Today we’re looking at @TiltingPoint ‘s newest mobile game “SpongeBob Adventures: In a Jam”. The game is currently in Early Access on both iOS and Android.
Note: this blog post was initiatlly posted as a Twitter thread.
Before we start, let’s get some caveats & stuff out of the way:
– I play on Android
– I did not test controller compatibility
– The game is in Early Access, meaning that it is not yet officially launched AKA the game is NOT 100% done being developed. Alright let’s gooo #a11y
0. What even is this game?
#SpongeBob “Adventure: In a Jam” is a pretty classic mobile city-builder, akin to games like The Simpsons Tapped Out. However, it contains “Chapters” and each includes different fan-favourite locations to clean and fix up!
1. Accessibility information
I have not been able to find accessibility info online through official or unofficial comms channels. This is not ideal, for transparency reasons and cuz we’re not made aware of potential dev plans/commitment towards making the game more #accessible.
2. Onboarding
This new #SpongeBob game does teach the game’s basic mechanics. But misses some as well. For example, it doesn’t teach how to move buildings or access the settings. It also doesn’t have reminders or a codex menu, so if you didn’t pay attention… good luck.
3. Hiding buildings ON/OFF (top right)
One of my favourite feature is the ability to hide buildings. I discovered it WAY too late because as mentioned above… the game didn’t tell me about it (mean, if you ask me ). This makes cleaning up garbage and plants SO much easier.
4. Quests/tasks system
Another highlight is how the tasks work in this game. You will likely never feel lost about what to do and where. Simply click on your task pad (bottom left, above the building shop) and voilà !
Also, when you select a “quest”, there is a “Go” button that will pin point exactly where on the map you need to go to complete a task. I don’t want to play “Where’s Charlie” and waste energy points de-fogging the wrong areas each time a new task pops up, so this is great.
5. Gameplay consistency
Like showcased in previous tweet, the game shines through its consistency. There is a LOT to do in order to fix up BikiniBottom and all the locations, however the gameplay loop stays extremely consistent all throughout, which is a huge plus, IMO.
6. Visual overstimulation, sensory overload
Visually… This game can be *a lot* to look at. I understand that Bikini Bottom (and the other areas) needs cleaning up, but there is no way to filter out/hide item categories aside from buildings to focus on one thing at a time.
7. Holding and dragging, all the time.
One of the game’s most obvious barriers is how we need to hold and drag everything all the time (farm & shops buildings, edit mode, gardening, etc). Also for moving around the map. I’ve tried tapping and in all instances, you can’t.
This is problematic cuz if a player has a motor disability preventing them to hold and drag, the game is essentially not playable for more than the first 2-minutes. Also, having optional arrow buttons on screen edges could help for exploring the map by tapping.
8. Inconsistent text size
Some menu items & dialogues have decent text size, however in other instances… Text is small & lacks contrast for readability. Especially annoying if you play on a smaller phone like me. Example below with the small white text on yellow buttons.
9. Gary the snail
I don’t have particularly large fingers. However, I swear to you Gary has made me feel like I was born with fat Italian sausages for hands. Takes me approximately 7-8 taps to be able to catch his darn energy bubble. Could be a bug, though.
10. Settings and options
There isn’t much but extremely basic audio settings to turn music ON/OFF and overall volume.
11. Help center
If you go into the settings by tapping the arrow on top left and then the gear icon, you will see an option called “Support”. Tapping this will open an in-game help center where you can find the F.A.Q. and various infos, as well as the Contact form.
I’d suggest using this for reporting accessibility barriers and bugs, especially while this game is in Early Access! I’m sure the devs at @TiltingPoint would love to know what you think and what are some of the pain-points players are experiencing.
In conclusion, there is some nice accessibility-by-design considerations, especially gameplay wise & regarding the overall progression system. But barriers exist for folks who, for example, struggle with fine-motor skills, have low vision, colorblindness, experience memory issues and/or visual overstimulation.
Still a fun game, but hoping devs will address this. The game is still in Early Access, so all hope isn’t lost. Bikini Bottom should be welcoming to all, shouldn’t it?
The end. #a11y #GameAccessibility
