Hi all,
My name is Dani. I’m an iOS engineer with a strong passion for accessibility, and I’m currently working on a small experimental game. I’d really love some feedback from this community.
The game is a simple racing game inspired by old LCD handhelds. It’s played on a 3 by 5 grid: your car sits on the bottom row, and rival cars move down the grid. The goal is to overtake them without crashing.
I’ve recently added VoiceOver support and am exploring audio-first gameplay. The game area is a direct-touch region: tapping the left side of the screen moves the car left, and tapping the right side moves it right. I’ve also added audio cues to indicate which columns are safe to move into.
By default, the game plays short musical notes for each safe column, and when you move the car, a sound plays that should match one of those “safe” notes. In Settings, there are a few alternative audio modes, both for the safe-path cues and for the movement feedback.
I’m very new to video game accessibility, so I’d genuinely appreciate any feedback you’re willing to share. In particular:
- Are the audio cues understandable and useful?
- Does the pacing feel right?
- Is direct touch a good approach here?
- Anything that feels confusing, fatiguing, or frustrating?
Here’s a TestFlight link to the current build
Thanks so much for your time and for all the knowledge shared in this community. I’m really keen to learn and improve this.
All the best, Dani
Comments
Love the idea
I love the idea, but I've found it a bit hard at first. A tutorial to start with going over different sounds and what they mean, and what to do would be good. I'd love to continue testing.
I also love the idea
I also love the idea for this game. If you haven't done so already, another community you could reach out to is www.audiogames.net. Under the forum section of the site, there is a play testing page for developers who would like to request feedback on games they are developing.
Agreed
I also love this idea, but so far can't figure the game out. I think it needs a tutorial or a demo video so we can understand what the sounds mean and how to play. I run out of lives before I can even start to get an idea of what to do.
I'm curious what games inspired this project. I remember some of those old Tiger LCD games, but don't think I remember any like this one. This may send me down a rabit hole. lol
Many thanks!
Hi all,
Thank you so much for the honest feedback. I really appreciate you taking the time to test it.
I completely agree that it needs a tutorial. Before building one, I wanted to make sure the core audio idea wasn’t totally crazy, so it’s reassuring to hear the concept might work, even if it’s hard to understand at first.
The speed might also be too fast in the beginning. I’ll experiment with slowing things down and making the early moments more forgiving.
The inspiration wasn’t a specific branded game, just a cheap LCD handheld I had as a kid where you moved left and right to avoid cars. Very simple, but very fun!
Thanks as well for the audiogames.net suggestion, I’ll definitely check it out.
The game is now on the App Store. If you’d like unlimited play for free, you can redeem the code APPLEVIS inside the app.
I’ll share an update once the tutorial is in. Thanks again for the help!
All the best, Dani
code not valad
I tried to redeem the code but It said code invalid.
About the invalid code
Sometimes it takes a bit for codes to become valid. Apologies. It should work now!
New tutorial available!
I'm sure there is lots of room for improvement, but I've just added a first version of a tutorial screen. I hope it makes things clearer. A reminder that you can download this test version (number 13) from TestFlight. Thanks!
Slowly getting the hang of the game
I downloaded the game around half an hour ago and can boast a high score of 26. Am i assuming correctly that there are 3 lanes?
Improved Tutorial!
That's great, @David! That's correct, there are 3 lanes in total. I've improved the tutorial and it should hopefully be a bit clearer what the game dynamics are and how to interpret the audio cues.
It is not released yet, but you can download the TestFlight version.
Thanks again everyone, for your feedback!
love it
The new tutorial helped a little bit. I love the game now that I've figured out how to play. Those alotted plays for the day sure disappear fast! lol
Since it looks like the game has leaderboards, I wonder if it could support the new challenges that Apple added last year. From what I've read, there's supposed to be a way to create challenges for single player games like this. It deserves some friendly competition! So far my high score is 127.
Leader boards
I was browsing some of the leaderboards yesterday and noticed there was a leader board for the mac. If there is a Mac version for the game, will this also be made accessible? If so, I'll be grabbing it.
Leaderboards, Challenges, and macOS version
Nice one, @Brian! That’s great to hear 😊 Sounds like we’re onto something! Please remember that you can get unlimited plays for free with the code APPLEVIS.
I’ll definitely look into adding challenges. What would you find most motivating? I was thinking of things like your first 100 overtakes, 200 overtakes, maybe 1,000 cumulative overtakes, something along those lines, but very open to ideas.
