[HN Gopher] I made a game you can play without anyone knowing (n...
___________________________________________________________________
I made a game you can play without anyone knowing (no
visuals/sound)
Hello everyone! I just launched an iOS game called Tik! and it has
no visuals or sound of any kind. So the obvious question is.. how
do you play it? The game uses your phone's Haptics in order to
play a rhythm of "Tiks" (haptic vibrations). The user then has to
try and recreate the timing of the rhythm they just felt by tapping
it anywhere on the screen. It sounds easy, but getting the timing
right is tricky, and so it usually takes a couple tries before your
able to get it right. The inspiration for the game came from
wanting something to do in a really boring presentation. It would
have been disrespectful to look at my phone, but I also needed a
distraction. I typically hold my phone in these kinds of scenarios,
and fiddle with the case, when it occurred to me: what if there was
a game I could play just holding the phone anywhere (under a desk,
in my pocket, to the side, etc.). Sometime later Tik! was born :)
I would love your feedback on it. The game is paid, but if someone
would like a promo code to try it please let me know below. Link:
https://apps.apple.com/app/id6720712299
Author : appsDev
Score : 343 points
Date : 2024-10-02 11:48 UTC (11 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (apps.apple.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (apps.apple.com)
| aroom wrote:
| I would like a promo
| appsDev wrote:
| Sure, hope you like it! Promo: NKF9EL7JA9KT
|
| (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift Card
| or Code" and enter the code. Each promo code is one time use
| only, so to anyone else reading this please ask for one in a
| new comment if you would like one!)
| aroom wrote:
| Of course someone else redeemed it...
| appsDev wrote:
| Really, here is another one: KX7TY6RLHWJE
|
| (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift
| Card or Code" and enter the code. Each promo code is one
| time use only, so to anyone else reading this please ask
| for one in a new comment if you would like one!)
| aroom wrote:
| Thank you
| appsDev wrote:
| No problem! Enjoy!
| brazzy wrote:
| Essentially an exercise in minimalism, quite cool. I want it, buy
| I'm an Android user.
|
| However, I also really have to wonder: "I needed a distraction" -
| smartphones have apparently conditioned us to consider boredom
| absolutely intolerable. I'm note sure that's a good thing.
| Arch485 wrote:
| Well actually, humans have disliked boredom since forever.
| Before the advent of phones, people would read, drink, or
| otherwise cause chaos to entertain themselves (these things
| still happen of course, phones are just yet another source of
| entertainment).
|
| Think about all those times before you had a phone that you
| would read the ingredients to hand soap while on the toilet!
| hollerith wrote:
| >>smartphones have apparently conditioned us to consider
| _boredom_ absolutely intolerable. I 'm note sure that's a
| good thing.
|
| >humans have disliked boredom since forever.
|
| Maybe I'm unusual, but if I go too many days without spending
| a significant fraction of my time doing things I _dislike_ ,
| then my mental health starts to decline. Specifically, I
| start to lack motivation and drive with the result that I
| spend less time _pursuing_ and more time procrastinating (or
| resting when I don 't need rest).
|
| (Doing something risky works just as well as doing something
| painful or uncomfortable in keeping me out of this particular
| bad mental place. It doesn't have to be a risk of something
| terrible happening: it only needs to feel not totally safe in
| some juicy way, not to be objectively dangerous.)
|
| Also, I wish I knew what I just wrote when I was still a
| young man.
| appsDev wrote:
| I agree, sometimes doing something "boring" is actually
| nice. I just like to choose when those times are in the
| day, not have them all the time.
|
| I also see this as something nice for someone who is
| already conditioned to be super stimulated. Instead of
| scrolling instagram for example, this could be nice since
| at least you don't get the typical level of stimulation and
| eye strain..
| hollerith wrote:
| I don't think you understood my comment, which might be
| because I didn't write it well enough.
| appsDev wrote:
| I guess maybe not.. I think I understood the core of what
| you were trying to say though and I get where your coming
| from..
| appsDev wrote:
| I agree. And I think not letting ourselves get bored is also
| ok if we are doing it intentionally.
| cootsnuck wrote:
| The reading ingredients on bathroom items while on the
| toilet...lol. I did not know this was more of a universal
| experience. Did this all the time when I was a kid.
| appsDev wrote:
| Good question. The way I see it, this is for the times when you
| don't want to be bored. You can definitely choose to be bored
| sometimes intentionally, but it should not be forced.
|
| It is also a lot less stimulating than something like social
| media since it has no sound / screen. :)
| ryankrage77 wrote:
| Difficult to find by search on the app store - 'tik', 'tik game'
| (and with the exclamation mark appended) didn't return it, but
| 'tik! haptic' did.
| appsDev wrote:
| I noticed that too. I am not sure what to do about it though...
| since I don't want to change the app name.
|
| I am happy that writing haptic or game brings it up though!
| mertysn wrote:
| still not too late to go with "haptik"
| appsDev wrote:
| Exactly, thats what I had thought of originally - could
| still change it!
| birracerveza wrote:
| Had to search by the author's name, "Tik" is so incredibly
| generic not even "Tik game" helped. Very neat game otherwise!
| jimmydddd wrote:
| Me too! I had to search the Casual Games category, where it
| happens to be a top paid game.
| givinguflac wrote:
| Great idea! I'd love to check it out. Any plans to have an Apple
| Watch version?
| appsDev wrote:
| Yes! I have thought of making it in the future! Stay tuned ;)
| imsotiredspacex wrote:
| first paid app i've seen in a couple of years (makes sense,
| though!)
