I made a game you can play without anyone knowing (no visuals/sound) | Hacker News Reader

I made a game you can play without anyone knowing (no visuals/sound)

apps.apple.com

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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

Open articleView on HN

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

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

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!! :)

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.

Thanks for posting this - I understand everything you're saying as well and will definitely balance all the feedback I am getting when making changes in a future update. I want to preserve the aspect of the game where it takes a couple tries to get past a sequence, but not too many to the point that it is irritating.

Triggering the menu by accident is a valid concern as well.

I will try and think of creative ways to balance all of this and make the end experiance even better. I appreciate your feedback!

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.

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!!

Also there seems to be a missing negation in the accessibility paragraph.

Will look into it - and the overall grammar as a whole. Thanks!

Ellipsis also has its own dedicated Unicode code point if you want to get fancy, (U+2026): …

Will check it out, thx!

agree with 1. but for 2., any value more than one conveys the same meaning..

Ya thats why I typically am used to using 2, but I think the correct amount is 3 :)

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?

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.

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.

Semi-related note, the new iOS has a new feature that provides motion queues to reduce car sickness, called Vehicle Motion Queues.

Searched it up, looks really cool!

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 ;)

FYI on HN you get two weeks then discussion is locked. Glad you got some traction here.

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!

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

That's a really fun idea

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...

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

Nice, didn’t know all those functions had web APIs. Thanks, I’ll give it a try

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!

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).

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!

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.

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!

I found the app store copy incredibly funny. i found your copy to be rather tedious and offputting.

I will look into that, thx!

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?

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?

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

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.

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 :)

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.

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!

still not too late to go with "haptik"

Exactly, thats what I had thought of originally - could still change it!

Had to search by the author's name, "Tik" is so incredibly generic not even "Tik game" helped. Very neat game otherwise!

Me too! I had to search the Casual Games category, where it happens to be a top paid game.

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 :).

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

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.

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!

Boring idea: Double it to "TikTik!"

(assuming the length is the issue, and this name isn't already used)

That would probably solve the issue of the search! Hopefully does not get confused with TikTok lol :) - nice idea though - will see; thanks!

I'd personally worry about a cease and desist. How about HapTik?

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!

different areas so no grounds for a cease and desist

To be fair, App Store visibility improves dramatically over time. Brand new releases are often difficult to find organically.

That is a good point. If the app gains traction with time then maybe just Tik! with the ! would be enough..

> 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.

I thought it was quite funny when I read it. I'm pretty sure that sentence is half joking.

"wank yourself from a hidden hole in you pocket" <- whaat.

Are u saying "There's an app for that"?

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

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! :)

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. :-)

Oh allow me to clarify. When you make a mistake, it plays an error haptic, and then repeats the sequence. As soon as you feel the error, there is no use in continuing to tap on the screen, because the entire sequence must be correct in order to move on. Therefore as soon as you feel the error haptic, you can stop tapping, and then focus on the sequence being played again to hopefully see why your timing was off.

I hope this helps! Once again visiting the help screen (?) at the top right when you launch the app after closing it from the background will give a in depth tutorial. Happy playing!!

I bought the game because it's a new and unique concept. But I couldn't even pass the tutorial after maybe 20 tries. Probably the problem is me since I don't have any feeling for rhythm. In games with controller vibration I turn off the vibration because it's just a distraction to me and I can't make the connection from vibration to gameplay. As a (maybe) more useful feedback I strongly dislike the clapping animation in the example. It doesn't feel like a "positive" feedback whereas the fail vibration clearly feels like a "failed" feedback.

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.

That sounds interesting, yes that could definitely be a possibility for the future!

The game should not be available for purchase from an iPad. I can’t believe I only now found out that iPads have no vibration hardware, after using them for several years. Too bad.

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.

Thank you so much! :)

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.

I exactly understand what you mean. Thanks for your interest and I hope you enjoy playing!!

