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0 pointsDevDesmond27d ago0 comments

I got addicted to scrolling content on my phone, so I built a digital pet whose growth and well-being depends on you staying off your phone! This way, if I spend all night scrolling the browser, my pet will get depression.

Unlike similar apps such as Focus Friend or Forest, which use active timers to police screen time, my app is an inversion that works like an idle game; All screen time is tracked all day, (with double the punishments at night), and upon check-in, you get feedback on your device usage.

https://automatisolutions.com/products/phreepet/

0 comments

memonkey27d ago

I've always been very interested in these types of games. Grew up playing Neopets which was inspiration to becoming a software engineer. Am interested in gamified aspects as well. The thing I've not quite figured out is how to make these types of games _actually_ addictive? Neopets had a lot going for it IMO. Would love to know if this is actually working for you (and maybe others) personally and why.

mghackerlady27d ago

I wish I knew why these games are so addictive, I collected Tamagotchi a few years back and ended up with a handful of originals and one of the fancy new color screen ones (that now goes for obscene amounts of money on ebay).

varenc27d ago

How are you able to track all screen time on an iOS device? I had thought the APIs to do this aren't available.

buddybuilder27d ago

I believe Apple opened up their screen time APIs https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screentime

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