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you!! :)
| nottorp wrote:
| How about text adventures?
| appsDev wrote:
| Yes something with Haptics could be used for that kind of idea
| :) Nice thought
| cheeaun wrote:
| Honestly first time see a 95 cents app on the App Store
| appsDev wrote:
| Yes! I was debating making it .99 cents but for some reason .95
| just felt right for this app :)
| fny wrote:
| I think this is pretty smart.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you!
| maven29 wrote:
| Yes, because Phantom Vibration Syndrome alone was not difficult
| enough.
| moritz64 wrote:
| cool idea. i would also like a promo code to try out. apple watch
| version would be great!
| appsDev wrote:
| Yes! I would love to bring it to Apple Watch too! :)
|
| Here is ur code! Promo: WJJAYWH6KTEK
|
| (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift Card
| or Code" and enter the code. Each promo code is one time use
| only, so to anyone else reading this please ask for one in a
| new comment if you would like one!)
| kwantaz wrote:
| do we need to pay first?
| appsDev wrote:
| The app is free with promo code, otherwise it costs 95
| cents by default. :) If you want one here it is:
| PR3XEE3EMLP3 (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to
| "Redeem Gift Card or Code" and enter the code. Each promo
| code is one time use only, so to anyone else reading this
| please ask for one in a new comment if you would like one!)
| mattw2121 wrote:
| I'm over here visualizing people holding their phones in their
| pocket while continuously tapping on them. The goal of not
| looking disrespectful might backfire on you :).
| appsDev wrote:
| I get what u mean :) - I usually use it under a desk though, or
| just to the side. Probably inside a hoodie pocket could work
| sometimes too - the point being just anywhere that someone will
| not immediately notice
| password4321 wrote:
| A game for people who get carsick looking at screens, awesome! I
| would love more suggestions that fall in this same category, aka
| games for the vision impaired.
|
| Where can I sign up for notification of a future Android
| (specifically Kindle Fire [Kids+]) release?
| pbhjpbhj wrote:
| I think you could do an audio-looping app. You'd make a loop up
| from a series of instruments, but the instruments would appear
| consecutively. You choose the loop type (3 bars of 4-4 time,
| say, I'm not a musician!). Then you get an announcement "clap",
| with a metronome sound in the background, you tap the phone for
| a beat. Next the app announces "snare" and you tap for each
| snare, etc.
|
| Maybe it works best by giving you a few bars of a tune and you
| make the percussion up to fit?
|
| Whatever, I think there's something there.
| password4321 wrote:
| Thank you for sharing your idea! Lots of unexplored options
| with audio for sure, especially music as you pointed out.
|
| It would be possible to use the touch screen for multiple
| inputs split into large regions, multiple fingers, etc.
| jedberg wrote:
| Semi-related note, the new iOS has a new feature that provides
| motion queues to reduce car sickness, called Vehicle Motion
| Queues.
| appsDev wrote:
| Searched it up, looks really cool!
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you so much, I'm glad you like the idea!
|
| If I ever release Tik! on android in the future I will reply
| back on ur comment again here ;)
| password4321 wrote:
| FYI on HN you get two weeks then discussion is locked. Glad
| you got some traction here.
| appsDev wrote:
| Oh I didn't know that; thanks for the info. If I launch on
| Android will try to market the app to get the word out some
| other way!
| pyzhianov wrote:
| Well done! This is a pretty cool and unique idea.
|
| I think it would be nice to have some UI when you first open the
| app, so you can at least learn how to play it. It's kind of hard
| to figure out what you're doing wrong when you tap and what
| success should look like.
|
| Also, are there any difficulty levels? It feels like the very
| first sequence is kind of hard.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you!
|
| From what you are saying, I am assuming you bought the app (if
| so thank you!). When you first open the app (and every time
| after you completely close it from the background), there is a
| "?" at the top right. If you click it, it has a guided tutorial
| that explains in detail how the game works.
|
| Please let me know if you have any other questions though and I
| can answer them here. If you are struggling a lot with a
| specific sequence, just close the app completely and re-launch
| it and the sequence will change.
|
| I tried to set it at a difficulty that would not be too hard or
| easy. If it is consistently too hard though please let me know
| and I will make changes :)
| jakubmazanec wrote:
| The app looks nice and the concept sounds interesting.
|
| But this worries me a little bit: "I also needed a distraction" -
| is it really a good idea to treat our brains this way? Why do we
| need distractions all the time? Why is boredom so intolerable?
| Also, you can simply just think about stuff, you don't have to
| feed your compulsion loop.
| jeffhuys wrote:
| Boredom is a bad feeling "by design" - it makes us go out and
| find new experiences. If, in this current world, you're in a
| situation where you really can't get out of, we instinctively
| try to find distractions.
|
| Thinking about stuff is also a distraction. And for some people
| there's nothing to solve, really, as they're okay where they're
| at in life.
|
| That's why I feel like you're projecting a bit; it's not
| intolerable, it's just... nothing. So if you have no other
| option, why not play a game?
|
| I'm currently not in the camp of "nothing to think about" - I
| could sit for hours and do nothing except think. But there were
| (and will be) times in my life where that would not feel good -
| I wanted experiences!
| j_maffe wrote:
| > So if you have no other option, why not play a game?
|
| That's the question though, do you not have any other
| options? Things that are more gratifying and contribute to
| your development than some brain-dead game?
| appsDev wrote:
| I agree thinking can be a nice distraction sometimes, even to
| the point that we lose all focus on what's happening in front
| of us. Depends on everyone's preference what they wish to
| use..:)
| zeta0134 wrote:
| Among other things, "needing a distraction" is why I pretty
| much always have music playing. It's something my brain can do
| as a background task, and it's tremendously effective at
| suppressing the otherwise strong desire to investigate whatever
| just made that weird sound. I don't know if I could have
| survived in an office environment without my headphones.
| appsDev wrote:
| I feel you - I have music playing almost all the time that I
| can too, even when working. Don't know if it's good for me
| all the time, but sometimes I think it is honestly helpful.
| Issue is for when you can't have earbuds in or something,
| which is why I made Tik! :)
| bayindirh wrote:
| I don't think its boredom. It's keeping racing and insisting
| thoughts, the uncomfortable things at bay, and this is worse
| than not allowing one to get bored.
|
| When you take everything from the brain, and sit silently, it
| starts to remember. Oh, the plants, the presentation I'm going
| to give, financials for the month, remaining tasks at the
| office, etc. Maybe some worse issues which bother you but you
| try to ignore.
