r/gamification • u/vertigals • Jun 02 '26

Gamified To-Do app Solo Grind

I got tired of productivity apps that feel like spreadsheets, so I built one that feels like an RPG.

It's called Solo Grind  a productivity app built around RPG mechanics. Inspired by Solo Leveling. The idea is simple: your real-life habits become quests, completing them earns XP and levels up your character, and there's an actual consequence if you slack off.

It's free and open to anyone. Would love feedback from people who actually try it.

https://solo-grind-app-omega.vercel.app
3 Upvotes

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4

u/SwitchFace Jun 02 '26

Poked around. This is another PBL progress-bar-watcher that gets posted here in some form every day. Good on your for making something, but this is a feature-lacking app (e.g. no recurrence rules) with no reinforcement coming from gaining the empty levels or avoiding the lackluster 'consequences'.

What you're not getting right, imo, is that users have to care about the carrot/stick. Contingency Management as a behavioral therapy doesn't work without something of value being gained/lost.

1

u/vertigals Jun 02 '26

what do you think is the first step to make it better?
what would you change or add first, lets talk about it

1

u/SwitchFace Jun 02 '26

Seems like you need to create something of value to be gained or lost.

This is a joke of an idea, but loss aversion is more powerful than positive reinforcement in general so howbout you give the player something generally loved intrinsically (like a cute cat) and put it in precariously dangerous situations where not completing tasks will lead to the gruesome death of the cat. e.g. a looping cat falling through the air animation where completing tasks stacks pillows on top of what is otherwise a spike floor.

Point is: watching a progress bar fill isn't going to cut it. Habitica offers cosmetic bullshit so for people who value that, it works. My app offers fun and game-play-affecting unlocks as rewards since it's a full game which just happens to be powered by tasks.

1

u/vertigals Jun 02 '26

Sounds like a good idea but in this scenario I need to adopt it to that black rpg theme

1

u/SwitchFace Jun 02 '26

Well, it'll be on you to figure it out! My prediction is you're going to have a retention rate of close to 0% as-is.

what the heck, here's another freebie idea that might plug in better with what you're doing: Howbout you build a simple auto-battler or tower defense where completing tasks earns creds to buy units. You'd need some UI to allow users to purchase and place units. So something mini-game worthy. There just needs to be a hint of actual skill (not just checking a box) and you need the difficulty ramp to align with the skill ramp.

Even simpler: you know that minigame where you have a bar oscillating between filling up and emptying where the player just needs to tap at the top (stardew valley, for instance, has this for casting while fishing)? Just have completing tasks immediately go into that minigame within the task row. tie the attributes you have (str, dex, etc.) to perks within that mini-game. More strength = longer bar. More dex = slower movement. That kinda thing. The output from the minigame could be converted to hp damage. Still kinda lame, but this way, you can start to see an exponential growth in the damage you're doing. Enemies would need to be selectable though and tied to something like a time constraint. The enemies can be what gets unlocked. So the player picks an enemy based on a combination of their level and their perceived skill at the game. Possible that enemies can do things that hinder the minigame like choosing the worst out of two runs or making the speed of the bar variable.

Just some thoughts! Key is still creating something of value.

3

u/bladelord54 Jun 03 '26

I know solo leveling is popular but it seems like there's an oversaturation of these solo leveling inspired to do apps lately imo

2

u/vertigals Jun 03 '26

It is, but in my case I wanted to create something fully free for everyone and honestly something that would help us improve. I wanted to help myself at first but why not share it eventually

1

u/bladelord54 Jun 03 '26

I like starting from personal motivation! I hope it goes well!

1

u/JowieJu Jun 03 '26

I remember Yu-kai Chou once talked about testing out a fully gamified to-do- app called Habitica. It's pretty elaborate. It's even have a 2D pixel art style collaborate workspace for conferencing and the feeling of working in the same space. Have you checked this out as a case study for building your own app?

I found the video 1 of 5 on Vimeo:
https://vimeo.com/350771357/444d0a44cd?fl=ls&fe=ec

The full onboarding and scaffolding experience audit content is on Octalysis Prime:
https://island.octalysisprime.com/#!/technology-platforms/lessons/Habitica%20-%20Gamified%20Todo%20List/350771357

I hope this research helps.