• lnyng 3 hours ago

    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 2 hours ago

      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

    • invalidlogin 4 hours ago

      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 3 hours ago

        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 3 hours ago

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

        • password4321 3 hours ago

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

        • hashstring 3 minutes ago

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

          • password4321 4 hours ago

            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 3 hours ago

              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 3 hours ago

                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.

            • soneca an hour ago

              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

            • jonpurdy 4 hours ago

              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 3 hours ago

                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!

              • creativenolo 18 minutes ago

                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.

                • RedNifre 2 hours ago

                  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?

                  • furyofantares 2 hours ago

                    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 an hour ago

                      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 an hour ago

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

                      • jscheel 2 hours ago

                        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 2 hours ago

                          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 2 hours ago

                            Boring idea: Double it to "TikTik!"

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

                            • appsDev an hour ago

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

                              • esses 35 minutes ago

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

                          • urbandw311er 36 minutes ago

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

                          • Wowfunhappy 3 hours ago

                            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 3 hours ago

                              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 :)

                            • ryankrage77 4 hours ago

                              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.

                              • birracerveza an hour ago

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

                                • appsDev 3 hours ago

                                  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 22 minutes ago

                                    still not too late to go with "haptik"

                                • mattw2121 4 hours ago

                                  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 3 hours ago

                                    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

                                  • _bramses 2 hours ago

                                    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

                                    • giancarlostoro 2 hours ago

                                      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 an hour ago

                                        Thank you so much! :)

                                      • wiether 3 hours ago

                                        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!

                                        • baggachipz 3 hours ago

                                          [flagged]

                                          • evilduck 3 hours ago

                                            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.

                                            • apexalpha 3 hours ago

                                              "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.

                                              • imjonse 3 hours ago

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

                                                • baggachipz 3 hours ago

                                                  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.

                                                  • aziaziazi 2 hours ago

                                                    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.

                                                    • anal_reactor 3 hours ago

                                                      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.

                                                    • Workaccount2 3 hours ago

                                                      >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.

                                                      • ensignavenger 2 hours ago

                                                        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.

                                                        • apexalpha 3 hours ago

                                                          Auther says "would like" not "need". You guys are looking to fight a problem that doesn't exist.

                                                          • imjonse 3 hours ago

                                                            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

                                                          • freedomben 2 hours ago

                                                            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.

                                                            • meiraleal 2 hours ago

                                                              I don't mind $1. I do mind paying to test someone else's app, that's quite the growth hack.

                                                              • appsDev 2 hours ago

                                                                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 :)

                                                          • qq66 2 hours ago

                                                            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 2 hours ago

                                                              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.

                                                              • appsDev 2 hours ago

                                                                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 :)

                                                              • Enydosnes 2 hours ago

                                                                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 an hour ago

                                                                  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 20 minutes ago

                                                                    > Sorry to hear your on android

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

                                                                • Raed667 4 hours ago

                                                                  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.

                                                                  • _spduchamp an hour ago

                                                                    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.

                                                                    • ibaikov 2 hours ago

                                                                      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

                                                                      • meindnoch 2 hours ago

                                                                        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.

                                                                        • jaruche an hour ago

                                                                          Please make an Apple Watch extension! This is awesome

                                                                          • nicolas_t 2 hours ago

                                                                            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

                                                                            • f0e4c2f7 3 hours ago

                                                                              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.

                                                                              • pyzhianov 4 hours ago

                                                                                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 2 hours ago

                                                                                  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 :)

                                                                                • SV_BubbleTime 22 minutes ago

                                                                                  Lots of things are ads.

                                                                                  But this is double super dooper and ad.

                                                                                  • password4321 4 minutes ago

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

                                                                                  • gRoberts84 3 hours ago

                                                                                    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".

                                                                                    • aziaziazi 3 hours ago

                                                                                      > 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 3 hours ago

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

                                                                                        • nhggfu 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                          • eniwnenahg 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                      • cultureswitch 3 hours ago

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

                                                                                        • appsDev 2 hours ago

                                                                                          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..

                                                                                        • maven29 4 hours ago

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

                                                                                          • tibbon 3 hours ago

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

                                                                                            • nottorp 4 hours ago

                                                                                              How about text adventures?

                                                                                              • KolyaKornelius 3 hours ago

                                                                                                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...

                                                                                                • b3lvedere 3 hours ago

                                                                                                  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.

