Sim City Series Accessibility Report - Amazon Fire, Android, Mac, PC and iOS

Sim City (Series) Accessibility Report

We've documented 14 accessibility features for Sim City, including Adjust Speed, Select Difficulty, One Motion Targeted, Visual Cues and Audio Cues. Its accessibility is strongest in Controls and Getting Started but it also has features in Visual, Reading, Audio and Difficulty to reduce unintended barriers.

This report is created with input from accessibility experts and the player community to help people find games that have the accessibility features they require. Once you have found potential games on the database, there are excellent specialist accessibility sites that offer in-depth reviews to guide your purchasing decisions.

Sim City is a series of city-building games, created by Will Wright. Since their inception as educational experiences in 1989, the games have enabled players to design ambitious cities. The attraction is the openness of play, where you can let your imagination and ideas play out on a grand scale to see the implications.

Sim City

ACCESSIBILITY REPORT

Game Details

Release Date: 02/02/1989, updated in 2014

Out Now: Amazon Fire, Android, Mac, PC and iOS

Content Rating: PEGI 3

Skill Rating: 10+ year-olds

Players: 1

Genres: Simulation, Strategy (Creative and World Building)

Accessibility: 14 features

Components: 2D Overhead, Day and Night and Grid

Developer: EA (@EA)

Costs: Purchase cost

Controls

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Controls in Sim City which deal with how you control the game, different options for alternative inputs and whether you can remap these settings to suit your needs.

Gamepad

Can play with the following:

Multiple Buttons & Single Stick: Can play with multiple buttons and a stick.

Mouse And Keyboard

Can play with the following:

Mouse and Keys: Can play with mouse and multiple keys.

Touchscreen

Can play with the following. Additional gestures may be required for games played with a screenreader like VoiceOver.

One Motion Targeted: Can play with touchscreen, tap and swipe or hold gesture.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Controls

If you want to play Sim City, but it doesn't offer the Controls accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Controls accessibility:

Difficulty

We've documented 1 accessibility feature for Difficulty in Sim City which deals with how you can adjust the challenge of play, and whether this is locked once chosen or can be adjusted as you play.

Difficulty Options

Select Difficulty: Select the level of difficulty from a range of presets. This not only offers a way to adjust the challenge of a game but enables you to do so without dealing with individual criteria.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Difficulty

If you want to play Sim City, but it doesn't offer the Difficulty accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Difficulty accessibility:

Timberborn

Microsoft Flight Simulator

Getting Started

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Getting Started in Sim City which deal with what support is offered to get started with the game. This includes customising the experience when you first open the game via any onboarding processes it provides as well as tutorials and other assistance when you first start playing.

Assistance Getting Starting

These features aid your play of the game in terms of cognitive load on learning controls, dealing with pressure and coping with the environment and challenges.

Tutorials: There are helpful tutorials and instructions on how to play. Information is provided in a timely manner, with appropriate level of detail.

Adjust Speed: Adjust the speed of the game at critical moments or throughout, or rewind play for a second attempt, to ease reaction times. By slowing the game, you have more time to interpret what is happening and then execute your actions. It also reduces the pressure on getting things right quickly or the first time you attempt them.

Assistance For Progressing

These features aid your progress through the game offering different ways of maintaining your progression.

Save Progress Anytime: The game automatically saves progress or you can save any time. This doesn’t mean you never lose progress, but it does mean you can stop whenever you want (without having to get to a save point) without losing progress.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Getting Started

If you want to play Sim City, but it doesn't offer the Getting Started accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Getting Started accessibility:

Reading

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Reading in Sim City which deal with how much reading or listening comprehension is required, how well the game provides visual and audible access to the text and whether subtitles and captions are a good fit for purpose.

Reading Level

How much reading is required to play the game's main path or story and how complex the language is. The presence of voiced characters doesn't reduce this requirement, as it's recorded as a separate datapoint.

Simple Minimal Reading: Minimal reading is required. The quantity and complexity of reading are at a level that a primary/elementary student (9-year-old) could understand.

Subtitles

All Speech Subtitled (Or No Speech In Game): All spoken content has subtitles, or there is no speech in the game. This means there is no requirement to hear spoken dialogue or narrative to play the game.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Reading

If you want to play Sim City, but it doesn't offer the Reading accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Reading accessibility:

Navigation

We haven’t documented any accessibility features for Navigation in Sim City which deal with how the game provides guidance and assistance to navigate its worlds. These are only for games that have traversal and exploration in 2D and 3D spaces. The following games are similar to Sim City, and offer accessibility features for Navigation:

Visual

We've documented 3 accessibility features for Visual in Sim City which deal with how you can adjust the visuals to suit your needs, and offer additional information if you can't hear the game.

Contrast

Medium Contrast: Game uses generally well contrasting and bright visuals, or has a slider to make this the case.

Interactive Elements

Large Game Elements: Game characters and other elements are large and distinguishable. Enemies and player characters are at least 1/6 of the height of the screen. Or there is a zoom feature to make them larger.

Audio Cues for Visual Events

Audio Cues for Visual Events: Audio is provided to indicate visual events. Game events or progress highlighted by visual icons, effects or animations are also accompanied by audio to signify that progress. This is useful for blind players.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Visual

If you want to play Sim City, but it doesn't offer the Visual accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Visual accessibility:

Audio

We've documented 2 accessibility features for Audio in Sim City which deal with how you can adjust the audio of the game and whether audio cues compensate for aspects of the game that are hard to see.

Adjustable Audio

Balance Audio Levels: Set music and game sound effects separately. This enables you to select your preference as well as ensure critical game sounds aren't obscured by other audio.

Audio Events

Visual Cues for Audio Events: Text or other visual indicators of audio events. This mirrors audio indicators of progress in the game with a corresponding visual indication.

Similar Games With More Accessibility Features for Audio

If you want to play Sim City, but it doesn't offer the Audio accessibility features you require, these similar games extend the Audio accessibility:

Island Saver

Parkasaurus

System Accessibility Settings

In addition to the accessibility features provided in the game, you can also use system-wide accessibility settings:

Android
Android has accessibility settings including ways to navigate and interact, although not all games support this.

PC
Windows has extensive accessibility features. Some, like colour correction, work with games. Lots of accessibility software can be used with PC games, from voice recognition to input device emulators.

iOS
iOS has a very extensive suite of accessibility settings including ways to navigate with voice and comprehensive screen reading, though most of the features don't work with games.

Read more about system accessibility settings.

Accessibility Report supported by VSC Rating Board, PlayabilityInitiative