|
| Escaping into some distraction from these uncomfortable
| thoughts is always marketed as the norm, the way it should be,
| but it's not. One should prioritize mental discipline over
| fidgeting and dopamine hits, IMHO.
|
| I know not every problem in life have a solution, and battling
| with some problems is hard. But running away from _any and
| every problem_ is not the solution.
| appsDev wrote:
| I agree that we definitely should not run away from
| uncomfortable thoughts and make time to deal with them
| mindfully. Tik! is honestly meant for times though when you
| wish you had something to do, almost like having an upgraded
| fidget toy. Using it in moderation should help, but of course
| if someone is using it to escape their life issues that is a
| separate issue.
| bayindirh wrote:
| Yeah, I just wanted to share an observation, the aim was
| not to discount the motivation of you or the resulting
| game.
|
| Congrats on the release. :)
| appsDev wrote:
| I completely understand mate, thanks for your comment!
| 0xdeadbeefbabe wrote:
| Some peoples brains are so much better/fun/non-linear that
| they need walls or delimiters. A physical activity that keeps
| you in the present sounds good, and it sounds like discipline
| too.
| bayindirh wrote:
| I have such a brain which requires constant B12 support.
| You can train it to sit tight and go fast when needed.
| Meditation helps a lot, too.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thanks for bringing this up, and I completely agree. Needing a
| distraction all the time isn't healthy, and I was thinking
| about this while making the app too. The way I look at it
| though, we should be intentional with our time, making space
| for time to do nothing / meditate.
|
| However, sometimes when we are stuck in a boring situation,
| it's less about being meaningfully free and more about feeling
| stuck with nothing to do.
|
| In this kind of a senario, Tik! would be a better option and
| less stimulating than something like instagram for example,
| since although your mind is busy, it's not overstimulating your
| brain with information.
|
| Just my thoughts on the topic, please let me know if you agree
| or have anything to add on :)
| colechristensen wrote:
| You're basically implying that it is immoral to have ADHD.
|
| In many ways ADHD isn't so much a disease as an
| incompatibility with modern office life. It isn't "healthy"
| for most people to sit in an office all day, but ADHD-like
| people, it is a very real struggle. One mitigation is
| distracting a part of your brain with some activity while
| doing something else. There is nothing at all wrong with
| this.
|
| You might as well be saying writing with your left hand is
| unhealthy and recommending exercises to force yourself to
| write with the "correct" hand.
| robertlagrant wrote:
| > You're basically implying that it is immoral to have
| ADHD.
|
| I don't see where the commenter mentioned morality. Where
| do you see this?
| appsDev wrote:
| Thx, yes I was just responding in context to the original
| comment
| sickofparadox wrote:
| Please learn to read people's words more charitably, and
| maybe to act a little less weird. I have ADHD as well and
| think that the incessant need for distractions is a
| decidedly unhealthy part of the malfunction.
| colechristensen wrote:
| It is very strange for you to be suggesting someone
| interpret others more charitably and tell them to be less
| weird in the same sentence.
| sickofparadox wrote:
| Making the mental jump from "Needing a distraction all
| the time isn't healthy" to "You're basically implying
| that it is immoral to have ADHD" is both very strange and
| massively uncharitable. It is entirely accurate to
| describe your comment as both.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thx, yes I just wanted to say that I understood the
| original comment's pov, nothing else..
| appsDev wrote:
| I didn't mean it like that. I was just responding in
| context to the original comment, which was about how people
| nowadays tend to distract themselves aimlessly all the time
| and stimulate their brain instead of taking time to let
| their brain be free.
|
| It is not immoral in the slightest for anyone, and
| especially if you have ADHD. In fact if this is something
| someone could use to help with their ADHD that would be
| incredible. I was just saying that I get where the original
| comment is coming from as well.
|
| Hope this clears things up!
| latexr wrote:
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0ETAVxXtec&t=6
| summermusic wrote:
| I'm certain you didn't mean it this way, but it is ableist to
| assume that because you don't need distractions that others
| don't. Some people living with ADHD, intrusive thoughts,
| autism, etc. actually do sometimes need a distraction.
| smabie wrote:
| Or maybe they don't need an abstraction and just think they
| do because it's easier than the alternative.
| johnisgood wrote:
| And the alternative is?
| monkpit wrote:
| This is very prescriptive thinking and not constructive. Is
| there anything wrong with having a distraction, other than
| just your opinion?
|
| It's like telling someone with depression/anxiety to "get
| over it".
| appsDev wrote:
| I agree if someone has a condition then that is different. I
| think the original comment was talking in reference to
| doomscrolling and people using their phones all the time when
| they don't need to, etc..
| lolinder wrote:
| I have ADHD and have a really hard time focusing in Zoom
| meetings at work _unless_ I have something to do. I keep a
| fidget spinner by my desk and use it constantly during calls.
| My brother uses a Rubik 's cube for the same reason.
|
| This game is basically a digital fidget--it doesn't actually
| prevent you from being there in the meeting, but it does
| provide the little bit of background simulation that some
| people legitimately need in order to stay sane working a desk
| job.
| the-dude wrote:
| Do you use an 'ADHD pillow' at your desk? I can recommend.
| world2vec wrote:
| Can you elaborate, please? Googling that term has left me a
| bit confused.
| the-dude wrote:
| Cushion! Pardon my French : https://www.amazon.com/adhd-
| cushion/s?k=adhd+cushion
|
| (No affiliation)
| Ladsko wrote:
| Huh! I use these to keep my spine musculature busy, not
| my mind. Am I doing it wrong?
| otteromkram wrote:
| Yes, you need to balance it on your head for the full
| effect.
|
| /s
| bubblesnort wrote:
| Something like this???
|
| https://www.amazon.com/Wenqik-Cushion-Vibrator-Pressure-
| Acti...
|
| That's enough wtf for me, I'll leave the Internet for a
| while.
