An atlas that classifies “Dopagaki UI” as interfaces that supply expectation and reward in short cycles. The term does not mean a flashy look alone. Why a next action arises (the stimulus engine) and how the response is shown (the expression theme) are split onto separate axes and collected as specimens.
Stimulus engines
13
Expression themes
14
Pairings
182
6-second samples
13
Shared structure
01
Forecast
Signal that something is about to happen
02
Input
Press, choose, dodge, connect: you are the cause
03
Immediate feedback
Return color, shape, sound, or vibration within about 100 ms
04
Amplification
Show a result greater than the input: chains, transformation, bulk gain
05
Next promise
Leave the next reward, unknown, blank, or room to grow
Intensity alone is not enough. What matters is that people can read the causal link between their action and its result, and that the next expectation remains.
Searches names, repeated actions, loops, feedback, risks, and visual vocabulary. Separate words with spaces to narrow to items containing all of them.
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What is Dopagaki?
Dopagaki is Japanese slang combining dopamine and gaki (“kid” or “brat”). This atlas uses the term “Dopagaki UI” for high-stimulation interfaces that cycle through forecast, input, immediate feedback, amplification, and a next promise in short loops. It classifies the mechanism that drives repetition (the stimulus engine) separately from the expression theme used to show it. The idea overlaps with game juice, game feel, and UI feedback.
This is not a guide to designing addiction. It is a classification and production tool for making achievement, mastery, and creation feel legible while avoiding variable paid rewards, loss aversion, and guilt-based retention.
§1
Two-axis matrix
Rows are stimulus engines, columns are expression themes. marks recommended pairings. Press a cell to select the combination, or a row or column heading to filter by that axis. Use the arrow keys to move within the table.
Good pairings (42)Other combinations (140) · free to tryThe table scrolls horizontally
Pressing, hitting, breaking, or clearing returns a strong visual, auditory, and tactile response. It is the shortest-cycle stimulus and the foundation for the other types.
Repeated action
Press, hit, break, clear
Risk
If the effect is slow, the cause and effect break apart. Shaking things beyond important actions just tires people out.
A cream game screen with one gray rock on a central stand and the score "1,240" at the top. On the frame the finger hits the rock, the rock flashes and cracks, holds for 0.1 seconds, then bursts into shards. "+100" pops where it was hit and flies into the score, which becomes "1,340". The next rock hops onto the stand from the conveyor on the left, breaks the same way, and the score reaches "1,440". It ends with the finger poised over a third rock.
An action you could not do becomes something you can do.
Learn the rule from failure and clear the wall with your own skill. It works without external rewards, making it one of the most durable stimuli.
Repeated action
Retry a task that demands skill
Risk
Difficulty whose cause is unreadable becomes unfair rather than a test of mastery.
A navy side-view game screen of a city at night, with a small green character on the left and a stone wall in the middle. A short press on the button below stops the meter at 40%, and the character hits the wall partway up and drops: a red dotted path, an X on the wall, a "not high enough" tag, and a "1st: short" mark on the meter. On the second try, specks of light flow into the character as the press goes past the previous mark to 80%. It jumps higher than the wall, pauses right above it, and slams straight down: everything holds for 0.1 second while cracks run through the wall, then the wall bursts into flying stones, lights spread through the city windows from the impact point, and the flag rises. The mark reads "2nd: just right", and the character hops over the rubble to the flag. The view then pans right to a next wall almost twice as tall, with "Next: double jump".
Experience, abilities, gear, and facilities increase, making visible that you are stronger than before.
Repeated action
Gain resources and invest in upgrades
Risk
If only the numbers grow while choices and experience stay the same, it becomes busywork.
A submarine screen showing a vertical slice of a purple sea. The gold submarine, with a small propeller, runs nose-first into a red wall at 200m (the depth readout also shows 200m) and bounces back; below the wall everything is dark. In the upgrade panel below, the finger taps "Propulsion (thruster Lv1 to Lv2, 4 parts)": the parts count drops one at a time from 6 to 2 as each part flies to the stern and stays there, then "Upgrade complete" appears and the card gets a check mark. Next the small propeller is replaced by a large thruster with fins and a nozzle (the parts remain as its bolts). It ignites with a cyan thrust flame and charges the same 200m wall much faster than before: everything holds for 0.1 second while cracks run across the wall, then the wall breaks open and leaves a hole. The dark water below 200m is revealed as a deep sea with glowing seaweed, jellyfish, and a school of fish, and a thicker wall sits at 400m. The submarine bumps that wall and is pushed back (an X marks the spot), and the "Propulsion" card shows its next level: "Lv2 to Lv3, 8 parts".
Maps, environments, secrets, and combinations make the unconfirmed area itself the motive.
Repeated action
Step into an unconfirmed area
Risk
Filling blanks alone is weak. Each discovery needs to change meaning or options.
