Gamification is the buzzword in the Valley these days. Not really. It has been around since the first days of …Can’t kick a habit (or form a new one) to save your life? Then maybe you’ll be able to do better if you take a different approach.
You know how pre-school teachers and parents always use games to teach toddlers the alphabet and how to count and all that? Well, Tyler Renelle decided to use that premise to help people who have habit-forming or habit-kicking issues by creating a habit tracking app that doubles as an RPG game called HabitRPG.
HabitRPG is meant to be used with time-tracking and lifestyle tools like RescueTime, Fitbit, Wunderlist, MyFitnessPal, and GCal. Your character will be able to level-up in the game with every achievement you make, while it will lose HP if you fail at a goal or break a habit you’re supposed to form. These incentives and disincentives are designed to help keep you motivated and on track.
HabitRPG is raising funds on Kickstarter through February 19, 2013 to fix bugs on their website, and to develop iOS and Android apps. A minimum pledge of $5(USD) will get you 20 tokens to be used in the game. This currency is used when you first start a game, or if you don’t meet your goals.
Athletes wanting to motivate themselves with Fitocracy's game-like ranking system have had to carry an iPhone to get the full experience, at least if they wanted to go beyond the website. They've got their solution now that the Android port has arrived. Like before, it lets smartphone owners log their runs and other workouts to earn points, new levels and achievements shared with friends on the social network. Sign-ups are free for the core Fitocracy service; springing for the $50 yearly subscription (or $5 per month) supplies the option to save unlimited routines, grab others' routines, start fitness duels and test new features early. If you've been looking for that extra nudge from your Nexus to get off the couch, hit the source link.
Continue reading Fitocracy arrives for Android users needing an exercise level-up
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Source: Google Play
“Gamification” has become a buzzword in the past few years, referring to the incorporation of levels, achievements and other congratulatory statistical landmarks in real-life activities to encourage participation. Don’t worry, I too, did not understand what I just said. But let’s rub our chins and nod sagely as we ponder this interesting pitch for a game that I think is influenced by gamification. It’s a gamified game.
Indie developer Gnarly Tooth is currently pitching a game called The Hostage Trials, a “real time mobile adventure.” For $3 you get to have a villain call you on your mobile device at a random time to insult you and your life and finally threaten to kill one of your friends if you refuse to do his bidding. The villain by the way is voiced by David Hayter, who is also the voice of Solid Snake & Big Boss, so it’s all good. Just think about it: how much would you pay to talk to Solid Snake? This is going to be him calling you! And you can ignore him!
So what kind of vile, humiliating and stressful actions will you be forced to take to please the Hayter? According to the Kickstarter project the mini-games include “walking a certain distance in a certain amount of time”, “changing your elevation” and calling a number. Sounds like the villain should have been Psycho Mantis.
There’s other potentially unique activities though, like “helping the villain launder money” or “remotely setting off an alarm.” It could be interesting. It could be illegal. The friend that you choose to be the hostage will also have tasks and challenges too.
If you’re sold on the concept, a pledge of at least $3 (USD) on its Kickstarter fundraiser gets you the game on either iOS or Android if and when it comes out. It sounds like you’ll have to suspend your disbelief a great height to fall for this game, but it could be really fun. At least it’s not being released by a greedy publisher. Imagine being asked by the villain to like their Facebook page while eating Doritos and wearing nothing but American Apparel underwear. Or your friend dies.