Google is preparing the introduction of games in vehicles using Android Auto. In the current Android Auto Beta 6.7, the so-called GameSnacks are integrated, as SmartDroid reports. It's a collection of lightweight HTML5 games from Area 120, Google's own incubator for experimental projects.
Games in the car on the infotainment system's touch screen initially sound like a lingering sound preprogrammed accidents with catastrophic consequences, but first of all: The GameSnacks can only be used when parked. But that does not apply to all games in the car, because since the beginning of the year Android Auto has been offering selected games via the Google Assistant that can be run and controlled by voice. With “Hey Google, start a game” you can start quiz questions and the game “Jeopardy!”.
The GameSnacks are more like classic mobile games on smartphones. Disguised as “GearSnacks”, the first users had already seen the collection yesterday, as entries on Reddit and a later report on XDA-Developers show. In the Android Auto launcher, however, the games could not yet be seen, which has now changed with the current beta 6.7, as SmartDroid noticed.
GameSnacks are lightweight HTML5 games
GameSnacks is a collection of games from the company's own in-house incubator Area 120, which were presented in February 2020, all of which are based on HTML5 and are particularly lightweight with low memory requirements and developed for devices with poor network connections in the 2G and 3G networks – Google speaks from “bite-sized games”. A selection of these – eight can be seen on SmartDroid – is now also available for Android Auto on touch screens. Initially included are Zoo Boom, Onet Connect Classic, Cannonballs 3D, Pin the UFO, 2048 Giant, Find 500 Differences, Unblock That and Bubble Woods.
GameSnacks under Android Auto (Image: SmartDroid) Small games especially for the car
Google is apparently not bringing the games into the car unchanged, but rather optimizing them, such as customized URLs with “auto” in the title and from XDA Developers discovered strings such as “games are only playable with your touch screen”. Many games on the desktop can also be controlled with a keyboard. There has been no official announcement from Google for GearSnacks in the car, and the Android Auto changelog does not name the games yet.