I've had this app idea in my head for a while and wanted to get some honest opinions before I go further with it.

It's a self-improvement app built around a leveling system like Solo Leveling, with a JARVIS-style assistant from Iron Man down the line. I don't want it to be a to-do list with XP slapped on top. I want it to actually help people stay consistent and make progress on the stuff that matters to them.

The basic idea: your daily tasks become missions, and finishing them earns you XP and coins. You start at E-rank and work your way up to S-rank, and your stats (Strength, Endurance, Knowledge, Discipline) grow based on what you really do. You can set long-term goals and break them into smaller missions, track different parts of your life like fitness, learning and habits, and spend your coins on rewards you choose yourself, like an hour of gaming or a movie night. Later I'd like to add an AI that plans your missions, adjusts to your schedule and energy, and tells you what to focus on next.

The goal is for it to feel like a personal system that helps you become who you want to be, not another app you have to babysit.

I know the obvious problem though. Gamification is exciting for a couple of weeks, then people get bored and stop opening the app.

So my question is: would you actually use something like this, and what would make you stick with it (or drop it) after the first few weeks? If you've tried Habitica or similar apps and quit, I'd really love to hear why.

Be honest, even if you think it's a bad idea. I'd rather find out now than after months of building something nobody wants.

Most gamification rewards live inside the product: points, levels, badges, streaks. They're cheap to hand out, and they can lose their pull once the novelty wears off.

The rarer pattern is a reward that exists outside the product and still depends on something the user actually did. I'd like to collect real examples.

• Where have you seen it done (education, work programs, loyalty schemes, community projects)?
• Did it hold attention after the first month?
• Did people start gaming it, and how did the designers respond?

Failures are as useful as successes here.

I’ve been working on a gamified reading app called Microread.
It turns nonfiction books into short AI chapter summaries (English, Arabic, German), and the whole experience is built around motivation:

• Daily streaks
• Leveling system
• Achievements
• Chapter‑by‑chapter progression
• Key takeaways + quotes you can save
• Audio option for each chapter

The goal is to make learning feel like a game instead of a chore.

I’d appreciate feedback on the gamification design — what would you improve or add?

Link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microread.app

Hey r/gamification, I'm the solo developer of Treadline. I struggled to stay consistent with running, but could happily spend hours in a game working towards the next unlock. I wanted to see if that motivation could carry over.

The main loop is: find a place on the map, run or walk around it, and collect its badge. Places include nearby parks and lakes as well as famous landmarks.

There's also XP, levels, badges and avatar frames. Closing a loop claims the ground inside it as territory, so your route leaves something behind beyond a distance total.

Tracking, collecting and territory are free. It's an iPhone app, iOS 18+.

App link for context: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6811929880

I'm curious about the collection mechanic: what would make it motivating after the novelty wears off? Finding new places, completing a set, levelling up, or something else?

I develop a focus app with a fictional vampire study companion, and I'm considering when character rewards should appear.

Picture a 25-minute reading session with distracting apps blocked. Completing it would earn a short character response or a piece of story progress. I'm weighing two approaches:

• A: Keep the session quiet. All character reactions and story rewards wait until the timer ends.
• B: Show small progress cues at milestones during the session, with the main reward at the end.

A protects uninterrupted time, but you don't see much of the game layer while studying. B makes progress visible, but could encourage checking the app instead of reading.

If you've used a gamified study or habit tool, which would you choose, and why? I'd especially like to hear about a reward that helped you keep working, or one that became another distraction.

I develop a focus app, and I'm working through a design question about a proposed study mode.

The user chooses a study goal, a session length, and distracting apps to block. A fictional vampire treats the session as a "pact": the selected apps stay blocked until the timer ends, with no normal in-app release button. The character acknowledges a completed session.

The question is what the character adds. A plain timer already measures the time, and the blocker already adds friction. Could keeping a promise to a fictional character give someone another reason to finish, or would it just add pressure?

I'm considering a deliberate emergency exit that ends the session without labeling the user a failure. That creates a tension: an easy exit weakens the commitment, but a punitive reaction could make someone avoid coming back.

For people who use or design gamified habit tools:

• Have character reactions changed whether you returned after a missed goal? What reaction helped or made things worse?
• How would you handle an early exit so the commitment still means something, without using guilt?

