RPG systems and apps don’t often work in real life. My running hypothesis of why is the following:
Progress and rate of discovery is extremely slower in real life than games.
Rewards and "new" quests are spread wide and unlocked only after months of hard work and consistency. Whereas a game can progress wildly in the span of a week, valuable life goals require months to years.
Furthermore, in a game the "pain" of overcoming challenges is not felt directly, so it's easier to just try again despite failing a quest. Life instead is harsh. The pain of failure is all on you, and failure is inevitable (just like in games).
Rewards are not guaranteed
In games the reward is clear and guaranteed. Each quest has a specific objective, broken down in steps.
In life the reward is not guaranteed, and the path is unclear and obscure. In a game you form a strategy that reliably makes you achieve a defined goal. Try to do the same in life, and you often end up somewhere else or nowhere at all until years have passed.
Trying to "shrink" rewards to shorter time frames makes them less meaningful.
It turns your day to day in a to-do list without colour, often leading to the opposite result: the pressure of finishing your tasks without the satisfaction of reaching a meaningful goal.
RPG is a (fantastical) mirror of life
A quick search on the merits of RPG games brings the following points:
- Character customisation and identity
- Immersion and world-building
- Social interaction
- Exploration and discovery
These aspects are all found in real life as well. They originate from it. But they are all slower, not guaranteed, less exciting and more painful.
Yes, you can explore, interact with other people, customise your identity. But all of them take time (a lot), intention, resources, and suffering. In a game you just walk to an NPC and start talking. You just walk into the wood and beat monsters.
Good luck to do the same in life. The best that most people get is a walk in a park or meeting a boring friend of a friend (often more boring than an NPC). Real exploration and interactions are painful, definitely not addictive like games (for most).
Most peoples are NPCs
Don't be (less than) an NPC in life. Game characters are interesting because they are unique in all aspects. How they dress, how they speak, their quirks and personality in full display. The same traits that people suppress in real life.
A boring person is just like an NPC: they all do the same, no special ability, nothing unique. It's worth asking yourself if you are playing NPC in life, and give an honest answer.
Exceptional abilities (require years of work)
Another good point is the fantastical nature of games, where you perform extraordinary feats with magical abilities.
In life exceptional abilities are just the result of mundane actions repeated every day, for years.
Most "games" in life are infinite, the whole point is keep going. The reward is doing something a little better over time. But the challenges are perceived as the same at every level of your journey. There is never a point when it becomes "easy". This framework wouldn’t make for an exciting RPG game.
Control and agency
In games you have complete control and agency. Nothing stops you to go wherever you want, break things, spend all your money just to collect them again without consequences.
Real life is more restrictive. External factors influence life decisions. Personal agency is not unlimited (mostly for good reasons) but that takes away the same excitement found in games.