| nextcaller wrote:
| I think there's a yuge market for 3d printed fidgets. I would
| order a sample array of curious plastic/metal fidgets just to
| have on my desk or to scratch a literal itch
| dingnuts wrote:
| I'm not sure I'd call it a market _exactly_ because most of
| them are free but there are a million printable designs on
| places like printables.com -- ask me how I know :P
| appsDev wrote:
| I agree! The game is basically like a fidget toy that also
| captures your brain's attention a bit more. Also something I
| wanted to do is make a game you can stop at any time, and
| Tik! satisfies that too..
| swiftcoder wrote:
| Folks have used fidget spinners and other such toys for decades
| to help them focus and keep symptoms of ADHD and/or anxiety at
| bay
| appsDev wrote:
| That is a great point, using the app actually reminds me a
| lot of a fidget toy sometimes! This just keeps your mind a
| little more active!
| zeroonetwothree wrote:
| For in person meetings I usually doodle on a piece of paper. It
| actually helps me to pay attention better, it's not exactly
| curing boredom but more like inattention. People usually don't
| mind because it looks like I'm taking notes. For VC meetings
| that doesn't work as well though because then it looks like I'm
| not watching since they can't see what I'm doing.
| hahamrfunnyguy wrote:
| I had a special notebook I used to take to the Monday sales
| meetings at my previous jobs job. A good chunk of the meeting
| was often taken up with reviewing department/sales updates
| which were by and large the same as the previous week.
|
| This notebook was filled with cartoons and illustrations
| representing what occurred during the meeting and it looked
| like I was diligently taking notes. Definitely helped me
| focus and stay tuned-in to what was going on in the meeting.
| appsDev wrote:
| That is a great idea - sometimes doodling can seriously
| help! Thx for the comment :)
| appsDev wrote:
| I have tried that before too lol. Works fine if thats your
| best option sometimes!
| sim7c00 wrote:
| You are right sir. !!This is obviously not meant towards people
| with an actual professional diagnosis of something that doesn't
| allow them to 'sit still' or 'have a still mind'!!
|
| 90% of people who claim adhd, add, autism, ocd, ptsd or other
| 'neurodivergence' these days either self-diagnose, or let
| themselves be conditioned to think this by feedback from other
| people and their arm-chair diagnoses. This is a damaging state
| of mind. Either get professional evaluation or free your mind
| and learn to be still. You can't imagine how much time and
| effective use of that time you can get from simply learning to
| do nothing without being bothered by it.
|
| Diagnosing these things is _very difficult and takes a lot of
| time_ even for a professional with tons of experience. For some
| people, they need multiple different professionals to evaluate
| them over a period of (many) years before a somewhat accurate
| diagnosis is yielded depending on the ailment!
| smabie wrote:
| Actually in reality these so called professionals will
| diagnose you almost immediately
| micromacrofoot wrote:
| modern life requires doing lots of boring stuff to continue
| living
| appsDev wrote:
| True
| csomar wrote:
| Different people will do different things ie: Chewing gum,
| games, Sibha [1], Tiktok, etc... I'd say the traditional
| distraction methods are much better (than social media) since
| they don't produce any outrage or addiction. They are a small
| distraction to relax your brain and avoid burning by constantly
| thinking into stuff.
|
| 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misbaha
| appsDev wrote:
| I have seen this tool before, definitely a great pick! I
| tried to make Tik! less stimulating than traditional social
| media, but of course physical objects are even more
| disconnected and have their own charm as well :)
| GTP wrote:
| This podcast episode [1] by a psychology professor is exactly
| about what you're talking about.
|
| [1] https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-
| la...
| appsDev wrote:
| I completely agree with the sentiment. The way I think about it
| is that we do need mindful periods of rest and boredom, but
| they should be intentional.
|
| But sometimes it is worth it to want to have somme fun and not
| be bored, and in those kinds of scenarios Tik! can help!
|
| It is also a good alternative to staring at a screen since it
| is not as stimulating, so it can be used at a time where
| someone would normally scroll instagram for example if the user
| wants to use it like that.
| invalidlogin wrote:
| OP:
|
| 1. Use "you're", not "your", for "you are". It is wrong in the
| first "screen" image in your App Store listing.
|
| 2. Use an ellipsis -- three dots, "...", never two dots. This is
| in two images in your listing.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thanks for the tip! I will fix that (I have the bad habit of
| using 2 dots all the time) and the "your" part will definitely
| take care of. Thank you!!
| nuancebydefault wrote:
| Also there seems to be a missing negation in the
| accessibility paragraph.
| appsDev wrote:
| Will look into it - and the overall grammar as a whole.
| Thanks!
| password4321 wrote:
| Ellipsis also has its own dedicated Unicode code point if you
| want to get fancy, (U+2026): ...
| appsDev wrote:
| Will check it out, thx!
| 867-5309 wrote:
| agree with 1. but for 2., any value more than one conveys the
| same meaning..
| appsDev wrote:
| Ya thats why I typically am used to using 2, but I think the
| correct amount is 3 :)
| jonpurdy wrote:
| Bought it for the novelty, easy decision.
|
| Feedback: it's pretty difficult even at the first level. As a
| distraction, even just easy 2-3 beat patters might be good to
| start with. So having difficulty levels would be great.
|
| Maybe the difficulty comes from the strength of the haptic
| engine, but not sure how to easily change that (somewhere in
| Settings app I'm sure).
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you so much for buying it!! I really appreciate it!
|
| That is really nice feedback. The main thing that impacts the
| difficulty is how off the user's taps can be from the exact
| timing, and I tried to set it at a level that is not too
| easy/hard - but that is good feedback and will definitely look
| into it!
|
| Till then, I would suggest tapping along to the haptics as they
| occur just to get a feel for the timing. After a couple of
| tries it should get easier..
|
| Thanks again for trying it out!
| Raed667 wrote:
| Nice! instead of tapping, an alternative play mode I'd love to
| see would be shaking! Even better if you can play with the phone
| "locked" so no accidental clicks.
| appsDev wrote:
| True! Shaking or something, if we could get it precise enough,
| could be a nice experiment!
| cultureswitch wrote:
| Genius idea, though in the grand scheme of things this is
| probably bad.
| appsDev wrote:
| I get where you, and honestly a lot of the other comments are
| coming from. I really do, and maybe I am bias cuz I made the
| app, but I just feel like being intentionally bored is
| different from being bored when we don't want to be.
|
| For example, I like to take time off with no music or phone and
| just walk around sometimes and choose to be mindful, but other
| times I have already had a long day and don't want to be mored
| more..
|
| Let me know your thoughts too though..
| mrzool wrote:
| This is brilliant and an instant buy for me!
