Building Levely in public

The journal

One solo dev, one iOS app, one hackathon deadline. I write down what I build, what breaks, and what I got wrong the first time.

Entry 4Aug 22, 20266 min readLatest

How to market an app when you're its only user

I can't outspend my competition, so I picked a different battlefield. I tried to write a user persona, failed, and realised I was describing myself. Here's the guerrilla marketing plan that came out of it: Reddit, articles, RPG gamers, and no ad budget whatsoever.

Read the entry →

Entry 3Aug 3, 20268 min read

Designing a leveling system for real life

Join me as I dig into the reasons why a leveling system for real skills can't just copy video game XP systems. Why XP should measure commitment, not competence.

Read the entry →

Entry 2Jul 20, 20265 min read

Revealing my super secret plan

Before building anything I will lay out the three things that worry me the most. How to make XP mean something outside a video game, how to design without design skill, and how to get an app in front of anyone at all, plus the first concrete wins: a landing page and an X account with one follower.

Read the entry →

Entry 1Jul 13, 20265 min read

Can a new iOS developer ship an app in two months?

I decided to enter Shipaton, a two-month mobile app hackathon, with zero iOS experience and no audience. This is the first journal entry: why a focus timer, why RPG-style XP instead of another pomodoro clone, and why I'm doing this on no sleep.

Read the entry →