Btw and hopefully you read this, the name of your game made it hard to look up because "Tik Tok" related apps kept showing up, I was able to find it as "Tik Discrete" I'm not familiar with changing the name of something on the App Store, but I recommend considering maybe adding "Game" or something to the name. Tik tok is going to steal your searches with all the dozens of Tik Tok related apps.

I agree, that is definitely an issue I need to address soon. Thanks for bringing it up!

Genius idea, though in the grand scheme of things this is probably bad.

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..

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!

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!! :)

Have you considered that this could be extended into a musical rythmn training app? Eg, as somebody who plays guitar, this could be a good tool for learning to identify and play rythmns. So you could create levels that correspond to things such as number of bars, tempo, time signatures, and whether they include crotchet, minims, & quavers.

Eg, I'd like to be able to pick a tempo and sit down and work on different 6/8 rhymns. I assume this could be a causal way to get better at music.

This is not something I have thought of before but is a great idea! Having levels would be great for something more structured like this. Thanks for the idea!

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.

True! Shaking or something, if we could get it precise enough, could be a nice experiment!

[flagged]

The author explicitly said to ask for one if needed, why would it be appalling?

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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 :)

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.

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.

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...

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! :)

I'd also be interested and happy to pay $1 for an Android version!

I hope to launch for android sometime soon! Thanks for your interest!

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.

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 :)

yeah but the tutorial isn't enough. give the user visual feedback until they learn how to play the game.

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?

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 :)

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.

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!

>>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.

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..

I don't think you understood my comment, which might be because I didn't write it well enough.

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..

I agree. And I think not letting ourselves get bored is also ok if we are doing it intentionally.

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.

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. :)

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!".

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!

> Sorry to hear your on android

You did it again. Sorry you're on apple.

lol didn't mean it like that. Just sorry in the sense that the app is just on apple rn

+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.

Bro I really didn't mean it like that. Its just that the app is only for iOS right now..

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

The Wiki looks super cool! Will take a look! thx

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.

Thanks so much! Yes I have tried to make one short so far and will make more moving forward! :)

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.

Thx! Ya its kind of unique in not using the traditional phone's features like the screen and sound!

Was that blackbox?

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/blackbox/id962969578

Yes.

The name of your app is pretty awful for discoverability - I struggled to find it via search without using your name instead.

The pixel should give minimal feedback surely - just communicate success / failure?

I realize the issue of search with the name, will try to fix this.

There is a haptic with success or failure, its just that if someone "fails" then it replays the sequence so they learn where they messed up.

Thank you!

Yes, because Phantom Vibration Syndrome alone was not difficult enough.

How about text adventures?

Yes something with Haptics could be used for that kind of idea :) Nice thought

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".

Thanks for pointing that out! Will fix it soon :)

Thanks for ur interest too :)

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

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.

I recall an Indie Game Jam many years ago where there were bonus points for no/limited visuals. You understood the assignment!

Lol yes this would have been perfect! :)

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.

That sounds like the cutest thing ever :)

This is could also be fun for blind people. It would be a close experience as for someone who isn’t blind.

I wonder if this would burn out the vibration motor? Was it made to be used this often?

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.

Just downloaded it, and it's pretty fun. Thanks for sharing and enjoy my $0.95!

Thank you for the download! I am glad you like it!! :)

this is what some people call 'shitification' of games

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!!!

Ooh i like this. I’m a drummer so i love how difficult this is.

Thank you! :)

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.

Awesome, can I get a promocode? Looks very interesting.

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!)

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.

Thats a good point! I only added a lock on the button that says "Click Me" and not the others - something I can tweak in an update :)

I am really happy you like the app!! The only issue with tapping on the outside of the phone would be how the phone could detect it (not sure if the gyroscope or something could be accurate enough). Someone had suggested volume buttons so maybe that is an option to explore.

