Pact Pals

Weekend side quest idea: get your usual gaming party out for a walk somewhere you haven't explored yet.

I'd happily trade one evening of "where are we dropping?" for "which way is the park?" 😅

That's the feeling I want with Pact Pals: the same friends, a shared goal, and a little adventure away from the desk.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

A pact idea I'd actually want to try: close the laptop after lunch and go for a short walk with a friend.

Pick a step goal that fits that little routine, then see if you can keep it going together. No heroic training plan required 🙂

That's the kind of everyday space I'd like Pact Pals to fit into. Screenshot from our homepage below.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

A tiny guide to Pact Pals 🙂

Pals: the friends you team up with. Pacts: the exercise goals you agree on together. Pets: the pixel creatures you hatch.

The friends do the walking. The pets get to look cute. A few of our pet designs below 👇

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

A strawberry, a sleepy moon and a tiny cactus. Our pet artwork is getting wonderfully weird 😅

Another preview from Pact Pals. I want the reward at the end of a shared goal to have a bit of personality — something you'd actually be happy to find in your collection.

What unexpected creature would you add?

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

My ideal Pact Pals teammate is the friend who sends "fancy a walk?" and is happy to go at your pace.

That's the sort of encouragement I'd like this app to make easier. Pick something you both want to do, keep each other company, and celebrate getting there together.

Who would you recruit for your first party? 🙂

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

If you've been following the pixel pet parade and wondering how to try Pact Pals: the Android download is on our homepage 🙂

It's an APK directly from us. On iPhone, you can leave your email there to hear when it's released.

Still building this with friends, and I'd love to hear what feels fun or confusing when you take a look.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

Choosing your pixel character counts as preparation. It doesn't count as exercise 😅

We added hair, head and T-shirt colours to Pact Pals because getting your little party together should be fun too.

Some early avatar artwork below. Character creation first, actual steps next.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

"You don't need to be fit to start."

This is probably the most important line on our homepage for me. I want Pact Pals to feel welcoming when exercise is still something you're figuring out.

Pick a goal that fits where you are, bring a friend, and give yourselves something small to celebrate.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

"We should do something active together sometime."

I'd like Pact Pals to help turn that vague group-chat plan into something you can actually agree on: a goal, a finish date, and friends who are in.

The pixel egg is a bonus. Getting the plan out of the group chat is the first quest 😅

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

Would you go for a walk for a tiny pixel panda?

I'm hoping the combination of a friend expecting you and a little creature waiting to hatch makes getting started more fun. That's the experiment behind Pact Pals.

Here's another preview of the pet designs. The sleepy sloth feels particularly appropriate 😅

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

The artwork: an epic journey through the mountains.

My suggested first quest: close the laptop and walk around the block with a friend 😅

That's the scale I want Pact Pals to work at too. Something small enough to actually do, with a bit of game magic to make it more fun.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

Your walking buddy doesn't have to live next door.

A friend in another city, different routes, the same pact. I like the idea of having a reason to message each other that isn't just sending another meme 😅

That's one way I'd like people to use Pact Pals: a little shared goal, even when you're apart.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

Before committing to a walk, you can start by clicking an egg 😅

There's a little interactive demo on our homepage: pick your party size and try the shared pact. It simulates the daily check-ins so you can see the idea in action.

The actual walking is still on us.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

I don't want keeping track of exercise to become another daily chore.

That's why we're connecting the Android app to Health Connect. The aim is to bring your activity into Pact Pals without having to type your numbers in each day.

A small bit of the app, but one I care about getting right.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

Not every pact is going to work out 😅

One thing I care about with Pact Pals: a missed goal shouldn't be where you give up. You can make another pact with your friends and try again.

I'd love this to help with the getting-back-to-it part too. That's usually the hard bit for me.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

I like the idea of having something to look back on after finishing a goal with friends.

In Pact Pals, the pet you hatch is yours to keep. I'd love opening the collection to remind me of the walks that got us there 🙂

This is an early concept for that collection screen.

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

A little preview of the pet artwork we're working on for Pact Pals 🙂

This is the part where being a gamer sneaks into building a fitness app. We've got everything from a tiny mushroom to an axolotl.

Which one would you want in your collection?

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

One thing I want to get right with Pact Pals: it should feel welcoming when you're just getting started with exercise.

A group of friends can have very different fitness levels. I'd like making that first pact to feel achievable for everyone, including the person who mostly wants a reason to leave their desk.

What would a manageable first goal look like for you?

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

A little behind the scenes: Pact Pals started on a tiny round ESP32-S3 screen. First it showed "Hola Javi", then a little cloud, then fitness stats with pixel characters.

We built an Android companion to send updates over Bluetooth. The hardware is still a prototype. Seeing the phone update that tiny display has been a fun part of building this 🙂

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

A small part of Pact Pals that I really like: making your own pixel character. Hair, head and T-shirt colours, instead of uploading a profile photo.

These are some of the early avatar designs. I wanted the app to feel a bit more like getting a party together for a game 🙂

https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

I've tried C25K a few times and always lose motivation early on. I'm a software engineer and a gamer, so spending too much time sitting is pretty easy for me 😅

That's why we're building Pact Pals: make a pact with friends, work towards a shared exercise goal, and hatch a pixel pet together. A little extra reason to get outside.

Would this help you get moving too? https://pactpals.com/?utm_source=startupfans

Join the community on https://pactpals.com?utm_source=startupfans

We are live on producthunt ! https://www.producthunt.com/products/pact-pals?launch=pact-pals

Make a pact, hatch a pet

launching!!