HeroMode just got even more motivating! In the newly released v6.3, a leveling up system is now available for all your adventures! Every task you finish, and every point you earn, will now bring you one step further in your leveling up journey. Getting things done just got a lot more fun! Give it a try and let us know how your adventure goes!
HeroMode v6.3 is available on iOS, web, and Chrome extension.
I'm very excited to be the announcer of the HeroMode v6.3 release, because this one is all about leveling up!
HeroMode is a task management app that helps you get things done by motivating you. And it comes with many motivational features, like streaks, progress calendar, adventure milestones, and more. A few month ago, we introduced the Piggy Reward System: you can earn coins by completing quests, and use them to redeem rewards that you set for yourself.
Another motivational mechanism that I have advocated for a long time is "leveling up". This game mechanics is as ubiquitous as it is effective, and I really feel it'd be a great addition to HeroMode. So I'm very happy to be the one to announce that HeroMode now has a leveling system in the new v6.3!
Leveling Up Along Your Adventures
In the newly released v6.3 (available on iOS, web, and Chrome extension), you automatically level up as you complete quests and accumulate points. You don't have to do anything to configure the feature. It works as soon as you update to the latest version.
In fact, as soon as you update, you'll see your levels for all your adventures in the Adventures screen:
When you complete a quest, in addition to earning piggy coins, you will also see how you are progressing in terms of leveling up:
And when you level up, you will see a celebratory badge of honor:
There are a lot of fun elements in this new leveling up system. For example, if you share an adventure with some buddies, you can see everyone's levels in this adventure! This is a great way to motivate each other to complete quests and level up together.
The Math of Leveling Up
How does a data scientist like me contribute to the development of a leveling up system? Math, of course!
One of the leveling up system I'm most familiar with is the one in the game Pokemon Go. In Pokemon Go, you level up by accumulating experience points (XP). Leveling up is easier at the beginning, but it gets harder and harder as you progress. Eventually, it takes so much XP to level up that I was no longer motivated for the "XP grind".
I want to avoid this feeling in HeroMode. I want leveling up to be fun and achievable. So I went "math sequence shopping": looking for an integer sequence that can model the leveling up system.
This brought me to the following sequence based on the Divisor Function:
I like that leveling up is very easy early on. For a new adventure, you can go from Level 0 to Level 1 in a single day. Within a couple of weeks, you can go up a few more levels.
But as you progress, it does get a bit harder. The difficulty though increases only linearly, so it doesn't get dauntingly difficult. In addition, for some levels, it actually is easier to level up than the previous level. I love these "break levels". After overcoming a tough level, mentally it's very nice to have a lower bar to clear.
I hope you find the leveling up system in HeroMode fun and motivating. If you have any feedback, please let us know!