10 Roleplaying Gamification Apps to Add Some Adventure to Your Day-To-Day
Shutterstock by Liu zishan
Video games are a great escape and awesome hobby. There is a sense of accomplishment when completing a quest or leveling up our character. Character customizations and story choices give us an outlet for self-expression and seeing our names move up the leaderboard provides a feeling of status. These make gaming is a rewarding and fun experience.
When we have this sense of gratification, our brains release dopamine as a response. This so-called “happy hormone” can boost our mood, increase our motivation and focus, and make us want to return for more. That dopamine is what makes you want to do just one more map, one more quest, or one more chapter, even when it’s past your long bedtime, and why someone people become addicted.
In contrast, real-life may lack this excitement. Our day-to-day can feel like a never-ending list of chores, checking off mundane to-do lists and struggling to stay motivated and productive. Reality can sometimes feel more like a grind than an adventure. But if we could find a way to make it feel like a video game instead, those tedious tasks might become more enjoyable.
That is the idea behind gamification. By tying non-gaming elements to a different environment, we seek to gain the same dopamine response by completing those non-exciting tasks. And by getting that happy brain chemical release, we want to do those tasks again in the future. Gamification can help us form new habits, stay motivated and be more productive.
Photo by Amir Hanna on Unsplash
Here are 10 Role Playing Gamification apps to bring more adventure into your day-to-day.
Be more productive with your time
Focus Quest
Train your hero, upgrade your equipment, fight monsters, go on quests, and dungeon crawl with your friends. It sounds like a perfect RPG! But in Focus Quest, these tasks are driven by completing focusing sessions by setting the timer and putting your phone down. No phone surfing, no distractions, no social media for the duration. Which means more productivity and less time wasted.
Pros: This app was surprisingly effective at getting me to put my phone down and get to work. Up to 3 players complete the dungeons, with each tile movement equivalent to 30 minutes of focused time. It can take several days and requires teamwork to finish them. The advertisements in the free version did not distract from the gameplay. Though, players can watch ads to earn additional gems if they choose. There are also options to unlock other music choices, which helps to keep it fresh.
Cons: The game is very new, released in January 2021, and is still under development. The story currently does not go past chapter 3 though developers are actively working on it. Character customization is limited. And it may be lacking some elements, such as a Pomodoro option found in other focus apps.
Price: Free with in-app purchases for gems or materials
Get in Shape
The Witcher: Monster Slayer
This new game came out in July 2021 and takes the mechanics of Pokemon Go, and adds monsters and elements of the Witcher storyline to make an excellent AR experience. Similar to other augmented reality exploration games, this will encourage you to get out of the house and get some exercise. The battle tutorial and the initial quest give a good feel for the game before releasing players to a larger world of adventure.
Pros: The graphics are gorgeous, and it has excellent storytelling elements. It feels like a complete video game with crafting, skill trees, and a variety of quests. Like similar games, the AR feature can be turned on or off, and seeing those nasty ghouls in your kitchen is quite an experience. It does encourage seeing the same old neighborhood as an adventure.
Cons: While I did not have any issues, several players have complained of loading and updating times. There have also been concerns in the US of trespassing concerns of quests taking place on private property. There is an emphasis on purchasing coins for better equipment, crafting supplies, and items. The level of grinding needed to buy equipment vs. the cost of microtransactions feels a bit unbalanced. And the store items are not cheap; a basic sword costs between $2-$8 and buying the best sword and armor as a beginner can set you back over $100.
Price: Free with in-app purchases of coin
Fitness RPG
Fitness RPG feels like a complete mobile RPG game. There is a party of heroes, which each has a different class, weapons, and skills. They travel through the map of battles to complete the storyline. A PVP area allows challenging other players; there are guilds to join and pets to collect. With everything going on, it’s easy to forget that this is a game to encourage you to get walking. To complete the quests and level up the heroes, players must unlock the treasure chests, which open at step intervals each day to encourage users to get in 10K steps per day.
Pros: It feels like a game and not a fitness app. The tutorials help to explain the different aspects of the game, and advancement unlocks additional features. The advertisements are minimal and not intrusive to the gameplay. It has an active development staff that is continuing to add new features.
