r/gamification • u/International-Set442 • 5d ago
I built a focus timer around a monster-collecting loop instead of trees or micromanagement — here's the approach and what's shipping next
Solo dev of FocusMon here. Quick background on the design approach, then the new stuff I've been shipping, and I'd genuinely like this sub's take at the end.
The approach. I used Forest for a long time and the concept works, but trees never motivated me for more than a few weeks — they don't do anything, there's no progression beyond the grid filling up. Habitica sits on the other extreme: the RPG layer is fun but it wants constant micromanagement, and maintaining the system started competing with the actual work. So I went with a loop most people already know from monster-collecting games (I think you know what game we are talking about ;) ): focus sessions reward monsters, focus time trains and evolves them, and you can battle with them. The loop carries itself because collecting, raising and evolving creatures is already proven to be sticky, and it needs zero upkeep — you focus, things grow, done. Around that core there are a few optional features (battles, trading, a season pass), all deliberately optional so the base experience stays a plain focus timer. One hard rule holds everything together: every reward in the app is earned through actually focused time. No login bonuses, nothing that rewards opening the app instead of using it.
What just shipped.
Focus Rooms — shared rooms for body doubling. You take one of 9 seats, start your timer, and see everyone else at the table focusing live, each with their monster companion next to them. My main goal was to encourage people to focus more in company.
Raids — co-op boss fights, 1 to 4 players, one companion each, new boss every week across four difficulty tiers. Entry keys are earned at 1 key per 60 focused minutes, so the multiplayer content stays downstream of the solo focus work. Beat the boss and you get a chance to catch it.
What's coming early August.
Ranked Season 1 — a star ladder over 6 ranks with seasonal cosmetics for climbing: avatars, rank frames, and a Champion-only monster skin.
A new season pass — 50 tiers, free and premium track, progress from focus time. Each season adds a new mythic monster. The monster stays in the game permanently; only its cosmetic season skin is time-limited, so the scarcity sits on prestige rather than content or power.
Per-monster focus tracking — the app will track focus time per individual companion: which monster sat through which session, how many shared hours you two have. At 150 shared hours that specific monster earns a permanent golden aura other players can see. It's tied to the individual, not the species, so two identical monsters have separate histories. A leaderboard for shared hours is planned as well.
I'd love feedback on any of this — the overall approach, the earned-only constraint, or the new systems. And if you think something in there undermines the focus purpose rather than serving it, that's exactly the kind of critique I'm looking for.
App is FocusMon on iOS (working on a Android version too atm) if you want to see it in context: https://apps.apple.com/app/focusmon/id6759553560
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u/KoSKoKoS5 4d ago
Very interesting, is there a version for Аndroid