Epic Win
Launching the to-do list real life RPG
There is but one certainty in life – the unavoidable truth that you will grow old and die. Probably in immense pain, surrounded by bottles of Lucozade and your own faeces.
Death (or rather, closure) is an important factor in videogames. Whether out of necessity or punishment, death is omnipresent, urging you to try harder (reading Jamin Brophy’s article on this in Killscreen issue zero is recommended).
The flipside is completion and the ensuing reward. Until the recent advent of online gaming, rewards have been localised. Nowadays, points equal achievements. The pursuit of these digital Scout badges has become so intense that it can help shift units of shambolic games (Naruto, Too Human – I’m looking at you).
Last week saw an update to one of the oldest forms of organisation and reward: the list, and crossing stuff off it. From the Doomsday Book to the 10 Commandments, lists have helped the great nations of the world to get shit done, and then feel smug about it. EpicWin is a new iPhone App, made by coder Tak Fungand freelance illustrator Rex Crowle. It attempts to help you get your daily existence in order, by turning the weekly chores into a veritable Role Playing Game (a la Zelda). Basically, you input your daily to-do list, select your character, and then… set about your life. Complete a task, tick it off, and watch your journey advance, get new swag and watch your little avatar LEVEL UP.
Kind of like a Tamagotchi for bitter bastards, Epicwin is a fantastic use of modern tech invigorating a mundane persuit. Mopping the floors in the house and winning an Undercover Shrubber award? AND A CLEAN FLOOR? Double bonus. Aided and abetted by some wonderful artwork and some very surreal bonus points, it’s a charismatic and optimistic little piece of code. Obviously relying on mature use (lie, and like your mum says - the only person you’ll be cheating is yourself!) it’s a fantastic interpretation of convenient mobile technology colliding with the real world, to make peoples lives just a little more fun.
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