Cons: The game tries to be many things are once and can take time to get started. It also includes time-based rewards outside of the steps counter feature. Between the time-based and gem purchase features, it could be possible to play it with little to no fitness aspect, making the app less appealing as a motivator to get in more exercise.
Price: Free with in-app purchases for gems and rewards
Hero Trainer
Though there is a character to level, Hero Trainer isn’t much of an RPG game. Instead, it allows you to play other RPG video games for free. The app tracks your movement and awards an aura for every 1000 steps taken. Auras are traded for discounts or gift cards on Twitch, Playstation, Nintendo eShop, Xbox, Google Play, Steam, and others. Or can be used for in-game credits such as Guild Wars gems, Elder Scrolls crowns, or Super Smash fighter passes. Players can join guilds to compete as a group to earn larger aura awards.
Pros: While it’s not a game itself, it’s a great way to encourage players to get out of the chair and get in some exercise. Because there is a real financial payout tied to the preexisting dopamine release from video gaming, it can be a very effective motivator to use the app.
Cons: The payout for auras is very low. For most platforms, it’s about 70 auras per $1, though Steam gift cards are a higher premium. At 1,000 steps per aura, that 700K steps to earn a $10 gift card. There is also a cap on the number of aura that can be earned per day. New players can only get credit for up to 3K steps daily though the limit does increase with the character l to the maximum of 20 auras daily at the highest level. However, even at max level, it would over a month to earn a $10 gift card. Some players have also had complaints of step tracking syncing issues on the app.
Price: Free
Learn A Language
Japanese Dungeon: Learn J-Word
Japanese Dungeon feels like an old arcade game. It consists of a pixelated hero that battles ogres and other monsters to complete each dungeon. Each attack is a vocabulary flash card. A correct answer, the hero swings, the wrong, the monster attacks. The game is great for absolute beginners starting with Hiragana and then Katakana before moving to individual words.
Pros: It’s a fun way to learn the basics. The hero has a lot of health in the beginning as players learn the ropes. There is a mini-game that helps earn coins to purchase different heroes with other abilities. Daily quests reward progress and motivate to unlock new dungeons.
Cons: As an older title, it has not received any updates in several years. Ads play regularly and can feel disruptive. There doesn’t seem to be an option to pay for turning them off. There is no way to skip the easier dungeons for something that already has some basic knowledge.
Price: Free with in-app purchases for coins
Study Quest
Study Quest is a combination of battle questing, matching game, and a language app. Players complete battles by matching orbs to gain spells and answering language questions to attack. Victory rewards include character customization, new locations, and battles with friends. The character animations have a very Nintendo Wii vibe. Languages supported include Korean, French, German, Spanish, Italian, English, Japanese.
Pros: This app was unusual from several other language apps in that it encourages the writing aspect as well as the reading side. For the writing side, players must spell the words correctly, or for non-Latin-based alphabets, the player follows a tracing of the character and then must complete it on their own. There is also an option to add custom words and phrases which is absent in several language apps.
Cons: The game is tailored for younger audiences though the tutorial doesn’t cover all the topics, and there is some initial confusion. The audio used for pronunciation is text-for-speech instead of a human voice which takes some adjusting and feels unnatural for learning a language.
Price: Free with in-app purchase for coins to buy more word packs
Get Stuff Done
Habit Hunter
Medieval tavern music accompanies players as they work their way across the map, battling monsters and completing quests. To succeed, heroes must gain experience and better equipment to beat the bosses. Each step in the journey is a completed task or daily habit to drive the story forward.
Pros: The mini-game monster battles and the music makes it feels like an adventure game. The leaderboard allows competition among players. Habits and task lists can be sorted by category. Larger goals are encouraged to be broken into smaller, more manageable milestones, which are automatically added to the list of scheduled tasks.
Cons: While the game is fun, the main complaint is the heavy use of advertisements. They often interrupt the gameplay, and it is almost unplayable due to the constant distraction. Ads can be turned off for $3.99.
Price: Free with in-app purchases for coins, map unlocks, and to turn off ads.
