WorkThatGodBod: Design

WorkThatGodBod — interaction and experience design

A tiny interruption that belongs to the world

WorkThatGodBod takes the practical advice to look away from a screen or move briefly, and wraps it in a miniature adventure. Its current prose is gently theatrical: a player's shoulders may feel like armor, hydration like restoring mana, and a stretch like raising a banner. The aim visible in the README is a low-friction invitation rather than a fitness regimen or nagging scheduler.

The interface is intentionally small. There is no window to keep open: the player chooses action slots and receives a reminder only when a watched button is pressed and the current time/probability gates allow it.

The player journey

1. Run /godbod watch to learn action slot numbers.
2. Use /godbod slot <n> to add one or several actions; turn watch mode off afterward.
3. Choose a comfortable minimum interval with /godbod timer and an occasional response rate with chance.
4. Play normally. A qualifying press may select a new prompt from the 99-line pool.
5. Ignore, adapt, or follow it as personally appropriate; /godbod off disables reminders.
6. Use unslot, clear or info to adjust the tool.

The only automatically tracked state is the short-term time gate and configured preferences. There is no compliance or personal wellness history.

An important tension: quiet nudges versus shared messages

The original README describes “no UI, no nagging” and implies a gentle interruption. The code in v1.1, however, may broadcast a prompt to nearby players or a social channel. Of qualifying messages, 14% are routed to GUILD, SAY, YELL, or PARTY. Players not expecting that could see it as embarrassing or disruptive, and other participants did not request a reminder.

This tension is a real design question, not a historical motive we can assign from the source. The previous v0.2 output routing even included general/world channels; v1.1 explicitly removed those routes but kept limited sharing. No local-only preference is implemented in v1.1.

Tone and accessibility

Prompts are imaginative and usually concise. They cover sitting and standing, arm/leg movement, eye breaks, breathing and hydration. Some mention balance with eyes closed, neck motion or higher-effort exercises. The addon cannot judge someone's needs or safety. Readers should understand these as optional suggestions, never obligations or health advice.

Potential future design improvements—user choice of local-only output, a “skip movements” filter, shorter chat copy, and clearer notification of public sending—belong in the roadmap as proposals, not unapproved changes.

No category selector

Although the writing falls into recognizable themes, the source uses one flat EXERCISES list and selects uniformly across it. “Hydration,” “movement,” and “posture” are editorial content tags, not implemented filtering options.

Document information

Creator: Babuni.dev.