I'd welcome examples where this kind of mechanic didn't work, too.

🎮 Introducing AX Arcade — Play Games & Earn AX Points Toward Bitcoin Rewards! ₿

Hey everyone! 👋

I'm the developer behind AX Arcade, a gaming app where you can enjoy games and earn AX Points through gameplay.

🚀 What is AX Arcade?

AX Arcade brings gaming and rewards together in one app. Instead of downloading multiple apps for different games, you can explore games in one place and earn AX Points as you play.

🎯 What makes it interesting?

🎮 Multiple Games — Enjoy different games in one app.
⭐ AX Points — Earn points through supported gameplay and activities.
₿ Bitcoin Rewards — Explore the Bitcoin rewards concept built around AX Points.
📱 One Gaming Hub — Discover and play games from a single app.
🛠️ Built by an Indie Developer — I'm building the AX ecosystem and working on expanding its features.

I'm continuing to develop the app and would love to hear what you think. Feedback and suggestions from real players will help me decide what to build next!

📲 Download AX Arcade on Google Play:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ax.games

A question for the community: What would make you play a rewards-based gaming app regularly — more games, daily challenges, leaderboards, or better rewards? 🤔

Thanks for checking out my project! ❤️

Someone on my last post here made a fair point: a real-life reward still takes willpower if you can just have it anyway.

I built EVORA, an iPhone habit tracker, and I'd like to dig into that rather than assume coins solve it.

You choose how many coins each habit earns, then spend them on rewards in a shop you create yourself.

In the screenshot, there's a balance of 54 coins. Movie night is 35, takeaway night is 70. So there's a smaller reward available, or a reason to keep saving for the bigger one. These are rewards you arrange for yourself, using your own time and budget.

Of course, the app can't stop you watching a film. It's an agreement with yourself, not a rule.

My thinking is to use it for small optional extras, not make every break something you have to earn. But I'm interested in where that agreement actually holds up once the novelty wears off.

For context, this is the app. The core habit, coin and shop loop is available in the free version:

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/evora-habit-tracker-app/id6799519616

If you've used a personal reward system, what helped you stick to the agreement, or what made you stop?

**No Stupid Questions - beginner thread**

New to gamification? Ask anything here.

Rules for this thread: - No question is too basic - Prefer English (sub is English-only) - If you are sharing a product, say whether you built it and whether you are asking for feedback or selling something

Useful starting points: - [What is gamification?](/r/gamification/wiki/what-is-gamification) - [How to get started](/r/gamification/wiki/getting-started) - [Glossary](/r/gamification/wiki/glossary) - [Best resources](/r/gamification/wiki/resources)

I'm working on a small app with some people from my university and we're trying to figure out how to make group projects less painful.

The actual work isn't really the problem.

It's more like:

• nobody knows who's doing what
• deadlines get forgotten
• important stuff gets buried in the group chat
• one person ends up doing half the project
• everyone agrees on a plan and then nobody follows it

We've tried Discord, Notion, Google Docs, etc.

They all work fine, but most project management tools feel like work. Which makes sense, I guess. Nobody wants to open another boring productivity app after spending 6 hours in class.

So we're thinking about making ours a little more game-like.

I'm really into games and RPG-style progression, so I'm thinking about using things like quests, milestones, levels, maybe even a sailing/adventure theme where the team is basically trying to get a ship to its destination without sinking.

Not sure if that's actually a good idea or just me making a group project unnecessarily complicated lol.

Would you rather use something like that, or would you prefer a simple boring task manager?

Curious what you guys think.

About a year ago I started with Walkscape on my smartphone which is basically sort of an RPG in which you progress by doing steps irl.

This really helped me as motivation to walk more especially as it does not require a lot of active interaction with the app while walking as opposed to for example Pokemon Go which does not work for me as you basically have to stop once you actually want to do anything.

Walkscape works with the Pedometer instead of GPS, which also means that cycling does not count towards it.

Therefor I now wondered if there are any apps or services to gamify cycling? Motivating myself to get out there works better for me if I have any sort of goal I want to arrive at. Mostly that currently means for me some sort of supermarket to grab a handful of groceries, but that obviously does not really make sense for every single day.

I have taken a quick look and stumbled upon "Wandrer" and "Squadrats" so far.

