Spongey Dev Kid is a 2020 freeware game developed by YouTuber PookaPlantGaming and Streetwise Games and published by Open Trench Entertainment. The game is based on Arcane Kids' Sonic Dreams Collection, and was released on that game's fifth anniversary. Similar to Sonic Dreams Collection, the game features four mini-games that are presented as demos for unrealized SpongeBob games, though they are actually satirical pieces that poke fun at aspects of the SpongeBob fandom.
Arcane Kids had been contacted by the developers of this game to gain approval to release it, fearing backlash and plagiarism allegations. They were cleared to release it, as long as its inspiration was properly attributed and that it was framed as a mod of Sonic Dreams Collection. Arcane Kids received a copy of the game's beta and agreed it was different enough to warrant an undisputed release. The game was released on a dedicated website, shock site StupidPlanet.com. It was later released on Itch.io.
The game received mixed reviews. Praise went toward its easter eggs and prerogative for exploration, though a majority of the more negative reviews came from SpongeBob fans that took offense to most of the game's humor.
Development[]
The game was spearheaded by Joel Weiss, a former SpongeBob fan and vlogger. Following the announcement of Kamp Koral, Weiss came under fire for defending the program as well as insistence that Stephen Hillenburg would not condone the harassment of staffers behind it. Weiss was reportedly doxxed and wound up deleting his Twitter account. Weiss would encounter amateur programer Andrej Sloane at a Planet Fitness and voicing agreement with the state of the SpongeBob fandom, decided to make a game mocking it. The game was built on the Unity engine,
Differences with Sonic Dreams Collection[]
In Sonic Dreams Collection, the second title, Eggman Origin, had a lockout which required users to log in through a separate program bundled with the game's files. Make My Sonic was also part of the lockout as you had to create an avatar to use for the game. For Spongy Dev Kit, the login info is present at the start of the game, along with the avatar design. The change was owed to the fact that Make My Sonic and the SEGANet lockout were irrelevant to points of mockery in the SpongeBob fandom. However, games such as Sonic Movie Maker and My Roommate Sonic were copied near verbatim, though an extra challenge was provided; whether or not you progress depends on how good your film is. If you can get more than two and a half stars, you were cleared to continue. You can also jump and interact with the environment.
Games[]
As with Sonic Dreams Collection, the game is divided into different sections, in this game's case, three. Unlike the aforementioned game, weirder aspects are implied at first, then directly shown as you unlock more secrets in game.
SpongeBob's Home Movies[]
Everybody wants to direct, and SpongeBob is one of them. Find your camera and shoot some incredibly short masterpieces. This section will also outline hidden easter eggs, in the form of interacting with the Hoopla fish who assign you small tasks or are just around for interaction.
SpongeBob's Pineapple[]
Explore SpongeBob's house. Find the camera in SpongeBob's room, help a Hoopla recover a book from a high shelf and haul a heavy can of snail food to feed Gary.
Hoopla: Can you help me get that red book?
Hoopla: Thanks.
Hoopla 2: How can snails eat that much?
Hoopla 2: Oh wait nevermind.
Krusty Krab[]
Encounter the krusy krew and some sparse customers. A hoopla is among the customers, so bring it its meal. Find another in the crows nest.
Hoopla: Where's my krabby patty with cheese, coral bits and diet soda?
Hoopla: Took long enough.
Hoopla 2: Sometimes I wonder what the point of this is.
Squidward's House[]
Explore Squidward's house and find a hoopla who wants to play the bassonette. Bring it to him and it he will give you a burnt casserole, while remarking they're the only ones here. You can also use the bow of the bassonette to puncture a painting of Squidward (itself a cross between one in The Paper and the other in Naughty Nautical Neighbors.
Hoopla: I wanna play the bassonette, but Squidward won't let me.
Hoopla: It's too bad he doesn't like visitors.