Epic Win
Like Habit Hunter, players in Epic Win complete tasks, progress on the map, gain loot, and level the hero. But what sets it apart is the clean and straightforward layout. To-do items can be recurring or scheduled, but there is no differentiation between tasks or habits. Players assign stats to each item and the level of difficulty. Battle music accompanies each completion and can make you feel epic for completing even the most tedious chore.
Pros: The minimal interface doesn’t distract and makes it very easy to use. Tasks can be synced with Google Calendar, and reminders and alarms added. The avatars are very tongue in cheek, and it’s fun to watch them go from losers to heroes as they progress. Though by far the best part is the epic music.
Cons: It lacks the gaming interaction of some of the other games. Without a more solid storyline, it may not be motivating enough to return to day after day. Given that all tasks are under one tab, there is no option to sort by category though the search feature does help with organization. Unlike the other games on this list, Epic Win is not free. However, at $1.99, there are zero ads or in-app purchases, making it quite affordable in comparison.
Price: $1.99 – no additional costs or purchases
Super Better
SuperBetter is a self-help-oriented task app. Players choose what they are looking for help with, such as fitness, willpower, depression, anxiety, or physical injury. The game has pre-generated task lists based on the choice, and users can also add their own items. In addition to tasks, there are power-ups which are easy tasks for positivity, such as drinking water or a moment of gratitude. By completing tasks, power-ups, and avoiding negative habits, players level up their character in mental, emotional, social, and physical stats.
Pros: There is real science behind this app, and it has been found to reduce symptoms of depression. The pre-designed packs are a good way to get started when you’re not sure where to start and can be mixed and match if moving towards multiple goals. It is available on mobile and PC and automatically syncs between the two for a seamless experience.
Cons: There isn’t much of a game aspect to the app. While there are character levels, there is no map or RPG storyline. The character is a description only, and there is no graphic avatar.
Price: Completely free – no in-app purchases or subscriptions
Habitica
When it comes to RPG task management apps, Habitica is the most popular and well-known. Founded in 2013, it continues to be a vibrant community and receives regular updates. Set up daily tasks, habits, and to-do lists and complete them to receive rewards. Characters are leveled in strength, intelligence, constitution, and perception and complete quests. Character customization includes pets and changes with the seasons. Quests progress is calculated once per day based on the total number of tasks completed. However, leaving a task undone may result in damage and even loss of character’s level, so there is a real motivation not to skip a day.
Pros: It is very customizable to organize daily habits, to-do lists, and longer-term goals. In-game purchases and subscriptions are available primarily for character customization, but there are no ads or distractions on the free version. There are seasonal quests and character items to keep it from getting state. It is available on PC and mobile. But the best part of Habitica is the community. Guilds cover every interest from finance to fitness, anime to crochet, and everything in between. The community is very active and supportive, and many guilds offer unique task challenges to encourage their members.
Cons: It lacks the game feel of some more modern gamification apps, and the pixelated graphics may feel outdated. The quests are done automatically with no graphics or battle scenes. Depending on the boss level, quests may take several days to complete. But having an off day when you could not complete all of your tasks can quickly reduce a hero to zero hit points, making the game feel quite punishing.
Price: Free with subscriptions available or additional gem purchase options
Available on iOS, Android, and PC Website
Final Thoughts
Gamification apps can definitely make the mundane feel more enjoyable. It can be fun to try the different apps and see what motivates you to level up your real-life character.
However, one major point to gamification apps is that we are playing against ourselves. It can be easy to hack them, whether checking off to-do items that weren’t completed, putting on a timer while sleeping, or manually adding steps to a health tracker. And yet, there is little to no in-game penalty for cheating. But at the end of the day, these apps are only tools, and beating them is not the actual mission. Our real goal is to level up ourselves and win the RPG game of real life.
Author:
Laurie Trueblood is a writer and life coach that enjoys fantasy, science, psychology, and everything nerdy. As the founder of Adventures to Authenticity, her mission is to help others level up and become the best versions of themselves.
Interested in reading more on gamification and RPGs: The Science Behind Gamification and Why It’s a Powerful Tool for Mental Health and Is Life an RPG? Why We Should Treat Life Like a Roleplaying Game