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His sight was gone by the time he was 4r. But Munawar Bijani learned how to play videogames using his hearing alone. Now he’s in the forefront of blind entertainment.

Munawar Bijani made his foray into the world of videogames at age 8, as Ryu tossing fireballs at enemies in Street Fighter, and as Sub-Zero laying down sheets of ice in Mortal Kombat. He was pretty good, able to beat both computer and human opponents regularly enough to be a formidable foe.

The fight for equality continues to rage on, but no more so than in the frontiers of virtual worlds. These are priceless environments where a man who can’t hear can be a rock star, a woman who can’t see can fly a spaceship and a child who can’t move a muscle can be a world class athlete. Yes, these things called “video games” can bring an immense amount of joy to those who may otherwise be completely locked out of some of life’s most precious moments. Part of keeping vigil over the entertainment industry is warning gamers with disabilities against buying certain games because the designers have overlooked an aspect of accessibility, as well as pointing out the flaws in technology that may prevent certain segments of the disability community from taking part in a new era of fun. But once a year I have the honor of helping identify new and innovative features that hoist one video game above the rest.