Shady Shoals[]
Wander around the Shady Shoals retirement home with Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy. Help a hoopla fix the TV and a sitting old person off another. Fix the TV and get an easter egg from Battle for Bikini Bottom. A message saying "passwords are barnacles" appears, hinting at the password in a different game.
Hoopla: The reception's terrible.
Hoopla: Only four channels on this thing....
Hoopla 2: I can't breathe!
Hoopla 2: I didn't think this through...
Dutchman's Residence[]
Explore the Dutchman's ship and find the Dutchman's sock. If you do you will get the camera can progress. Find a Hoopla in the crow's nest and one by the Dutchman's quarters.
Hoopla: This was a mistake.
Hoopla 2: I wanna be a bouncer when I grow up.
Backyard Bath[]
Play fetch with Gary, if Gary can just hold still, and get him into the tub. Bring soap to the Hoopla fish hiding in the corner and earn a picture of that braided hair girl SpongeBob thought up that one time to really tie the scene together.
Hoopla: I want some soap.
Hoopla: Oops I dropped it.
The Prom[]
Unlocked upon completing the first bonus game. SpongeBob hits up an old flame, Mr. Krabs did the same. Make this moment last for the both of them.
Find the Hoopla fish in the rafters and get him a wax fruit (whatever fruit doesn't make squish sounds when you move it around.), and he'll give you what's called a boundary hopper, which can allow you to go through walls. This will be made available to you in later levels.
Hoopla: Who has a pineapple that's fake as it seems?
Hoopla: Use this blue thing wisely.
The After Party[]
Unlocked after completing the second bonus game. SpongeBob, Pearl, Mr. Krabs, Mrs. Puff, Squidward and Sandy decide to have a little extra fun... sex, in a motel room. But that's not the only interesting part.
Three Hooplas are present. The first one is by a van and wants to get the partiers into it so he can drive off and give the other guests some peace and quiet. A female hoopla is hidden in the far corner of the back of the motel and wants desperately to meet Patrick, but is too shy. Fortunately, Patrick is passed out drunk and upon bringing him to her, she gives you a burning rock. You can use the rock to fire at the full moon and bring down the third Hoopla, who claims you disfigured the Man in the Moon.
Hoopla 1: It would be great if you can get those loud bangers in this quiet van.
Hoopla 1: Have you seen my sister?
Hoopla 2: I want to talk to Patrick, but I'm too shy.
Hoopla 2: Wait, this is Patrick?
Hoopla 3: You have violated the beauty of the man's face.
Feeding Chamber[]
Unlocked after completing the third hidden game. Patrick is restrained to a table, and is force fed food, but with him it's like a dream come true. Find speech bubbles that call back to older episodes, such as "I get what I deserve.", "Some roast beef, some chicken and pizza." and "Life is good!".
Two Hooplas are present. One beneath the platform and one in an obscure section of said platform. The latter asks if you've seen his brother, the former wants a sundae (the bad breath sundae that comes second along with the camera when you yank the chain on the food dispenser. When you give the former hoopla the sundae, he admits that it was a fruitless wish. When you meet the latter hoopla again, it gives you a speech bubble that says "Fuck Willy Wonka.", which will make sense once you feed Patrick the final piece of food and he turns blue. Wherepon getting the last of the food from the dispenser, a birthday cake with SpongeBob on top of it rises. You can move SpongeBob, but when you try to feed him to Patrick, the game crashes and leaves a message "Just try and meme this, you sick fucks.", alluding to the trigger happy nature of shitposters.
Hospital[]
One of two areas to be unlocked after finishing the last hidden game. Patrick is in the hospital. You can either jump on his belly or pull a chain that drops an anvil onto it. One assumes he's pregnant, but it turns out Patrick is constipated. When you encounter a krabby patty that comes out of him, dialog appears that says "What do you think this is, a Butch Hartman cartoon?" Alluding to the Fairly Odd Baby episode of Fairly Odd Parents. By far, this section has the most explorable areas. The boundary hopper comes into play here as well.