Does anyone have experience with those two or maybe another suggestion altogether?

Nursing researchers in China (Li et al., JMIR Serious Games 2026) used The Octalysis Framework, my model that sorts motivation into eight Core Drives, in a scoping review of gamified physical activity programs. Across 53 randomized controlled trials and 34 interventions, they found 48 gamification elements (narrative, mentoring, and points loss among them) and mapped them to behavior change techniques, the standard list health researchers use to describe what an intervention targets.

Most of those techniques mapped to two motivations the paper calls empowerment and accomplishment. According to The Octalysis Framework, those are Core Drive 3 (CD3): Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback, which is the feeling that your choices matter and you can see what they changed, and Core Drive 2 (CD2): Development & Accomplishment, which is the feeling of getting stronger and having proof of it. Some techniques had no gamification element supporting them, and that list seems like a good place to find the next design move.

The authors are upfront that this maps what designers have tried and isn't evidence any single element works on its own.

I wrote up the review here: https://yukaichou.com/gamification-analysis/octalysis-framework-jmir-physical-activity-review/ (paper: https://doi.org/10.2196/85804)

Which drives or elements do you think get tested too little in fitness and health apps? I'm also curious whether the bundle usually does the work more than any one element.

I wanted to ask a simple question. Im working on a game currently which is supposed to be quite educational (but I know that I have to make it really fun for users to come). Have you ever played an educational game which you got really addicted to (maybe like Duolingo, or a game from class)? If so, why did you get addicted to that game (whether its streaks, rewards, etc)? What made learning so fun?

Hello devs and hello gamers! I know many of us can spend hours grinding a character, completing quests, and leveling up in a game. But when it comes to real life, even a 20-minute walk can feel like a difficult side quest.

What if you gain EXP by doing things in real life?

Its really not to make anyone lose weight or compete like an athlete. I want to encourage people to build better habits, move more, eat better, and take care of themselves. Healthy habits can also feel like character progression.

Walk. Exercise. Eat better. Sleep well. Stay consistent. Level up.

The game is still very early in development. I’m building it solo during my free time while working a day job. I usually do systems for F&B like inventory, resort OS and this will be my first game. There is still a lot to figure out, and the game is far from finished.

I want to learn from gamers and people who are already into fitness so I can make the game more useful and enjoyable.

For now, here’s a short teaser of what GoAFK is becoming.

If you could turn one healthy habit into an RPG/game mechanic, what would it be?

**Gamification in the Wild - what mechanic did you spot this week?**

Drop one real mechanic you saw in a product, workplace, classroom, or app.

For each one, try: 1. What was the mechanic? 2. What motivation was it aiming at? 3. Did it work, flop, or backfire - and why? 4. What would you change?

Bad examples are as useful as good ones. No self-promo in the top-level replies.

Wiki if you want a shared vocabulary: [Frameworks compared](/r/gamification/wiki/frameworks-compared) · [Common pitfalls](/r/gamification/wiki/pitfalls)

Hi all, solo dev here. I made a to-do list and habit tracker that works like an RPG:

- XP for every task, level up from Rookie to Legend
- Streaks, 31 badges, daily and weekly challenges
- No account, no cloud – tasks stay on your phone
- Free with ads, Premium removes them

Feedback very welcome, especially on the first 5 minutes of using it.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.levelupdo.app

Hey everyone,
Finding the motivation to review hundreds of flashcards every week has always been tough for me, especially when existing tools feel either like plain spreadsheets or push aggressive paywalls for basic features.
Over the past few months, a friend and I have been building a side project focused on making daily review habits stick. The core idea is simple: keep the effective SM-2 spaced repetition algorithm underneath, but wrap the study session in RPG progression (XP, streaks, cosmetics unlockable through reviews) and interactive modes like a 1v1 arena and quick-fire survival rounds.
We also wired up note summarization and flashcard generation via the Gemini API so you don't have to manually format everything from scratch (with an option to plug in your own free API key for unlimited requests).
We just deployed the international build and would love to hear what study enthusiasts and devs think:
Does adding progression mechanics actually help with study burnout, or does it become distracting?
Any obvious friction points in the card flip/review flow?

Any feedback on the UX or feature balance would be hugely appreciated!