Sea Hero Quest

It’s entertaining & fun... and great for just about anyone over the age of 5. Why NOT play it, even if it’s just for a few minutes? Only feedback I have for the developer/ researchers is: For the levels that ask that we take a picture of the sea creature, it would have been helpful if it was explained what the expectation is for the picture. I assumed I needed to take the picture as fast as possible, before it went back underwater, and kept getting only 1 star. It only then said to just take a better pic, in order to get 3 stars. My second sea creature pic kept getting me 1 star, as well though. And so I kept playing the level... and finally realized that speed wasn’t the factor, and instead I was supposed to wait for the circles to overlap and turn red. Very different from the rest of the game (so far). I curious how those levels factor in to research... because had I known that from the very beginning (and it was quickly shown or written that I needed to do that, in order for the pic to be considered good, I woulda gotten 3 stars on my first try... instead of my 8th try). The rest of the objectives & controls for the boat have been very clear & straightforward... so I hope the picture taking levels aren’t skewing results, if other people have had the same experience that I did.

This is a fun first-person navigation game where you maneuver a boat through obstacle courses. Playing it provides real world data that’s currently being collected for dementia research. They provide information on boat controls, but it is a little confusing when you start playing so here’s my take on it to help with the learning curve. Even if you are ambidextrous, don’t use both hands. Just use one hand (one finger really) for all controls. Tap left, right, or center to steer in those directions while moving. Swipe up to accelerate, and swipe down to stop. Combine swiping with steering for good control. For example, to accelerate forward swipe up in the center of your screen or to accelerate while turning left swipe up on the left side of your screen. For photo challenges, you don’t need to accelerate. Just tap left or right to dodge. To take a picture, just be patient. Wait until all three stars are lit before you take your picture. That part’s not a speed challenge.

This game is fun, and surprisingly challenging. The cute creatures and the hunt for them just to take photos is innocent and enjoyable. The navigation is really hard to do in the timeframe if you want a perfect score of 3 stars, and I feel that getting them really tests your orientation skill and is extremely satisfying when you nail it! I like that the boat really handles like a boat in the game, although I missed the initial introduction to the game controls and had to actually Google how to speed up because it wasn’t repeated anywhere in the game menu (my first reason why it lost a star). About the controls: I’m used to controlling my phone with two thumbs (resting it upright on my pinky fingers or palms) so it isn’t hard for me to play this game, but I can see how this wouldn’t be so fun for an older generation, unless played seated at a desk perhaps with an iPad. As a scientific endeavour they lost another star from me because of the limited gender boxes at the start of personal information (you can only choose male or female) and I was frustrated that they completely lacked other gender options, or “rather not say”. It is unhelpful and misleading to ask for data about mental health and then use outdated gender profiling methods. Overall this is a noble, 5 star idea and quite well-executed with some room for improvement. I’d love to see this on console platforms too!