When you start out, behind you is a breakable brick wall which reveals a message stating "sub 2 Uncle Al", a popular meme channel that makes SpongeBob-related content. The boundary hopper lets you break into a room where Squidward and Barnacle Boy are looking through a window at Patrick, with a Hoopla present. If you had moved around enough, you can make their heads go full circle, and both would remark "You tryin' to kil us!?", in reference to their heads turning a full 360 degrees by then. Another Hoopla is present, who asks where everbody is. If you look closely through the window on the outside you can see Hugh Neutron, looking as though he's smoking a stogie. However, if you clip through the wall into the other room, you'd see the smoke is coming from a steaming hot pie in Hugh's hands. Hugh would say "You should try this boison boysenberry, you can't go wrong." A clarinet comes out of Patrick first, and if you give it to Squidward, he says "Well at least the reed's here."
You can break the window overlooking the city, where a balcony leading down has the camera you're looking for. Following a stairway down leads you to the first Hoopla, who asks for a quarter to pay for bubble blowing lessons. Mrs. Puff is also present, and you can drag her into the windowed room. Upon getting it, you're given a floatble bubble that can take you to other buildings. The first one has Mermaid Man staring into the distance and a Hoopla that says, "Quiet, he's sleeping." Drag Mermaid Man to the windowed room and Barnacle Boy will say "You old coot? Sorry my eyesight went for a moment." If you go far enough you'll reach a Hoopla that mentions it found the end and is lonely. Upon completing everything, a previously closed barrier opens, leading you to a damp corridor that serves as an omen for the next scene.
Hoopla 1: Seems empty around here.
Hoopla 2: I want bubble blowing lessons, spare a quarter?
Hoopla 2: Didn't even need them, haha.
Hoopla 3: Quiet, he's sleeping with his eyes open.
Hoopla 4: I made it this far. I'm so lonely...
In Lower Intestines[]
Last of the two areas to be unlocked in the final hidden game. You find yourself in a stomach of one of the characters. A Hoopla is immediately present, but doesn't speak. If you continue down a corridor where the camera is present, you will find Bubble Bass at the end, resembling Jabba the Hutt. If you use the boundary hopper to squeeze behind him, you'll find a doll and get dialog. "Can you scratch my back?" If you use a nearby rock to do the task, Bubble Bass will respond. "Ah that's much better, thank you so much." If you take the doll out and approach the Hoopla, it will comment about previously ignoring you and refer to a petty criticism of RotFD. In this time, a previously blocked path will be opened, and you'll fall into a crib, having exited Sandy's system. Sandy and SpongeBob are right above.
A second Hoopla is hidden under a blanket, and it cracks a joke about SpongeBob's asexuality.
Hoopla: Oh sorry, I didn't think you wanted to talk to me and make sure you accomplished your goal. Does this mean you're not gonna complain on the internet?
Hoopla 2: I guess this is why SpongeBob stayed single.
Apartment[]
This is a bonus section, unlocked upon the completion of the next game. You can interact with stuff on the table, notably the remote that switches between the four images shown in Gary Takes a Bath, and play a game of Snake on a phone. You can break the buttons, and if you look you see Stephen Hillenburg's expression go from blank to angry. Three Hooplas are present. If you click the channel button enough times you get a still image of the username reveal that comes in the next game. A Hoopla is below the table and informs you that you have to reset because there's no way back up. If you continue on you see a big door and another Hoopla by. It tells you there's nothing down here.
Hoopla 2: You might wanna reset, there's no way back up.
Hoopla 3: It's pointless down here.
Steve and Me[]
It is a virtual simulator that portrays the player as a friend and roomate of Stephen Hillenburg. You are called by Squidward to express romantic feelings to Stephen, but in the form of patting him on the back, which annoys him. However, things get sour when you see an ad for Kamp Koral and are encouraged to destroy the TV because the show defied Stephen's wishes. Things end in two different ways. If you destroy the TV, Stephen leaves, clearly upset, and the environment turns into a SpongeBob-merch littered room. Half of the screen turns black and you begin running, with the perspective becoming third-person. The protagonist became Patchy the Pirate and he begins running away. We see he is on a TV, which Potty the Parrot shuts off. If you don't do anything, Squidward comes up to the window and angrily berates you for "defying Stephen's wishes", You can either click yes or now if you're sorry. If yes, the scenario resets, if no, Squidward's head grows and eventually explodes. A blue jellyfish emerges from his neck and begins shocking everyone in sight.
