HabitHeap

Gamify the grind.

Inspiration

As CS majors, we don't struggle with hard problems - we struggle with consistent ones. Solving a complex bug can feel easier than committing to one LeetCode question or one job application every day. Within our team, we noticed patterns among ourselves:

One teammate literally doesn't drink water unless prompted
We'd go days without practicing coding problems despite knowing interviews were coming
Job applications felt easy to push to the next day
Basic self-care (sleep, showers, going outside) became optional when deadlines loomed

We realized that extrinsic motivation (interviews, deadlines, parental expectations) wasn't working. What if we could build an app that creates intrinsic motivation within users for something they actually care about?

HabitHeap is an authentic, self-aware app built by CS majors for CS majors to make us want to do the things we know we should do.

What it does

HabitHeap is a gamified habit tracker designed specifically for CS students struggling with motivation. It tracks the habits we know we should do but can't seem to start or keep up:

The Big Ones:

LeetCode practice - 1 question a day (interview prep we keep avoiding)
Job applications - 1 per day (the grind that feels hopeless and endless)
Touching grass - or going outside, which some of us can't seem to get ourselves to do

The Basics:

Drink water - one of our teammate's actual weakness
Sleep 7+ hours - because all-nighters aren't sustainable (don't check our commit history)
Shower - ah yes, the classic CS major pitfall

Your virtual pet's survival depends on your survival habits. You will be prompted to complete tasks corresponding with the 6 habits above throughout the day to keep up your 3 H's: health, happiness, and hunger. In addition to those timed reminders, you also have a daily objective, which earns you coins to use in the shop to buy:

Pet upgrades: Evolve from blob -> fish -> gecko -> cat -> dog -> unicorn
Accessories: Dress up your companion (survive in style!)
Backgrounds: Change environments
Food & potions: Instant stat boosts (for when you need emergency motivation) and treats!

How we built it

Tech Stack

SwiftUI - Primary UI framework (new to 3/4 of the team!)
UIKit - Custom tab bar component
MVVM Architecture - Separation between models, views, and view models
Vision and Core Location - Verify completion of tasks

Development Process

Models first
Manager layer for business logic
Views
Polish ### Design Assets All pet sprites, icons, and backgrounds were hand-drawn to create a warm, personal aesthetic.

Challenges we ran into

Technical Challenges

Swift Learning Curve (for 3/4 of the team - thank you Rob our guiding light)
Merge Conflicts (favor incremental commits to main over massive contributions) (resolving conflicts in XCode is not fun!!!)
Styling in Swift, especially with custom designs
Working with generative AI while still understanding our code