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you so so much! I hope you like it! :)
| Tepix wrote:
| I like that your app is 367.6KB.
|
| Have you looked at the resulting file to see what uses up the
| space? Perhaps it can be reduced further?
| appsDev wrote:
| I have not dug too deep into it since the app is already small,
| but I have thought of doing that in a future update! I do think
| it can be reduced a little more :)
| Wowfunhappy wrote:
| Is there any chance you will port this to the Apple Watch? That's
| where I'd really want a game like this!
|
| It is quite fun, I like rhythm games.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you!!! Yes I had actually thought of that but felt it
| would be better to launch with iPhone first - surely something
| in my mind for the future though :)
| b3lvedere wrote:
| This looks like fun. It's description made me laugh and not many
| games succeed in that. I hereby request a promo code to try it.
| fny wrote:
| Promo code? It's $0.95.
| baggachipz wrote:
| If you act today, you can get it for only 95 cents!
| appsDev wrote:
| Lol :) Ya it's 95 cents for the first week at least!
| appsDev wrote:
| Sure, here is your code: T7TPE4FA3L47 (To redeem, click on your
| profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift Card or Code" and enter the
| code. Each promo code is one time use only, so to anyone else
| reading this please ask for one in a new comment if you would
| like one!)
| aziaziazi wrote:
| > You just sit here, loosing brain cells in seconds. At least,
| that's how things where before Tik!
|
| Am I the only one that can't help seeing irony here? Search for a
| constant attention and distraction may not lead to a better
| mental condition, if not making worse as subsequents boring times
| will be even more boring.
|
| Here's some alternatives some phoneless can engage while staring
| at a speaker:
|
| - imagine another life for the speaker
|
| - mentally check your grocery list
|
| - build inner abs, perineum and other hidden muscles
|
| - wank yourself from a hidden hole in you pocket
|
| - think what where the outcome and what you could have done
| differently in previous social interactions
|
| - my favorite : deeply concentrate on all noises, voices sounds
| that does not come from the speaker itself.
|
| Also congratulations, AFAIK this is a novel game ideas. Being
| bored leaded here to creativity.
| thomashop wrote:
| I thought it was quite funny when I read it. I'm pretty sure
| that sentence is half joking.
| nhggfu wrote:
| "wank yourself from a hidden hole in you pocket" <- whaat.
| eniwnenahg wrote:
| Are u saying "There's an app for that"?
| DonnyV wrote:
| I wonder if this would burn out the vibration motor? Was it made
| to be used this often?
| appsDev wrote:
| I was worried about that tbh, but a lot of other games use
| Haptics too pretty frequently, so I think it would not be an
| issue. Apple has also not set a restriction for it.
| baggachipz wrote:
| [flagged]
| imjonse wrote:
| The author explicitly said to ask for one if needed, why would
| it be appalling?
| baggachipz wrote:
| Because it's 95 cents. Even with the author offering it,
| going through the process of requesting, accepting, and
| entering the code is effort to save 95 cents. It's 95 cents.
| anal_reactor wrote:
| Yes but it's more interesting than just spending 95 cents.
| That's also the reason why I still pirate stuff - the
| process itself is fun.
| aziaziazi wrote:
| The average developer salary in India is $7,725. That is 14
| times less than the $110.140 in the US. 14$ _value_ might
| be seen as too much to try some small game.
| Workaccount2 wrote:
| >if needed
|
| I would be shocked if even 1 in 1000 HN users could not
| afford $1.
|
| People here asking are entitled and morally blind, not poor.
| apexalpha wrote:
| Auther says "would like" not "need". You guys are looking
| to fight a problem that doesn't exist.
| imjonse wrote:
| the author correctly intuits that a bunch of free users
| that may spread the word are worth more than N*0.95$ so
| the outrage on display here is not only unnecessary but
| counterproductive too
| ensignavenger wrote:
| Your rash judgement of other users is against the HN
| guidelines. You have no idea what the folks asking
| financial position is. I was HN user way back in the day
| when I was dirt poor.
| meiraleal wrote:
| I don't mind $1. I do mind paying to test someone else's
| app, that's quite the growth hack.
| appsDev wrote:
| I agree. I don't want people to pay to test though, since
| the app is already on the App Store and ready to be sold.
| If someone still wants the promo code though I am happy
| to provide it here :)
| freedomben wrote:
| This is a huge and diverse community. Yeah the successful
| founders with exit can easily afford the $1. The highly
| paid SWEs and other engineers can afford it. Some people
| can't. I've been in that boat, and may be at some point
| again in the future, but I'll still be on HN.
| apexalpha wrote:
| _" The game is paid, but if someone would like a promo code to
| try it please let me know below. "_
|
| right in the opening post.
| evilduck wrote:
| Are you referring to the sum total of two comments asking for a
| promo at the time you posted this?
|
| Hyperbolic top level comments with phrasing like "the number of
| people" to make it sound large and extreme and calling it
| "appalling" when the author is offering promo codes in their
| post and people are subsequently requesting them is the actual
| bad behavior here.
| appsDev wrote:
| I appreciate the sentiment honestly. I am a student and so
| honestly don't have a ton of money myself, which is why I
| wanted to give the option to try it for free for those on this
| thread (for any reason, not just saying if they are a student
| or low on money). Obviously I really appreciate those who are
| buying it though :)
| qq66 wrote:
| This isn't a community of people interested in playing casual
| mobile games. Their interest in playing this game can be
| assumed to be low. The author is trying to have a discussion
| about the game and might get more interesting feedback from
| people who can play the game, and is explicitly offering promo
| codes because of this. And, $1 is material to many people.
