For the last few months, I've been working on a little side project and my first experiment with building a mobile app. I started with an idea for an app I personally wanted to have: a side quest app. Of course, there are plenty of apps like that on the App Store, but I wanted to make it more fun and gamify the whole experience.
I started with a pretty bland idea: an app where you get a list of side quests, complete them, and collect XP or points. But I found that too boring, so I changed the whole idea and theme of the app to something more playful and colorful. I also changed the name to Bambloo, which is the name of the bear mascot in the app. You can customize Bambloo and use the coins you earn from completing quests to buy cosmetics for him.
I enjoy exploring and seeing new places all the time, and I figured, what's a better way to do that than with an app that doesn't just give you a game-like experience, but also helps you keep track of your adventures? I added features like the ability to add friends, create groups, collect badges and achievements, level up, and keep an adventure journal where you can look back on your adventures, add notes, and share them directly to social media.
The project probably took about a full workweek of actual development time, and it's still very much a work in progress. I have many other ideas and features I want to add, along with plans to promote and grow the app.
I used Codex to help me with the coding, and it has been very helpful, probably cutting development time by 90%. I highly suggest that anyone reading this try experimenting with these tools to build stuff. Creativity really is the limit.
The app is now live on the App Store for anybody to try: www.getbambloo.com