The TV distorts temporarily mid game, revealing the word "spongeboy", the username for a later game.
Easter Eggs[]
This game has Occulus VR support. The title screen, imitating 360 setups, has hidden easter eggs. If you move to certain areas beyond the start screen, you will find four hidden options, those of which are for hidden games that will unlock new content upon their completion. They are discussed in their respective sections.
Giant Pile of Patrick[]
When you begin the game, you see a log in screen. The username and password were found in Steve and Me and SpongeBob Movie Maker respectively. After picking your character you find yourself in a deserted version of Bikini Bottom. After exploring, you find a giant pile of bubble gum. You are instructed by some nearby Hooplas to feed the wad. You find food in the form of crawling fried oyster skins. Patrick's head emerges from the wad and eats them one by one until he grows to a certain size and the platform rises. Patrick then eats the player, spits them out and the player turns into a jellyfish, flying to Jellyfish Fields.
After doing this twenty times, and if you come to the fully grown Patrick with a skin, this would be doubled, the jellyfish would combine into a giant one and you would ride it to an island far away from everything. The island would be revealed to be the one from the opening of SpongeBob SquarePants. The image zooms back and we find ourselves in a room with Painty the Pirate sipping a cup of tea, and a clip of Patrick saying "That was a rip-off."
Hidden Games[]
These are present in Steve and Me's opening menu. Completing these games will unlock levels for SpongeBob Movie Maker.
Jellyfish Rodeo[]
A modified version of the minigame of the same title from Revenge of the Flying Dutchman. Can be found when you click on the "Mystery Tent" icon in the Steve and Me title screen toward the bottom right corner. The title alludes to the area that would've triggered the scrapped minigame present in the console version of RotFD. It plays very much like the Jellyfish Rodeo minigame in RotFD for the Game Boy Advance, but with a 3D environment. Collect all the coins and remain on the jellyfish while avoiding obstacles it passes under and by and you will unlock The Prom in SpongeBob Movie Maker.
Treasure Hunt[]
Like the previous game, this is a modified version of a minigame from RotFD. This is represented by the treasure icon present on the bottom left corner of the Steve and Me title screen. You hunt for treasure, which is revealed to be a locket containing a doctored photo of Patrick with a female model. Completing this game will unlock The After Party in SpongeBob Movie Maker.
Bikini Bottom SquarePants: Raider of the Lost Patty[]
This and the next game are parodies of two Angela Anaconda flash games, and features similar animation. This particular game can be found in the top right corner of the Steve and Me title screen; krabby patty icon.
The game has you take the role of SpongeBob, who takes on an Indiana Jones guise. You venture through an ancient temple, clearing a pitfall after finding a torch to light the way and a plank of wood to cover the pit in the second room. You find the elusive krabby patty behind a glass case with a locked switch, as well as two passage ways, though one is too high to reach. The next passage leads you to a bridge that you need to click on two certain pieces to make it across, one false move will cause it to collapse, and carrying the torch with you will lead to an instant failure as the bridge will catch fire; put it on a nearby holder. Next you have to clear a row of stepping stones; any wrong step will either send you back to the bottom or down a pit. You come to an area with two doors, one marked "Don't go in here" and one with an arrow. If you enter the former, you find an easter egg; a scene plays out similarly to Simon Barrows' introduction in the first Clock Tower game. Tom would be in his place, and you fend him off with a chocolate bar.
