Habitica Gamifies Real Life with a New iOS App

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Millions of people use iPhones and iPads to access information, monitor their health and further their careers by forming contacts and staying in touch. What if there were an app to improve habits and increase productivity — one that actually provided the incentives and accountability users need to stay on task while having fun at the same time? Now there is: Habitica lets users gamify real life so they can find the motivation they need to be happier, healthier and more productive. Today, the company announced the release of a free iOS app.

Over the past several years, gamification has changed the way people learn and work around the world. Educators, corporate trainers and company leaders have discovered gamification's potential for unlocking creativity and driving productivity and motivation higher. Gamification not only makes tasks more fun, it triggers reactions to stimuli on a neurobiological level to encourage desired behavior. Habitica harnesses that power to help users improve their lives and achieve their goals — and puts the power at players' fingertips via a mobile device.

"It's not just gamers that love Habitica," says Habitica CEO Vicky Hsu. "Over 40% of our active users don't really play games, but enjoy having a fun way to work on self improvement that's only loosely tied to rewards in their actual life. Instead, collecting pets and equipment and leveling up a character helps motivate individuals to work on their habits and goals--and joining party groups with friends and coworkers to go on quests and battle monsters adds an extra element of fun and accountability."

Inspired by role-playing games like World of Warcraft, Habitica features fun pixel art, much of it contributed by the company's 850,000-plus users. The app turns daily tasks and to-do lists into monsters for users to conquer. Real-world achievements are rewarded with game progress (such as acquiring points, unlocking new content, moving up a level, etc.), and slacking is penalized with negative game consequences for the user and/or the users' group of friends — their "party."

Because game play provides instant gratification, Habitica delivers the incentives most productivity apps lack, making it much more likely that users will stay on task. Habitica players can use the party system to bring in friends to cheer them on and work with them toward their goals. Habitica consistently rewards positive behavior and imposes in-game consequences for failing to complete tasks or indulging in bad habits. In this way, Habitica helps users overcome procrastination and break bad habits in the real world.

"Accountability is an incredibly powerful motivator," Hsu observes. "In Habitica, accountability means that individuals are responsible for their fellow party members' experience in the app. That means that in addition to cheering them on, or encouraging them when they falter on commitments, people need to tackle their own tasks, or risk holding back other people's progress in the game. The social aspect combined with more basic game features is what keeps players on track to achieving real goals and improvements in their work and personal lives."

Flexible enough to fit virtually any goal and perfect for inspiring users to achieve real objectives related to daily habits, work, health, education, chores and much more, Habitica is built on an open source platform. Habitica's new iOS app is available for free download at the App Store. The company is actively building an Android version and encourages users to sign up for a mailing list to receive the latest information about when it will be released. To learn more about Habitica and sign up for an account, visit www.habitica.com.

About Habitica
Habitica is a highly addictive, free, habit-building and productivity app that treats real life like a game, motivating users to improve habits and achieve goals. With role-playing game-style rewards and penalties to motivate users and a strong social network to inspire collaboration, Habitica breaks procrastination cycles and provides accountability. This helps users achieve their goals and become healthy, hard-working and happy — in life, at school or on the job. To find out more about Habitica and sign up for an account, please visit www.habitica.com.

SOURCE Habitica

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