LifeQuest

Gamified engagement platform that motivates students through quests, achievements, and progression systems.

Role: Product Creator, Lead DeveloperCollaboration: Office of Student Life and Campus IT TeamPlatform: Mobile (React Native)Status: Pilot testing and institutional deployment

Problem

Campus event and activity participation was low despite genuine student interest. Standard notification-driven engagement approaches weren't working.

Discovery & Approach

Observation and interviews revealed that students wanted social accountability, not reminders. They were more likely to attend when they knew peers were also participating and when participation was visible. LifeQuest is a campus engagement product that turns meaningful student activities into a progression system where the social signal comes first.

Key Product Decisions:

  • Built leaderboards and peer-visible achievement feeds before individual progress tracking — social signal first, personal signal second.
  • Structured quests around existing campus events rather than creating new behaviors, reducing adoption friction and building on institutional momentum.

Outcome

Pilot Cohort

Tested with 50+ students

Program Scope

Designed for full campus engagement programs

Institutional Collaboration

Built with Office of Student Life and Campus IT

Deployment Stage

Under institutional testing and rollout planning

Building LifeQuest highlighted the importance of balancing competition with intrinsic motivation in student-facing systems. Collaboration with campus stakeholders reshaped feature priorities toward measurable engagement outcomes instead of purely game-like interaction. The project demonstrated how product strategy, behavioral design, and technical execution can align in an institutional context.

Product Features

Quest System

Students complete daily and weekly tasks across academics, wellness, creativity, and exploration to earn progression rewards.

Achievements and Streaks

Users unlock category-based achievements and streak milestones that reinforce long-term participation habits.

Leaderboards

XP-based rankings create friendly competition and social motivation across cohorts and activity categories.

Progression Economy

The leveling framework combines XP and in-app rewards to keep engagement loops clear and measurable.

Technical Architecture

Frontend

React Native with Expo enabling a single codebase for Android and iOS

Language

TypeScript for maintainable feature modeling and safer iteration cycles

State Management

React Context API for user state, task state, and progression flow

Persistence

AsyncStorage for reliable local progress retention in MVP environments

Product Architecture

Gamification-first architecture designed to align behavioral design with institutional engagement goals

Scalability Direction

Structured for future backend integration with campus systems

Screenshots

Progression and XP Overview
Quest Planning Interface
Leaderboard and Social Motivation
Achievements and Category Progress
System Mechanics and Reward Loop