Through the correct door you find two more doors, one marked "Don't go in here" and "And Definately don't go in here.", as well as a key. The latter door will lead to a dark corridor that will lead to a pitfall, while the door on the left is locked. You have to take the key on the table and return to the glass case, then opening the hatch and a staircase is made available that can take you to the upper corridor and circle back to the doors. The case suddenly becomes firery and you can't grab the krabby patty. Before then you grab a keycard that can unlock the other door in the key room. The door will lead you to a room with three items to pick; a spatula, magic oven mitts and a krabby patty. The krabby patty is a trap and will lead to an opening pitfall, though the spatula can be used to knock it away from the drop area, and is the item you need to get by. It turns out to be a Jim patty, which SpongeBob discards. The oven mitts are a bogus item, which burn your hands when you try to use them to get past the fire. The spatula is used to get the krabby patty, only for a giant krabby patty trap to be launched (the hazard was clued in when you made it to the top of the stairs), and you run for the exit. You use your whip to swing out the ceiling to safety.
For completing this game, you unlock the Feeding Chamber in SpongeBob Movie Maker.
Secret Agent Squidward[]
This game can be found in the top left corner; clarinet icon. The game has you play as Squidward in the role of a secret agent. Squidward has to infiltrate a bug-ridden factory. Find the key code, and while you're there, make sure you open the correct window, and don't click it twice unless you want to get caught right away. The code is in the dumpster, so plug it in and enter the factory. You find two doorways, one that leads to the janitor's closet, where you find a ladder and plank of wood, the other being where you need to go. Use the ladder to pass a hole in a ground, but not the plank, which will collapse beneath you.
If you make it across, you find a room with a chair, plants, loose tile and a stairway. The chair and plants will lead to game overs, the stairway will lead to an overlong walk with two doorways, both will bring you back to the main room. Make sure you click on the desk in order to obtain a grappeling hook and two cherry bombs that will be necessary later. Go through the tile and you'll be taken to the lower levels. You get to play a music game, which will activate a passage way. Immediately after you play a tile matching game which will grant you access to a new corridor.
You will then be met with three doors. One leads to the morgue, containing background charcters from SpongeBob that are rarely seen or ruined with later season flandarization. The other leads to the bathroom where you'll find a glass of water. Patrick makes a cameo if you open a stall and a reference to Something Smells plays out. The third door leads to a memory game, which would then bring you to an asteroids clone. Upon completing it, use the cherry bombs to defeat a giant bug and travel to a laser guarded cage with a present switch. Shut it off and you'll recieve a message stating you unlocked a new area; referring to the Hospital in SpongeBob Movie Maker.
You move on to a different laser cage, using the grappeling hook to get to it from a far platform you wid up on. Use the water to pour onto the lasers to short them out, only for Patrick to come in and remark how they are already underwater, and the lasers shut off. You grab a document inside, then return to the factory. You go through a storage room, where someone takes the document and you try to get it back. You use the grappeling hook once again to knock down a stack of boxes to trap the thief and retrieve the document. If you hadn't opened the window before, this would be a game over as you have no way to escape.
Upon completing the game, you'll unlock the "In Lower Intestines" area in SpongeBob Movie Maker.
Squid universe[]
On the bottom right corner of the main title screen is an icon that will take you to this hidden game.
You play as Squidward in a 3D environment that frequently changes from day to night. You encounter SpongeBob, who tells you that the only way out is through a portal, but it requires 100 coins to activate. Some coins appear during the day, others at night, it is up to you to find and collect them so you can access the portal. Upon completing the game, you are rewarded with a cinematic based on a scene from Requiem for a Dream.
Reception[]
The game recieved mixed to favorable reviews. Praise went toward the production and various easter eggs, as well as portraying the humor SpongeBob SquarePants has been known for. However, the game attracted criticism for downplaying more infamous aspects, namely relating to Stephen Hillenburg and Kamp Koral, which portrayed critics of it in a somewhat negative light.
Nevertheless, the game had been considered a spiritual successor to Sonic Dreams Collection for its absurdity, though its artistic merit has been heavily debated.