| david422 wrote:
| Honestly, there are people that will always want free stuff,
| and that just needs to be accepted. Free users can give
| feedback, can spread info by word of mouth, and can also turn
| into paid users. A smart developer will try to use them as an
| asset - which seems to be the authors intention by offering
| promo codes.
| toss1 wrote:
| Seems like a great idea, 'tho I can't (I hope yet) try it on
| Android. How do you select the rhythms? Can people make their own
| rhythms to use later (maybe a sharable library)? Are there some
| potentially quasi-useful ones, such as beat patterns in specific
| music, or maintaining exact 1-second beat intervals? Rhythms to
| try to sync certain brainwave patterns? Seems like a lot of
| possibility space out there...
| appsDev wrote:
| I definitely agree there is a lot of room to explore here! I'm
| sorry to hear you are on android, I have only made iOS/MacOS
| apps so far but might bring it to android in the future!
|
| For this first version, I have entered the beat patterns
| myself. Each beat patten has 5-8 beats, spaced out to be faster
| / slower / different rhythms with each pattern taking no more
| than about 2 seconds to play out.
|
| This is just version 1 though, so there is obviously scope for
| more! :)
| freedomben wrote:
| I'd also be interested and happy to pay $1 for an Android
| version!
| appsDev wrote:
| I hope to launch for android sometime soon! Thanks for your
| interest!
| gRoberts84 wrote:
| Shame I can't give it a go (android user) as it looks great but
| noticed a typo on the App store screenshots, where it says "re-
| ceate", instead of "re-create".
| appsDev wrote:
| Thanks for pointing that out! Will fix it soon :)
|
| Thanks for ur interest too :)
| tibbon wrote:
| I recall an Indie Game Jam many years ago where there were bonus
| points for no/limited visuals. You understood the assignment!
| appsDev wrote:
| Lol yes this would have been perfect! :)
| wiether wrote:
| What's interesting is that I get better results if I close my
| eyes to focus on feeling the sequence I need to copy and feel the
| feedback.
|
| The usual : improve a sense by shutting down another?
|
| Anyway, it's fun!
| appsDev wrote:
| I have noticed that too! I also like trying to tap along with
| the haptics as they play for practice to see where I am getting
| the timing wrong!
|
| Thanks for downloading the app!! :)
| KolyaKornelius wrote:
| sounds like a one button version of the 80s game Senso / Simon.
| too bad there's no android version.
| https://www.retrohandheldgames.com/images/simon-mini-senso-m...
| appsDev wrote:
| Yes, it's kind of similar to that! Will let you know in a
| comment here if I make an android version some day!
| f0e4c2f7 wrote:
| Really cool idea. Novel, I imagine a lot of people would play
| this. I would suggest a social media campaign with short form
| videos. Seems like something that has the potential to go viral
| or at least make a lot of money.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thanks so much! Yes I have tried to make one short so far and
| will make more moving forward! :)
| lnyng wrote:
| Bought and played for a while, 83 attempts with 12 corrects and
| max 2 corrects in a row. It s a very difficult game without
| visual and sound to aid figuring out the exact rhythm, and the
| game seems very strict about how much you can be off.
|
| Suggestions: - have an option to add 4 constant interval tiks at
| the beginning to help setup the base rhythm - hold down the small
| white dot to return to menu so you can see progress without
| exiting - have a way to visualize a rhythm similar to the example
| or skip it (maybe two finger hold?) if you are stuck - some
| rhythms feel to have slightly uneven tempo. Is the duration of
| the tick taken into consideration when generating the tempo?
|
| Interesting game overall. Well done
| lnyng wrote:
| Additional suggestions:
|
| - increase tolerance to slightly off taps, and gradually
| increase the number of ticks (not sure you already do this but
| right now it's too hard win many times in a row)
|
| - tik of the day mode. A long tick that challenges people who
| can win it in fewest trials
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you so much for buying the app! I am glad to know that
| you like it :)
|
| Also thank you so so much for the in depth feedback! I get
| what you mean about the game being pretty hard starting out -
| I was trying to balance between too hard and too easy but it
| seems I landed a little bit on the harder side - which is
| something I can fix!
|
| Your ideas about adding a constant interval to the start,
| holding the white dot to return to the menu (love this one!),
| and seeing progress without closing the app are great! I will
| definitely take everything you said into account for future
| updates!
|
| The timing of the Tiks is intentionally off to make the game
| a bit harder and add variety. I think the main thing that
| impacts how hard it is should be the tolerance of how close
| ur taps have to be to the Tiks, which is something. I can
| change to make easier, at least till the user gets around
| 40-50 correct or something.
|
| I love the Tik of the day mode idea and is something I had
| written too to implement later on. Seriously all your
| feedback is amazing, thanks so much!! :)
| Wowfunhappy wrote:
| I don't think I like any of these ideas!
|
| Interval tiks would add "noise" to a game that has very limited
| output. How would I know if those tiks are the interval or the
| pattern?
|
| I don't think I've ever gotten two correct in a row, but the
| fun of the gameplay comes from slowly learning the rhythm over
| a few tries. It's not entirely unlike Celeste or Super Meat
| Boy, where you learn the level over multiple attempts.
|
| I'm worried that I would trigger any sort of menu accidentally.
| Two fingers might work but if I'm walking or something and
| gripping the phone in weird ways...
|
| I will say that while walking home this afternoon, there was
| one pattern I got stuck on. Every other pattern, I was able to
| get past after a reasonable number of tries, but this one just
| seemed impossible and I had to quit and re-open the app. So I
| agree there either needs to be some way to skip patterns, or
| the pattern generation needs to be tweaked to avoid super hard
| outliers.
|
| Edit: Fwiw, my stats are: 116 total attempts, 20 correct, 2 max
| in a row.
| meindnoch wrote:
| Cool! The idea reminds me of that game around 2015 where you had
| to do special things with your iPhone to unlock various tiles.
| E.g. restart the phone; turn WiFi on/off; shake it; turn ringer
| on/off; etc.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thx! Ya its kind of unique in not using the traditional phone's
| features like the screen and sound!
| giancarlostoro wrote:
| Everyone else is focused on this being a game about when you're
| bored to keep yourself busy... Aren't literally all games for
| providing entertainment? This is really cool and unique.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you so much! :)
| giancarlostoro wrote:
| Its weird to say I've wanted "lazy" games where you can play
| it without having to look at your screen necessarily but
| never thought of this, so I'll be downloading a copy soon as
| I get home. I play a lot of idle games because I can just
| pick them back up whenever I'm free.
| appsDev wrote:
| I exactly understand what you mean. Thanks for your
| interest and I hope you enjoy playing!!
| KopyWasTaken wrote:
| Just downloaded it, and it's pretty fun. Thanks for sharing and
| enjoy my $0.95!
