Gamification: Grab, Habitica and the Power of Recurring Rewards

Uber has changed the transportation game worldwide. 

You can now hail a driver from just about anywhere and be on your way to wherever you want to go within minutes. It’s both cheaper than conventional taxis and more convenient than public transport. Taxi operators are understandably upset. Uber is the upstart, crashing headlong through industry practices, with other ridesharing companies rising in its destructive wake. But this is progress: modern tools like smartphones, social networks and wireless internet combined to create a whole new phenomenon.

Aren’t you at least a little amazed that this is possible? The future is now, people.

That said, Uber also has a string of black marks and scandals to its corporate name, often operating outside the law and actively avoiding law enforcement in countries where it’s illegal. Assuming it is legal where you are, this won’t affect riders (consumers) directly. But it’s something to be aware of.

Because it’s not your only option.

Image credit: Hype

Here in Malaysia, Uber’s Southeast-Asian competitor, Grab, is stealing the show. Both companies use a dynamic pricing model. This means prices fluctuate based on demand. Uber’s prices, however, can be more extreme. Assuming low demand, fares are dirt-cheap. During rush hour, they skyrocket.1 Grab’s prices are more stable and (apparently) don’t count travel time as a factor. Ergo, at times of high demand, Grab is the cheaper option.

Unlike Uber, Grab often gives out free discounts which make rides even cheaper.2 They also give you loyalty points for every ride, which can be saved up and spent on further discounts. There’s also a tier system, whereby collecting a certain number of points raises your membership level and unlocks further bonuses.

See how this works? Though Uber is sometimes cheaper, Grab offers more value for money, with their promos and points and tiers. This all seemed vaguely familiar, until one day it hit me: video games. Treasure, gold and experience. 

Grab works like an RPG.

Today I’m talking about rewards.

Gamification is the application of video game principles to non-gaming scenarios. One such principle is that to encourage a certain in-game behavior, you reward it. This is not a new thing at all. Bonuses, benefits and point-scoring have been around for ages. Credit cards give you points. Heck, my local supermarket gives you points. It’s not that big a deal. But it is an incentive to continue shopping there.

All of human behavior is built around rewards. Think about it. Why do we choose to do anything if not for our perceived benefit? We need to feel rewarded. I’m not just talking about material gain. Your reward for doing household chores could be appreciative family members, or a sense of order. Even selflessness isn’t truly selfless, because we still get the satisfaction of helping others and having done the Right Thing. If we care about something, we invest our efforts in it – and vice versa. It’s that simple.3

To put it another way, we have to feel that the payoff is worth the price. That the effort is worth the achievement. But how many of us recognize that one defines the other?

Winning a medal through hard work and dedication is highly satisfying. The same medal, unearned but intended to make you ‘feel like a winner’, feels worthless. A clean house is a convenience; a house you cleaned is a job well done. The difference is your level of investment.

And video games, for better or worse, excel at making us feel invested. Underneath all the bright colors and action and strategy and narrative, they offer something much more subtle: the illusion of progress. Reaching a new level, clearing an area, defeating a boss. Playing feels like doing things.

These are the principles at work here: investment, progress and rewards. Integral to video games, but applicable to so much more. As others far smarter than I have figured out, doing things can feel like playing, too. 

Image credit: Wikipedia

I first heard about Habitica months ago, but I’m only now getting into it. This is a productivity app masquerading as a role-playing game. Ever wanted to earn gold for doing dishes or level up for finishing that essay? Now you can. You start off as a warrior by default, but can later opt for a healer, rogue or mage. Through completing real-world tasks, your lowly avatar slowly grows into an accomplished badass. 

Yes, of course I'm riding a shadow wolf.

The app splits tasks into Dailies (once a day), Habits (repeatable) and To-Dos (one-offs). They all give you gold and experience once completed, but beware: unfinished Dailies injure you if not completed. You can also punish yourself for bad habits if you so choose. Gold can be spent on in-game items and custom Rewards, where you assign a monetary value to a real-life indulgence.

I drink too much milk tea.

Gaining levels unlocks new skills and powers, which is where the social aspect comes into play. You can join parties and go on quests against amusingly mundane boss monsters, which also helps keep you accountable – because in boss battles, you take damage based on the unfinished Dailies of all party members. Letting your goals slide isn’t just about you anymore. It’s letting the side down.

There are downsides to Habitica’s approach. The interface is quite fiddly and takes getting used to. You have to get invested in it to start with, remembering to input your tasks, give yourself negative marks for bad habits, and so on. And anyone who’s not into video games to begin with would probably avoid this like the plague.

But still. The idea of treating your life as a video game is intriguing. Habitica gives you the same illusion of progress – except you really are making progress. How about that.

Give it a shot. Gamify your life.

I’ll still take Uber when it’s significantly cheaper. I still get lazy and put off dreaded tasks, no matter how much experience they’re worth. Incentives alone aren’t enough to make you do things. Willpower, diligence and critical thinking are as important to a healthy mind as they ever were. 

But rewards can give you a little push in the right direction. Sometimes that push is all you need.

Who says you don’t learn anything playing video games.


1 This is called surge pricing. Based on conversations I've had with drivers and riders alike, it's the main reason people prefer Grab - particularly in congested city centres. A reasonable practice, or is Uber shooting itself in the foot here? You decide.

2 To clarify, Uber does offer discounts. Just not as frequently.

Also, unlike Uber, which interacts directly with your bank account, Grab uses a top-up system much like mobile credit. Drivers reload their digital wallet to begin with; a percentage of each fare is then deducted automatically. Once their wallet reaches a critical low, another reload is required to continue driving.

What surprised me was that from my own experience, drivers will encourage you to use Grab promos when available – because the company pays them the difference in credit. The rider gets an incentive to use Grab for their cheaper fares, and the driver still gets paid. Win-win.

It’s all very efficient. I’m impressed. Grab is currently expanding their digital payments platform into a service in and of itself.

3 Well no, not exactly. Fear, discouragement, laziness and a whole host of other negatives hold us back. If it really was that simple, we wouldn’t need rewards in the first place.