Hey @David! Yes! I just released an Apple Watch version, and macOS is coming next. Still doing a bit more testing, but that’s the direction. I’d also like to add support for external game controllers. Will keep you posted!
Thanks for all the feedback. Hugely appreciated! It’s really exciting to see this slowly becoming more playable!
challenges
Glad you like my idea. I just thought chalenges would be cool since they added them in iOS26. What kind of challenges do mainstream games have?
The code says it's invalid for me, but maybe that's because I'm running the test flight version?
amazing!
I am ashamed to admit how much I have been playing this. My one suggestion would be to have the option for haptics only identification of being in a safe lane, because sometimes the extra sounds can be distracting when the speed gets crazy fast. I am very interested in the progress of the Apple watch app as well.
A small suggestion
A really great game, truly addictive. But perhaps one small suggestion. Instead of the voiceover announcing the speed increase, I think it would be better if there was haptic feedback. Personally, I find it distracting when the voiceover suddenly starts speaking.
More Haptics and options
Thank you so much! Feedback like this genuinely makes me incredibly happy! Though @Paige, I hope the addictiveness is in the good sense! 😄
Haptics-only identification of a safe lane is a brilliant idea and will definitely be in the next version!
Regarding the Apple Watch app, it's out now! A few things still need some work, and I've noticed it's not reporting scores to the Game Center leaderboard correctly, but I'm on it.
@Kroni, I completely understand. That's actually why there's already a toggle in Settings to disable those VoiceOver announcements if they're taking you off the game. But a warning haptic for speed increases is an even better idea, and I'll add that in the next version too!
Thank you both again for taking the time to share your thoughts. Really appreciated! 🙏
And @Brian, yes, the promo code only works with the App Store version. The good news is that the App Store and TestFlight versions are now the same, though some new features will briefly appear in TestFlight first for beta testing before making it to the App Store.
Very addictive, and a couple of suggestions
I am really loving the game, and can now boast a high score of 153. Regarding the safe lane changing option, perhaps it could be toggled to either sounds or haptics. I find the sound cues for the lanes and the cars extremely helpful. I am glad a mac version is coming, and I really appreciate your dedication to making this game accessible for us to enjoy. I also thought of another suggestion, where extra lives could be awarded at various points of the game, for example, when a player scores 200 and 500 points, as was the case with some retro game and watches in the 1980s. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to future updates.
New high score
I just played again, and achieved a score of 384. I turned the in-game announcements off so Voiceover was not interrupting me during gameplay. I am Appleman42 on the leaderboard if anyone wants to attempt beating me <grin>
Appleman
Congratulations Appleman, you've overtaken me. I'm Hepo75.
Re: Spy Hunter
I remember that game! I believe it was PlayStation who released a more three-dimensional racing style version of that game came out some years after it's original, same concept with the James Bond motif, but the visuals were more 3D racing and such. It was quite a fun game, for its time.
To the OP, this sounds very intriguing, when I have time I will give it a play through. 🙂
New update, and loving the competition!
It is amazing to see you all getting higher scores and competing with each other! The game is definitely more fun that way, and with Game Center leaderboards. Can't thank you enough for all these comments and feedback! I've submitted a new version on TestFlight (18)! It is under review, but shouldn't take long to become available.
@Kroni, this one contains a haptic warning option to alert that the speed is about to increase. I've added a sound effect for it too, and you can also disable the alert completely. You'll find it in Settings under the Accessibility section. Let me know if that works better!
@Paige, I've also added a haptics option for signalling a change to a safe lane: the classic success vibration. Hope that works!
@David, yeah, I've kept both the sound cues and the new haptics option. The more options the better! Adding lives has been on my mind from the beginning. It's definitely on my list. My idea is to place a life randomly in the road every 200 points or so, though I'd need to figure out the right way to implement it. Will keep you posted!
@Doll & @Brian, top-down scroller is a great description! I'll have to check out Spy Hunter, sounds like it was a fun game. Let me know what you think if you get a chance to try RetroRapid!
One last thing. If anyone has downloaded the app from the App Store, instead of TestFlight, remember the code APPLEVIS should get you unlimited play for free. And if you're enjoying it, an App Store rating genuinely seems to help others discover the game. But no pressure at all! Really appreciate it!
Kroni
Kroni, you are also doing quite well with your high score. I managed to beat my high score twice today, now at 503.