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you for the download! I am glad you like it!! :)
| jscheel wrote:
| Read this post on my laptop... got my phone out and went to the
| app store. You can imagine what happened then. I literally could
| not find your app. Even searching with the same capitalization
| and punctuation, or by adding "game", etc. to the end. It's a
| neat idea, and I am purchasing now, but if you want any kind of
| visibility, you know what you have to do with this name.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thats a really good point, going to have to do something about
| that.. If someone writes "Tik! haptic game" or something it
| comes up, but that is understandably too much to ask from most
| users.
|
| I will try and think of a way to fix this. If you have any
| ideas please do let me know! Thanks for this comment!
| saint_yossarian wrote:
| Boring idea: Double it to "TikTik!"
|
| (assuming the length is the issue, and this name isn't
| already used)
| appsDev wrote:
| That would probably solve the issue of the search!
| Hopefully does not get confused with TikTok lol :) - nice
| idea though - will see; thanks!
| esses wrote:
| I'd personally worry about a cease and desist. How about
| HapTik?
| appsDev wrote:
| That is actually what I was going to name the app
| originally, since the app relies so much on Haptics - Its
| definably a great idea and not off the table! Actually
| could work really well!
| urbandw311er wrote:
| To be fair, App Store visibility improves dramatically over
| time. Brand new releases are often difficult to find
| organically.
| appsDev wrote:
| That is a good point. If the app gains traction with time
| then maybe just Tik! with the ! would be enough..
| _bramses wrote:
| Very fun game concept! I got stuck on level two. The difficulty
| is a bit too much, and it seems when i'm halfway through my
| pattern input a random haptic feedback happens from my phone,
| which throws me off/signals i've failed? iPhone 15 Pro Max/iOS 18
| appsDev wrote:
| Yes! The way the app works is if you mess up then it has an
| error haptic that tells you messed up and plays the sequence
| again, and if you get it right then there is a clapping like
| haptic.
|
| There is a help section if you click the ? at the top right of
| the screen when you first open the app (to see it again just
| close the app from the background and the re-open it, and you
| will see it again) It has a full tutorial explaining everything
| well
|
| Thank you so much for downloading the app too! I have seen
| other comments about it being too hard too and thats something
| I will try to fix in an update! :)
| jimmydddd wrote:
| So it gives the error haptic as soon as you mess up? I get
| into this weird loop where I mess up on the second tik, so it
| gives the error haptic and restarts the pattern while I'm
| still tapping the last three taps, so then my last few taps
| of the 1st try are used as the first taps of the retry, which
| is again immediately wrong, and I'm in a death spiral. :-)
| chankstein38 wrote:
| Cool idea! Hope it gets ported to Android someday!
| appsDev wrote:
| Yes will hopefully launch on Android too sometime soon!
| ibaikov wrote:
| There was an old PSP game called Patapon, it also has rhythm-
| based gameplay, you should check it out.
|
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patapon
| appsDev wrote:
| The Wiki looks super cool! Will take a look! thx
| Enydosnes wrote:
| Looks interesting! Unfortunately can't try it out due to being an
| Android user, but you might wanna tweak the first image on the
| App Store :) It says "No evidence that your even playing!" when
| it should say "No evidence that you're even playing!".
| appsDev wrote:
| Sorry to hear your on android, hopefully can expand the app to
| android in the future!
|
| Thank you for pointing that out! I guess I should have checked
| for typos and will fix that soon!
| recursive wrote:
| > Sorry to hear your on android
|
| You did it again. Sorry _you 're_ on apple.
| appsDev wrote:
| lol didn't mean it like that. Just sorry in the sense that
| the app is just on apple rn
| excalibur wrote:
| +1 for Android. Apple devices don't play well with others, and
| Apple fanboys don't seem to understand how off-putting their
| elitism is.
| appsDev wrote:
| Bro I really didn't mean it like that. Its just that the app
| is only for iOS right now..
| nicolas_t wrote:
| Bought it, I have a much easier time when I do the example thanks
| to the visual but it's super hard for me when I actually play it
| without any visual
| appsDev wrote:
| Thanks for buying it! Yes a lot of comments have said its a bit
| too hard, especially with just feeling it - will release an
| update soon to tone down the difficulty some.
| furyofantares wrote:
| Love it, although none of the app store copy resonated with me
| and was a little offputting.
|
| I suppose I don't really buy the premise put forth from either
| direction; I don't buy that it's possible to be present while
| doing something else (for me anyway) AND I don't buy that this is
| gonna be immersive. I'm not stating these things as claims; this
| is just my reaction to the app store copy.
|
| I did buy it and love it though. What really works for me is as a
| way to hang out with my kid when she's doing her own thing. I
| want to be available to be present at a moment's notice.