Thank you for your feedback though and for sharing it! I appreciate it! :)

I believe it should be accurate enough, I can tap three times on the back of my phone to make it switch to dark mode. Cheers.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/111772

Thats great to know, will look into it - thx!

I would like to request a promo code to try it. Thanks!

Sure! Hope you like it! Promo: PN3KP3NKWPX7

Please make an Apple Watch extension! This is awesome

Planning on doing that sometimes soon! Thanks!!

Cool idea! Hope it gets ported to Android someday!

Yes will hopefully launch on Android too sometime soon!

Lots of things are ads.

But this is double super dooper and ad.

The post is missing the 'Show HN' prefix but most seem to be handling that ok.

I literally did not realize that until I read this - sorry about that :/ - I meant to add it but forgot last minute!

This is brilliant and an instant buy for me!

Thank you so so much! I hope you like it! :)

I need promo code! Thanks in advance.

Sure! Hope you enjoy! Promo: 3HH99JJEJRJF

Looks interesting!

Fix spelling such as “re-ceate” :-D

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 :)

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.

Promo code? It's $0.95.

If you act today, you can get it for only 95 cents!

Lol :) Ya it's 95 cents for the first week at least!

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!)

Thank you for your time and effort. Seems someone already used it. No big deal. I will buy it. It still sounds fun.

To all the people replying why i asked for a promo code: They offered it in the first place, so why can't i ask for it?

Would love a promo code, thanks!

Sure! Here it is: NN7RMJFXALME

first paid app i've seen in a couple of years (makes sense, though!)

Thank you!! :)

Great idea! I’d love to check it out. Any plans to have an Apple Watch version?

Yes! I have thought of making it in the future! Stay tuned ;)

Honestly first time see a 95 cents app on the App Store

Yes! I was debating making it .99 cents but for some reason .95 just felt right for this app :)

I think this is pretty smart.

Thank you!

I would like a promo

Sure, hope you like it! Promo: NKF9EL7JA9KT

Of course someone else redeemed it…

Really, here is another one: KX7TY6RLHWJE

Thank you

No problem! Enjoy!

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?

I bought it

Thank you so much! Hope you like it :)

Yes, it's great, the tap-patterns are quite difficult though and I'm struggling to differentiate between a tap and the transition between a tap:

like: tap---tap-tap-tap----tap

but I guess that is part of challenge

Would be cool with an "easy" mode for

Will look into that for sure! Yes the timing is the challenging part of the app :) Glad you like it overall!

why $0.99

It's actually 0.95 - just wanted to go for something different :)

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.

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!

> 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?

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..:)

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.

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! :)

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.

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.

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. :)

I completely understand mate, thanks for your comment!

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.

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.

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 :)

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.

> 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?

Thx, yes I was just responding in context to the original comment

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.

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.

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.

Thx, yes I just wanted to say that I understood the original comment's pov, nothing else..

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!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0ETAVxXtec&t=6

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.

Or maybe they don't need an abstraction and just think they do because it's easier than the alternative.

And the alternative is?

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”.

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..

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.

Do you use an 'ADHD pillow' at your desk? I can recommend.

Can you elaborate, please? Googling that term has left me a bit confused.

Cushion! Pardon my French : https://www.amazon.com/adhd-cushion/s?k=adhd+cushion

(No affiliation)

Huh! I use these to keep my spine musculature busy, not my mind. Am I doing it wrong?

Yes, you need to balance it on your head for the full effect.

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.

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

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

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..

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

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!

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.

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.

That is a great idea - sometimes doodling can seriously help! Thx for the comment :)

I have tried that before too lol. Works fine if thats your best option sometimes!

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!

Actually in reality these so called professionals will diagnose you almost immediately

modern life requires doing lots of boring stuff to continue living

True

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

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 :)

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...

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.

cool idea. i would also like a promo code to try out. apple watch version would be great!

Yes! I would love to bring it to Apple Watch too! :)

Here is ur code! Promo: WJJAYWH6KTEK

do we need to pay first?

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!)

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