I built a 16-bit RPG inside Jira to trick myself into logging my hours 🕹️
Hey Atlassian Community!
I’ll be honest. I am a developer who really dislikes logging time and updating Jira tickets. It’s that part of the Agile process that I always put off until the last minute, which frustrates my team.
I wanted to change my bad habits. So, I decided to create a side project to give my brain a little boost. My initial idea was to make a simple "Tamagotchi" that would sit in the Jira sidebar. You do your work, and you feed the pet.
As I started drawing the pixel art, my creativity took a different turn. I kept thinking about the classic internet saying: "Don't feed the troll."
I thought it would be funny to flip that idea around. In this app, you have to feed the troll, and you do it by completing your Agile tasks.
After months of working with Custom UI and Forge SQL, I just released Feed the Troll: Gamified Agile Companion.
How it actually works:
It’s a fully native Forge app that turns your Jira instance into a cozy 16-bit game.
- The Companion: Every user gets a pixel-art troll in the issue panel. When you log time, resolve blockers, or transition issues, your troll gains XP, levels up, and evolves through five stages.
- The 15 Lineages: Since a QA engineer works differently than a DevOps engineer, a flat XP system wouldn’t work well. I created 15 different troll types you can choose from (for example, the Chrono-Troll earns bonus XP for timely time tracking).
- No Punishment: This was important to me. Gamification shouldn’t be stressful. Your troll never dies or goes hungry. If you go on vacation, it just goes to sleep.
The Team Aspect:
There is a shared "Village" tab for the project. When a sprint ends, the village gets "raided." If the team meets their sprint goals and keeps aging issues out of the backlog, the village defends itself and unlocks building upgrades.
The Tech:
For the Jira Admins reading this, I built this entirely on Atlassian Forge. There are no external servers, so your data never leaves your Jira Cloud instance. Individual stats are hidden by default, and there is a "Global Harmony Mode" to turn off all leaderboards if your company wants a purely cooperative experience.
I've made the app completely free to use for up to 2 Jira projects forever. It’s a perfect way to test it with your core development team without needing to fight procurement for a budget.
You can grab it on the Marketplace here.
Or read the interactive User Guide here.
I would love to hear your feedback, or let me know if you find a way to break the XP engine!
Oh, I almost forgot to introduce you to all 15 trolls:
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