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you so much for bringing up these points, and for your
| purchase!!
|
| I tried to make the copy a little intentionally attention
| grabbing; The idea isn't honestly to be completely present in
| what is in front of you and on the app, but to use the app as a
| distraction since it takes your mind off of something in front
| of you (which is why I used the word immersive)
|
| I am super happy to know that you love the app. If there is
| anything specific about my copy and marketing though that you
| think I could change to present it better please let me know.
|
| Thanks!
| razadots wrote:
| I found the app store copy incredibly funny. i found your copy
| to be rather tedious and offputting.
| appsDev wrote:
| I will look into that, thx!
| furyofantares wrote:
| I didn't suggest any copy, just gave my feedback on how I
| read the app store copy. No need for random insults when
| someone's just giving their experience as feedback. lol?
| seif_madc wrote:
| this is what some people call 'shitification' of games
| SV_BubbleTime wrote:
| Yea yea yea, so I have an idea for a game, you keep your phone
| as still as possible! Just hold it still and you win! No one
| will ever know you are playing a game!!!
| RedNifre wrote:
| If you added Morse code, you could play classic text adventures!
|
| I don't have an iPhone, but could you also play this with the
| screen off by tapping on the volume buttons instead?
| appsDev wrote:
| Thats a nice idea too! Yes the Morse code with haptics idea can
| lead to tons of cool stuff!
|
| Using volume buttons could be neat, something to keep in mind!
| Thx
| anuragg21 wrote:
| I would like to request a promo code to try it. Thanks!
| appsDev wrote:
| Sure! Hope you like it! Promo: PN3KP3NKWPX7
|
| (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift Card
| or Code" and enter the code. Each promo code is one time use
| only, so to anyone else reading this please ask for one in a
| new comment if you would like one!)
| avarun wrote:
| Would love a promo code, thanks!
| appsDev wrote:
| Sure! Here it is: NN7RMJFXALME
|
| (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift Card
| or Code" and enter the code. Each promo code is one time use
| only, so to anyone else reading this please ask for one in a
| new comment if you would like one!)
| m9a4r3a3n wrote:
| I need promo code! Thanks in advance.
| appsDev wrote:
| Sure! Hope you enjoy! Promo: 3HH99JJEJRJF
|
| (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift Card
| or Code" and enter the code. Each promo code is one time use
| only, so to anyone else reading this please ask for one in a
| new comment if you would like one!)
| kwantaz wrote:
| why $0.99
| appsDev wrote:
| It's actually 0.95 - just wanted to go for something different
| :)
| _spduchamp wrote:
| This is like the game my daughter and I play when we're holding
| hands. We squeeze a pattern that the other has to copy.
| appsDev wrote:
| That sounds like the cutest thing ever :)
| soneca wrote:
| I have a mobile game idea that is "juggling for blind people".
| You would use your phone as the hand to catch and throw balls in
| the air. All user feedback would be sound (ball going up, then
| going down) and haptic (catching and throwing the ball).
|
| I am just a web dev so I don't think I have the skills to make
| it. Just leaving the idea here in case someone wants to build it
| calimariae wrote:
| That's a really fun idea
| captn3m0 wrote:
| You'll like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Send_Me_to_Heaven -
| your high score is how high you can throw your phone. Apple
| unfortunately didn't allow it on the AppStore.
|
| It might be possible to do this as a PWA, using
| https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Acceleromet...
| kroltan wrote:
| Go for it!
|
| https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Web_Audio_A...
|
| https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Vibration_A...
|
| https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Sensor_APIs
| soneca wrote:
| Nice, didn't know all those functions had web APIs. Thanks,
| I'll give it a try
| appsDev wrote:
| This is a super near idea! Thx for sharing :)
|
| I also really agree that Haptics can be used in super unique
| ways for people with disabilities like blindness, since you are
| not dependent on visuals. Even for Tik! I tired to add some
| accessibility labels and support, but the possibilities are
| truly endless!
| sirolimus wrote:
| I bought it
| appsDev wrote:
| Thank you so much! Hope you like it :)
| EGreg wrote:
| Looks interesting!
|
| Fix spelling such as "re-ceate" :-D
| appsDev wrote:
| Lol yes I really need to check the grammar - some comments have
| pointed out I messed up "your" vs you are too - will fix soon
| :)
| jaruche wrote:
| Please make an Apple Watch extension! This is awesome
| appsDev wrote:
| Planning on doing that sometimes soon! Thanks!!
| SV_BubbleTime wrote:
| Lots of things are ads.
|
| But this is double super dooper and ad.
| password4321 wrote:
| The post is missing the 'Show HN' prefix but most seem to be
| handling that ok.
| creativenolo wrote:
| My kids play a game where they clap a rhythm and the next person
| has to clap the rhythm back _unless_ they clap to the rhythm of
| 'try not clap this back'. Not tried your game yet... but wonder
| if this could be included.
| appsDev wrote:
| That sounds interesting, yes that could definitely be a
| possibility for the future!
| hashstring wrote:
| Awesome, can I get a promocode? Looks very interesting.
| appsDev wrote:
| Sure! Hope u like it! Promo: 93YL9NM3WNHN
|
| (To redeem, click on your profile icon, go to "Redeem Gift Card
| or Code" and enter the code. Each promo code is one time use
| only, so to anyone else reading this please ask for one in a
| new comment if you would like one!)
| hashstring wrote:
| Hey there, Thank you so much-- just redeemed. This is a
| really fun small cool app. I played it for ~5 minutes, but I
| think I am beginning to like it a lot. One thing I found is
| that you can click "Click here to feel an example" quite a
| few times and there's no lock on it while the example is
| playing. I clicked it accidentally twice and so it bugged a
| bit. Secondly, I am wondering if its possible to also tap on
| the outside of my phone for example, if I really were to use
| this app without "anyone noticing" then I would much rather
| do that, that and plus I think it would be neat. But that's
| just sharing my personal thoughts. Thank you and I'm going to
| share this app with some folks that I think will like it.
| sigmonsays wrote:
| being bored is required in life.
|
| Despite how fun this game might be, it's bad for your health.
|
| Just put your phone down and be bored, use your imagination,
| think, exist in the present.
| jimmydddd wrote:
| Couldn't find it? TikTok. Tiksave. Tic-Tac-Toe. scrolled for a
| while. How far down is it?
|
| Edit. OK--found it in Games-->Casual-->Top paid games. strange I
| couldn't find it in a general search?
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