More Than a Tracker

People don't like to track unless they're getting something out of tracking. Apps like Letterboxd and Goodreads work because the social element gives logging a purpose beyond record-keeping. I wanted TamaTracker to have that same pull, but with an added learning dimension that makes it genuinely useful for improving.

The app does three things: it tracks your progress across tricks with a gamified scoring system, lets you compare stats with friends on a leaderboard, and helps you discover what to learn next based on what you've already done. Each trick has a difficulty score so harder tricks feel more rewarding.

Three Levels of "Landing It"

The very first prototype treated tricks as binary: you either had it or you didn't. But feedback from friends and players on various kendama forums made it clear players don't view landing a trick as a binary achievement. Landing a trick once doesn't mean you have it down. There are distinct levels: getting it once, getting it sometimes, and having it "on lock" (you can hit it reliably).

This three-tier system became the foundation of the scoring model. Each level earns different points, and the progression feels earned because it maps to how players actually think about their skills.

Animations That Scale with Achievement

Leveling up a trick triggers a celebration animation, and having a trick fully on lock triggers something bigger.

Leaderboards, Comparisons & What to Learn Next

A leaderboard ranks players by difficulty points. Spider charts let you compare your strengths across different trick categories against friends, showing where you're strong and where you might want to branch out.

The discovery side recommends tricks based on what you've already done. Tricks are organized by difficulty and can be filtered by grip type or skill tree, so if you're strong in one area but weak in another, TamaTracker surfaces what you'd probably want to try next. Each trick page includes details on how it's done, with links to video references.

70+ Custom Trick Illustrations

I created custom illustrations for over 70 basic tricks showing the kendama's position and motion. At rest, the illustration communicates the trick at a glance. On hover, it animates to show what the trick actually looks like in motion. The illustrations make it easy to understand how each trick works, especially more complicated ones or ones with aliases.