Idle Scholar

Idle Scholar is an app to focus on studying while being timed, leveling up your alien or cowboy buddy, and using real minutes to defeat waves and climb a leaderboard. Who will win the war on studies?

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Inspiration- Recently, my partner and I got hooked on this idle mobile game… and then realized that it was stealing our study time. Idle Scholar flips the script: the more you study in real life, the stronger you are in the game. Study minutes become damage, progress, and bragging rights.

What it does- Users will choose between an alien buddy or a cowboy buddy, the choice sets the theme, background, and which enemies you fight. Then the user can choose to run a distraction-free timer. If the app is backgrounded, the timer is stopped. When the study session is over, the gameplay consists of tapping to defeat waves rushing your buddy. It also tracks user statistics and posts them to a leaderboard to give whoever is in the top spot all the bragging rights and the strongest buddy.

How we built it- TypeScript, React Native, and SQL were all used in the creation process. SQL was used to store the user information and the game statistics from player to player. React Native was used to be able to download it as a mobile app. TypeScript was used to animate the images that we created using Pixquare, a pixel art platform.

Challenges we ran into- Creating a mobile app that was eligible to be used on iOS was incredibly difficult on our devices, because the only way we could playtest the game was using XCode and Expo Go. Also, we were learning SQL so using it to create databases and track user statistics was challenging. Lastly, creating an idea that balanced focusing and fun, without being distracting was difficult. File sorting.

Accomplishments that we're proud of- Getting the database to work and actively update so multiple users can compete to get the highest study time was rewarding. Connecting SupaBase to the login/sign-up page in order to send verification emails and authenticate users using SQL, again, a language we were not familiar with, was something we're proud of.

What we learned- One of the most important things we experiences first hand was how APIs can be used to actively update information. We learned the technical difficulties that go into a sign-in page, and how to overcome those challenges. Also, how difficult it is to even make something that could work as an iOS mobile app.

What's next for Idle Scholar- We plan to continue to work on Idle Scholar and eventually release it on the iOS App Store for anyone who wants to battle their procrastination and doom-scrolling... or alien cats. Eventually, we plan to add features to make the game more enjoyable to come back to such as different enemy types and player classes/stats.

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