                                                                                                  • appsDev 3 hours ago

                                                                                                    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!)

                                                                                                    • baggachipz 3 hours ago

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

                                                                                                      • appsDev 3 hours ago

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

                                                                                                      • fny 3 hours ago

                                                                                                        Promo code? It's $0.95.

                                                                                                      • KopyWasTaken 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                        • Tepix 3 hours ago

                                                                                                          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 3 hours ago

                                                                                                            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 :)

                                                                                                          • m9a4r3a3n 2 hours ago

                                                                                                            I need promo code! Thanks in advance.

                                                                                                            • appsDev an hour ago

                                                                                                              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!)

                                                                                                            • avarun 2 hours ago

                                                                                                              Would love a promo code, thanks!

                                                                                                              • chankstein38 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                Cool idea! Hope it gets ported to Android someday!

                                                                                                                • seif_madc 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                  this is what some people call 'shitification' of games

                                                                                                                  • SV_BubbleTime 24 minutes ago

                                                                                                                    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!!!

                                                                                                                  • anuragg21 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                    • sirolimus an hour ago

                                                                                                                      I bought it

                                                                                                                      • mrzool 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                        This is brilliant and an instant buy for me!

                                                                                                                        • appsDev 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                        • EGreg an hour ago

                                                                                                                          Looks interesting!

                                                                                                                          Fix spelling such as “re-ceate” :-D

                                                                                                                          • imsotiredspacex 4 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                            • appsDev 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                              Thank you!! :)

                                                                                                                            • givinguflac 4 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                              • appsDev 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                              • cheeaun 4 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                • appsDev 3 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                  • fny 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                    I think this is pretty smart.

                                                                                                                                    • appsDev 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                      Thank you!

                                                                                                                                • aroom 4 hours ago

                                                                                                                                  I would like a promo

                                                                                                                                  • appsDev 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                    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!)

                                                                                                                                  • toss1 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                    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 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                      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 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                    • kwantaz an hour ago

                                                                                                                                      why $0.99

                                                                                                                                      • DonnyV 3 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                        • appsDev 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                          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.

                                                                                                                                        • brazzy 4 hours ago

                                                                                                                                          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.

                                                                                                                                          • appsDev 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                            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. :)

                                                                                                                                            • Arch485 4 hours ago

                                                                                                                                              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 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                >>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 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                  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..

                                                                                                                                                • cootsnuck 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                  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 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                                • jakubmazanec 4 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                  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.

                                                                                                                                                  • lolinder 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                    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.

                                                                                                                                                    • nextcaller 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                      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 an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                        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

                                                                                                                                                      • the-dude 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                                        • world2vec 2 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                                          • the-dude an hour ago

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

                                                                                                                                                            (No affiliation)

                                                                                                                                                            • Ladsko an hour ago

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

                                                                                                                                                              • otteromkram an hour ago

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

                                                                                                                                                                /s

                                                                                                                                                      • bayindirh 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                        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 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                          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 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                            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. :)

                                                                                                                                                          • 0xdeadbeefbabe an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                            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 an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                              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.

                                                                                                                                                          • zeroonetwothree 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                            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 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                              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 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                              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 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                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 an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                  > 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?

                                                                                                                                                                  • sickofparadox an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                    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 44 minutes ago

                                                                                                                                                                      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 36 minutes ago

                                                                                                                                                                        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.

                                                                                                                                                                • csomar an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                  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

                                                                                                                                                                  • GTP an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                    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...

                                                                                                                                                                    • zeta0134 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                      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 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                        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! :)

                                                                                                                                                                      • summermusic 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                        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 an hour ago

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

                                                                                                                                                                          • monkpit 25 minutes ago

                                                                                                                                                                            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”.

                                                                                                                                                                            • johnisgood an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                              And the alternative is?

                                                                                                                                                                          • jeffhuys 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                            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 an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                              > 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?

                                                                                                                                                                            • latexr 3 hours ago
                                                                                                                                                                              • swiftcoder 3 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                                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 an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                                  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!

                                                                                                                                                                                • micromacrofoot 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                                  modern life requires doing lots of boring stuff to continue living

                                                                                                                                                                                  • sim7c00 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                                    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 an hour ago

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

                                                                                                                                                                                  • moritz64 4 hours ago

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

                                                                                                                                                                                    • appsDev 2 hours ago

                                                                                                                                                                                      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 an hour ago

                                                                                                                                                                                        do we need to pay first?