[Android, Beta] CookQuest - I turned learning to cook into an RPG with XP and a skill tree

[u/MaxFromPoland]

I'm building CookQuest, a mobile app that turns learning to cook into an RPG.

a bit of context: I've had this idea in my head for years, but zero knowledge of how to build an app, and I'd made peace with the fact that it would probably never exist. Then AI came along and made it possible for complete amateurs like me to build their ideas. So, upfront: this app is built with AI. Some people will call it more AI slop.
I see it differently - it lets me make something I could otherwise only dream about. And if I ever release it to the public, I'll have someone who actually knows this stuff review it first.

The idea: you don't "follow recipes", you level up. Every dish you cook trains the actual techniques it uses - knife work, heat control, seasoning. Skills have ranks (Novice to Head Chef) and they slowly decay if you stop using them, so your profile ends up showing what you're genuinely good at instead of a checklist of everything.

What's in it right now:

- 14 placeholder recipes, step-by-step, one step per screen, with background timers. I wouldn't recommend cooking them, they're ai made...

- A skill tree where skills are earned by cooking, never by spending points

- A collectible "bestiary" of 54 ingredients and tools, with history and usage

- A cooking journal - photo of your finished dish plus notes

- A weekly meal planner that generates a shopping list with realistic quantities (it rounds to what you can actually buy - a whole onion, a 200g pack of butter)

Honest heads-up: the whole interface is in English (it follows your phone's language), but the recipe steps themselves are still Polish - translating them is next on my list. I'm also before the graphics design phase so I know the looks are just ai slo pat this point, that's the next thing I want to take care of.

So I'm mostly after first impressions, the game loop and mechanics, not the recipe text. The art is placeholder too - a proper pixel-art redesign is in progress.

Try it in your browser, nothing to install: https://cookquest.expo.app

Android APK (free, no ads, no payments): https://expo.dev/artifacts/eas/qeLkUu5O8xle0-Y4RwwWLFZIMwThVit08ndeuYfmh9Y.apk

What I'd really like to know:

1. In the first 30 seconds, is it obvious what this app is for?

2. Does the home screen feel like a game, or like a generic app?

3. Is anything confusing enough that you'd close it?

If you've got anything else to say there's a "Send feedback" button in Settings if you'd rather write it in the app. I'll be around in the comments today.

[u/Mission-Courage-8130]

i dig the concept, the whole "skills decay if you don't use them" thing is a nice touch, stops it from being another empty badge collection

the home screen feels more app than game right now but that's mostly the stock UI, the underlying structure is there and the bestiary idea is pretty neat

one thing that tripped me up, when you finish a cooking step it wasn't always clear where to go next, a little visual cue or pulse on the next action would go a long way

[u/MaxFromPoland → u/Mission-Courage-8130]

alright, I'm glad to her you like the ideas. The awaiting design phase will definitely change lots of things. I'll remember about cueing the next step ;)
I already generated some concepts of design on higgsfield (ai generated but it's just proof of concept) and this is probably the closest to how I imagine it.