Danny, I'm pleased extra lives will be added in a future update.
I was discussing the game with a sighted work colleague today, who downloaded it straight away and gave it a go. She scored 90 in Rapid mode. I tried Rapid Mode and scored 16 <lol> For now, I'll stick to Cruise mode.
I submitted an app store review, and gave the game 5 stars.
Rating
I just gave a 5-star rating. I'm also looking forward to the new update. @David, great work. It's going to be tough for me to get that far. It's a mystery to me how the leader has over 8000 overtakes...respect!
TestFlight update, Dynamic Type, and more!
@David and @Kroni, thank you so much for the 5-star ratings, that genuinely means the world!
@David, 503 is an amazing score, well done! I think Rapid lives up to its name! 😄 If it helps, there is also an intermediate mode called Fast, which might be a good stepping stone.
@Kroni, as for the 8000+ leader... yeah, that's another level. Total respect!
The new TestFlight version has just been approved! Hopefully the new options for lane change and speed increase warnings make a difference.
There is also now support for Dynamic Type, which I'm really happy about.
On the VoiceOver front, I've implemented Magic Tap for playing and pausing the game. One caveat though... because the game area is direct touch enabled, Magic Tap only works at the very top of the screen for now. I'm thinking of tweaking the controls so direct touch is limited to the bottom half of the screen, which should help.
Also, when the game is paused you should now be able to navigate the whole grid and the cars ahead.
Next up, I'm hoping to get the macOS version ready. It feels close, though I don't have much experience with macOS so it may be a little rough around the edges at first. I also need to fix Game Center for Apple Watch. After that, challenges might be on the horizon!
As always, if you have any suggestions, I'm all ears. 😊
Update
Hi Dani, thanks for the quick implementation of the haptic warning when increasing speed...it's great. I've also tried the lane change warning, but I don't think I personally need it. Maybe a silly question, but what exactly does the "big cars" setting do?
Self voicing
I really do like the idea and the game, but however, I think there should be more tutorial videos to actually demo how to play the game before you go straight to the actual game. The tutorial information are helpful, but it’s better if you have a demo tutorial for people to play with so they can get better on practicing. Also, I feel like there should be a self voicing added to the game. I had found that using the voiceover it’s not fast enough to respond. So if you can create a self voicing for this game, that might be another way that you can try to approach with it. Thank you.
Self voicing
I really do like the idea and the game, but however, I think there should be more tutorial videos to actually demo how to play the game before you go straight to the actual game. The tutorial information are helpful, but it’s better if you have a demo tutorial for people to play with so they can get better on practicing. Also, I feel like there should be a self voicing added to the game. I had found that using the voiceover it’s not fast enough to respond. So if you can create a self voicing for this game, that might be another way that you can try to approach with it. Thank you.
Speed during gameplay
The speed during gameplay for cruise mode is gradual. I think if anyone tried hard enough, they would beat my high score, which is now 692.
What big cars mean, and macOS version closer
@Kroni, Glad you're finding the haptic features useful! "Big cars" is tied to Dynamic Type. If you have a larger accessibility text size enabled, the game switches from a perspective-style road (where cars far away appear smaller) to a flat grid where each car fills its full cell. I didn't want to assume everyone using large text sizes wants that change, so there's an option to turn it off. And if you're not using a large text size but prefer that layout, you can switch it on manually.
@iOS user, Really good points, thank you. There are already quite a few audio and haptic combinations to configure, so I'd need to think carefully about how I could add videos in a way that scales. I'll keep it in mind! Not sure I follow about the self voicing suggestion? I understand that VoiceOver could be slow, but the game implements direct touch that should hopefully help with faster actions?
@David, Yes, all speed modes gradually increase speed every 100 overtakes. That's an impressive score!
Also, the macOS version is currently under review and should be available on TestFlight soon. I have very little macOS development experience, so it might be a bit rough around the edges, would love to hear your feedback when it's out!
Thanks everyone!
Thank you
Hi Dani, ah ok, then this setting has no effect for me as a Voiceover user.
Sound idea. For game
Love the game, I have a suggestion though. Can we have some sort of sound for the car that’s actually racing? Also, instead of the sounds showing us what lanes were supposed to be in can the sounds be used to tell us what lanes not to go in? This game is awesome, reminds me of an old game I had when I was younger. Keep the updates coming, looking forward to them.