slightly smaller than the letters on the ends. Below the “DEAFVERSE” text is a sentence reading “CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE” in white text.

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Deafverse World One: Duel of the Bots

Limited Beta Release

Team up with a robot sidekick, speak up for yourself, and save the day!

It’s a dark and stormy night when a mysterious mechanical creature suddenly appears. Your new robot friend needs your help to capture another bot that is wreaking havoc in your small town. Can you stop the menace?

Deafverse is a choose-your-own-adventure game created just for teenagers that is now in limited beta release. In the Deafverse world, you get to make own choices, speak up for yourself, and build confidence and skills you can use in real life—even when you don’t have a robot by your side!

Deafverse World One Official Launch: Fall 2019

Free | English and ASL

 
Justin Perez, a black man with long curly black hair pulled back into a bun, a chin goatee, and a red long-sleeved shirt stands in the interior of a spaceship. He faces the camera and is very expressive as he tilts to the right and signs something with two hands facing each other. The interior of the spaceship looks like a long shiny white rounded hallway. There are several large round windows along each wall. One side shows light coming in while the other side is dark. The floor is dark blue with rows of small lights on either side. Near the ceiling are rows of overhead bins with closed doors. The wall behind Justin displays symbols in black, white, and red and there is something that looks like a smoke detector on the ceiling.
Justin Perez, a black man with long curly black hair pulled back into a bun, a chin goatee, and a red long-sleeved shirt stands out in a snowy mountain scene. He makes a confused expression towards the camera as he creates long animal ears with hands on either side of his head, palms forward and fingers pointing up. The background shows a mountain range covered in snow and a bright blue sky. Very small buildings that look like a facility and some houses can be seen way in the back. Right behind Justin are rolling hills also covered in a blanket of snow.
Justin Perez, a black man with long curly black hair pulled back into a bun, a chin goatee, and a red long-sleeved shirt stands in an aisle of an electronics store. Though he faces the camera, he is looking down at his hands as he demonstrates and signs “typing”. On the shelves behind him are rows of black and grey keyboards, computer bases, monitors, white and red boxes, and large yellow sales tags. The shelves and floor are beige. Along the wall behind Justin are more shelves of monitors and computer bases. Just visible near the top are large advertising signs in white, orange, purple, and mauve.

Starring Justin Perez as the Narrator

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As deaf teenagers prepare for life after high school, feelings of anticipation and uncertainty are to be expected. Deafverse is a choose-your-own-adventure online game created to provide teens with a fun, interactive experience that helps them build confidence, learn their rights, and develop necessary skills for this major life transition.

The game’s motto “Choose Your Future” sets the tone. In Deafverse World One, players will practice self-advocacy as they team up with their new robot sidekick to save their small hometown from another robot that’s causing trouble. During the game, they’ll encounter typical situations and challenges that are part of life as a deaf teenager and have the opportunity to try out different responses to a variety of real-world scenarios at school, in a workplace, and in the community.
This limited beta version of “Deafverse World One: Duel of the Bots” was released in April 2018 with a pilot curriculum and has undergone focus group testing by deaf students at ten high schools. Deafverse World One will be officially released in Fall 2019 with a revamped gameplay experience and several new features for players and educators. Deafverse World Two is planned for 2020.

In addition to Deafverse, the National Deaf Center offers families and professionals a full array of resources for transition planning designed to help teenagers successfully prepare for and succeed at life after high school. NDC also provides one-on-one help for customized assistance.

 
 

Deafverse stars deaf actor Justin Perez. The game and its curriculum are designed, written, and engineered by deaf creators, specialists, and researchers at the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes, a national research center committed to helping deaf Americans succeed after high school. The Deafverse team includes the following people–all former teenagers themselves–who will soon be featured in a “Making of Deafverse” video to help inspire future deaf creators:

Kent Turner, Gaming Coordinator
William Albright, Senior Software Engineer
Carrie Lou Garberoglio, Ph.D., Assistant Director and Researcher
Lauren “Lore” Kinast, Technical Assistance Specialist

 

Deafverse is designed to strengthen deaf teenagers’ self-determination skills and is based on choose-your-own-adventure games, which offer a safe environment to apply critical thinking skills while engaging in problem-based learning by testing a variety of responses to challenges and conflicts. It can be played at home, school, transition programs, or vocational rehabilitation settings.

During the pilot period, NDC will be requesting feedback to help improve future versions of the curriculum. By using this toolkit, you will be giving players the opportunity to make connections, build relationships, and create opportunities for themselves and the communities they live in.

In addition to Deafverse, NDC offers a full array of resources for transition planning for professionals and educators, as well as one-on-one assistance.

 

 

  • How can I find my username or password?

    • Your username is the email address you used to sign up for Deafverse. If you forgot which email address you used, email us and we’ll help you out!

    • If you forgot your password, recover it here.

  • Where is my certificate of completion?

    • You will receive a certificate of completion by email after you finish each World in Deafverse. If you lost your certificate or need one with your name on it, please email us and we will send a replacement.

  • Something went wrong while playing the game. How can I fix it?

    • Try reloading your web browser first. If the problem persists, email us with a description of BOTH the problem and what happened right before the problem appeared. This version of Deafverse is still in beta and your feedback will help us improve the game for you and other players!

  • When I close the game, can I go back to where I left off, or do I need to start over again?

    • If you left the game, the game saves your most recent choice and will take you back to where you left off. When you login, you can resume your current game or start over from the beginning.

  • I have vision loss. Can I adjust the settings of the game?

    • You can increase or decrease the font size by pressing the + or – buttons within the game. If you have any other issues, please report them to us by email and we will take steps to make sure the game is accessible for you and everyone else.

  • Do you have an native app version of Deafverse?

    • Not yet! But this game can be played on mobile devices.

  • My question isn’t listed here. How do I get help?

    • Send us an email! We’re happy to answer your questions and receive your feedback.

Logo image is on the left, with the text on the right. The image is a dark blue oval with tails spiraling around the outside, representing a galaxy or a wormhole. Dark blue text reading “DEAFVERSE” stretches next to the image. The text is warped with the letters in the center slightly smaller than the letters on the ends. Below the “DEAFVERSE” text is a sentence reading 'CHOOSE YOUR FUTURE' in dark blue text.