FINCH: A GAMIFIED APPROACH TO SELF-CARE 🐥

Mental health is a major part of life that can often be neglected. Studies by the Mental Health Commission of Canada estimate that 1 in 5 people are affected by a mental illness (1). There are countless ways to support your mental health, but many people are unable to get the support they need, either due to cost barriers or not knowing where to start.As someone who enjoys playing games on their phone as a small pastime while waiting for the train, something to keep me busy on my lunch break, or even just a replacement for a console, I believe that mobile devices have quickly become one of the most accessible platforms in this modern age with a low barrier to entry for non-traditional gamers.Combining the world’s need for mental health support and the immersive environment of games, Stephanie Yuan and Nino Aquinas set out on a mission to help others around the world and created Finch, which was released on the Apple App Store and Google Play in 2021.What is Finch?The player’s goal in Finch is to grow a pet by developing an interpersonal relationship between the user and their pet. The player can do various activities, such as completing a task list and writing a reflection about their day. However, unlike other mobile games, the user is rewarded for completing tasks in real life rather than in the game. Additionally, by enticing players to keep returning on a daily basis, Finch emphasizes long-term self-care and habit-building. In a way, by building a relationship with your Finch pet, you are building a positive relationship with yourself. The brilliance of Finch is that it seamlessly gamifies a self-care checklist, making the player feel rewarded rather than overwhelmed.CompetitorsWhile there are many apps with a similar purpose of improving the user’s mental health and daily life, such as Calm and Daylio, Finch is different from its competitors in that it gamifies self-care through a collection aspect most commonly seen in other live service mobile games. For example, you can set your character out on daily quests for in-game currency, which can be exchanged for rewards such as outfits for your pet and furniture for your room.MonetizationWhile Finch is free to play and ad-free, Finch provides various options for monetization. Finch Plus is a monthly subscription that provides players with features such as exclusive items in the shop, additional exercises and soundscapes, and more reflection prompts. For users who are unable to afford a membership, Finch has a sponsorship program that allows users to enter a raffle to win a sponsored membership from other users who have generously donated memberships to the raffle. The sponsorship program is an amazingly supportive addition and speaks volumes about the creators’ dedication to improving the accessibility of mental health tools.Strengthening relationshipsWhile users can’t directly message others, Finch provides a few options to stay connected with their simple friend system. You can send gifts as well as “good vibes” which are short messages to send another user, such as expressing your gratitude for them, sending encouragement, or a reminder to drink water.

Core game loop

1. ✅ Complete/manage tasksThe main source of support and the first part of Finch’s game loop is their gamified checklist. The checklist gives you small but important tasks to perform throughout the day and is fully customizable so you can tailor the list to best fit you, your goals, and your schedule. What makes Finch stand out is the large variety of recommendations that it gives the user based on their goals. This is especially helpful if you are struggling to come up with ideas for the list and prevents the overwhelming feeling of being lost when setting goals.2. 🛍️ Spend currency/shopAfter completing your tasks, you will earn currency, also known as “rainbow stones”. You can spend currency on a variety of features such as new clothes, furniture, pet color, and location.3. 👕Customization systemAs your pet can be customized to the player’s preferences, this builds a stronger relationship and provides a form of self-expression. As you begin to add more friends, being able to view each other’s outfits and furniture provides an easy way to connect with each other.

Daily quests

Once a day, your pet will set out on an adventure once the player has accumulated enough energy from completing tasks. When your pet comes back from their adventure, the player will receive a prompt to chat with them and to talk about the recent discovery that they have made. The player’s response will impact the pet’s personality and provide some fun dialogue where you can learn about the city that your pet is adventuring in.Saving lives across the worldWhat I found that sets Finch apart from other health & wellness apps is having a 24/7 support companion that is loaded with customized resources based on your/the user’s needs. Something that really stood out to me is that when you rate your mood as a sad expression, Finch will have a button that opens a menu with local options for getting crisis support. Asking for help is often one of the hardest things to overcome with support, and Finch provides a great way for users to understand if they need help during the most critical times and where to find it.

Looking at posts from the online community, such as comments on Finch’s post on Reddit, I noticed the strong support from the users, with many opening up about their struggles with mental health and how Finch has positively impacted their lives. With wanting to support mental health, providing a strong enough support tool that can change someone’s perspective on life is some of the highest praise imaginable.Finch’s sustainable successAs someone who started playing Finch around 2022, I didn’t become a long-term player as I was more used to having objective checklists physically written down. After coming back to Finch in 2024, I am now more engaged than ever, even building up a 50+ day login streak. I credit this to Finch’s live service model and the addition of a substantial amount of new features that have been added over time, which speaks volumes to the amount of care the creators have put into the Finch experience.Notably, Finch’s friend system has been one of my main motivators for playing regularly. Seeing how your friends are doing and being able to send and receive short messages gives you a strong sense of closeness. Seeing your friends’ Finch updates and how they are doing every day makes you feel connected and encourages you to continue playing daily, even giving you the motivation to carry on your daily routine, even when it may feel challenging or overwhelming. As social isolation is an increasingly important topic in modern life, Finch helps keep you grounded and reminds you that you are not alone and that there are supportive and compassionate people everywhere.As Finch continues to add new features to improve the player experience, I am excited to see it thrive as one of the leading apps for health & fitness, as well as how more competitors will step up to the challenge as mental health becomes an increasingly prevalent topic.Appendix
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