The Deafverse Name Sign Contest has been concluded, and Deafverse is now represented by a name sign in American Sign Language (ASL). Congratulations to Starla on winning the Name Sign Contest with her name sign!
Starla is from John Beck Elementary School in Pennsylvania, and this is what she has to say about Deafverse: “I found out about Deafverse through my mom and The Daily Moth. I love adventure games. The idea of playing as a deaf character in an adventure game makes the game such an inspiring and exciting game! I have a passion for the arts, and would love to get involved in drawing or expressing through the arts such as graphic design, anime, manga/comics, and painting. I would like to own a business someday focused on arts and crafts!”
The Name Sign
Starla’s name sign for Deafverse begins with the sign for “Deaf” (index finger from the top of a cheek, over and down, landing on the chin) and then transitions into the sign for “journey” (index and middle fingers hooked and traveling away in a zig-zag pattern). Starla’s name sign is fun, positive, and easy to use in casual conversation, but most of all, her reason for her name sign resonated with the judges. Deafness is a journey in itself and full of situations that can be approached differently based on the tools and strategies available to deaf people.
What’s Deafverse?
Deafverse is a fun choose-your-own-adventure game designed and developed by a team of deaf people with the National Deaf Center (NDC) to promote growth in self-advocacy and self-determination skills for deaf teenagers. The story is narrated by Justin Perez using Visual Vernacular, a theatrical form of American Sign Language. In World One: Duel of the Bots, a malfunctioning robot is wreaking havoc in the town, and it’s up to you to stop the robot with the help of your trusty sidekick, Catbot.
Name Sign Contest
Name signs can be special occasions for the deaf community. They are opportunities for the deaf community to sum up the special meaning or unique features of a person or an object in a name sign. Name signs offer convenience to signers and the ability to quicken conversations. If done right, the deaf community will quickly pick up on the name sign and spread it around. To encourage this effect, a contest was launched in May for the deaf community to find a name sign to represent Deafverse.
The Community Response
The contest lasted for one week from May 11 to 18, and was hosted on Instagram and Facebook. The list of prizes is below:
-
Grand Prize: Become a character in World Two with narration by Justin Perez and art by Carlisle Robinson!
-
Finalist Prize: Illustrations by Carlisle Robinson!
-
Prize for all participants: Swag Bag (stickers, posters, printed Player Strategy Guide)!
The community response to the Deafverse Name Sign Contest was wonderful, and many fantastic video submissions were received from deaf youth all over the country.