A dark teal scouting map. Only the safe zone at the lower left (a lake, a tent, and a landing pad) is visible; the rest is covered by banks of fog. At the fog edge a yellow signal flickers in broken arcs, and a wisp of steam peeks out above the fog. A finger touches the drone on the pad and traces a path around the lake to the signal: a yellow dotted line follows the fingertip, and on the frame the finger lifts it turns solid with a "Confirmed" tag. The drone flies exactly along the drawn path (the map scrolls down to follow it); when it enters the fog its rotor wash pushes the fog aside, and it stops over the signal to scan. The rotor wind strengthens into a swirl, the fog tears along the swirl, and everything holds for 0.1 second. Then a gust front spreads from the signal and blows the fog outward; trees and a stone arch rise where it clears, a hidden hot spring source erupts ("Discovered: Hot spring source"), and its water runs down the stream. Two new routes, "Along the stream" and "Rock bridge", extend along the stream flowing from the spring and the natural stone arch over a ravine, each stopping at the next edge of fog. The route list at the bottom grows from one route ("To the signal") to three ("Hot spring source", "Along the stream", "Rock bridge"; routes 3). Finally another, cyan signal blinks deep in the fog, and the finger slides in from the right and returns to the drone to draw the next route.
Characters, tools, records, and achievements are shown as a set, and the missing slots become the next goal.
Repeated action
Fill the blanks in a set
Risk
If collected items have no use or story, the only goal becomes the number owned.
A screen with a night greenhouse and a specimen book. The night section of the greenhouse is shut and locked, and the specimen book "Night garden" below reads 5 / 6: in the middle of a ring of glow moss, moth leaf, shade fern, night dew grass, and scent herb, only the outline of the "Night flower" is left as a dotted blank. A finger lifts the night flower from the collecting basket (collected on Moonview Hill) and carries it to the blank; on the frame it overlaps the outline it snaps in, holds for 0.1 second, gets a "Registered" stamp, and the count becomes 6 / 6. The six specimens light up one by one, then five lines (marked moth, dew, light, scent, and shade) and a dotted outer ring connect them into a relationship map of the night garden ("Relationship map complete"). Light rises from the specimens to the greenhouse, the lock comes off, and the doors of the night section slide open. In the moonlight, six plants grow in beds laid out exactly like the map; the night flower in the middle blooms in a spreading glow and moths arrive. Finally the book turns to "Water garden", whose blanks have different shapes (water lily leaf, waterside reed, lotus flower, water weed), with "Complete it to open the waterside section", the still-closed waterside section with a frog silhouette inside, and "Next collecting spot: Waterside path" at the bottom. No rarity, odds, or purchases appear.
Maximize the moment just before the result is known.
The uncertainty of the result and staged hints stimulate anticipation more than the reward itself.
Repeated action
Open an uncertain result
Risk
Combining variable rewards with paid purchases easily leads to dependence and overspending. State the odds, cap, history, and a stop method.
On a dark purple desk sits a sealed case delivered from the completed "Night survey of the marsh" mission. From the first frame the top of the screen shows "Reward from a completed mission", "Contents fixed, no randomness", "Cost 0", and a "Skip" button. The case window is dark; a lime seal tape with three wax seals runs along the seam near the bottom. A finger takes the end of the tape and pulls it sideways: the tape peels exactly as far as the finger moves and rolls up, and each wax seal that cracks makes the case glow brighter and the shadow in the window (a ray-like creature) one step sharper. On the frame the tape comes off completely, light leaks around the lid and everything holds for 0.1 second; then the lid opens, the record rises in a burst of light, and a navy observation chart, "Observation record No.07", unfolds large. The creature is drawn in (wingspan 2.4 m, glows every 2 seconds, above the water on the north shore at 2 a.m., "Floating glow ray"), and its glowing spots brighten every 2 seconds as the note says. A "Registered in the field guide No.07" stamp lands, and the field guide count at the top goes from 6 to 7. A card of the record flies into the observation history as the third entry, carrying the same "Night survey of the marsh" mark as the case label. Finally "Next observation point: Northern plateau" and "When you are ready, from the map" appear calmly, with a small map tracing the way from the marsh up onto the plateau. There is no extra purchase, retry, odds, or remaining-time display.
Connections, synergy, multipliers, and bulk clears turn a small input into a large result.
Repeated action
Connect effects
Risk
If it is unclear what produced the chain, even success does not lead to learning.
The power grid of a residential district during a night blackout. At the top: "North district, block 3", "Blackout", "0 / 16 houses", and a chain record of circles 1, 2, 4, 8, 16. Sixteen dark houses sit at the ends of streets and wires that branch in an H shape. Below the root in the middle, the conductor of a joint (a turning dial) points sideways, so the power coming from the substation sparks just below the joint. A finger touches the dial grip and turns it counterclockwise along a circle; the joint turns exactly as far as the finger does, and on the frame the conductor stands upright it clicks into place. Power travels at the same speed to the relays, root (1) → 2 → 4 → 8; each branch is shorter than the one before, so the arrival interval tightens 0.50 → 0.33 → 0.23 → 0.17 seconds and the chain accelerates (the record circles fill at the positions of their arrival times). It reaches all 16 houses on the same frame and holds for 0.1 second; windows light up and warm light spreads from the root to the corners of the district ("16 / 16 houses", "Restored"). Every wire it passed stays lit to the end. Finally the view scrolls down to reveal the still-dark "North district, block 4" (32 houses, 0 / 32) and its next joint, still sideways, and the finger moves toward its grip.
Combine materials to make buildings, outfits, systems, or works. The result remaining as something uniquely yours becomes the reward.
Repeated action
Combine and place materials
Risk
Freedom alone is hard to start with. A small goal and an editable example are needed.
A sunny daytime editor for a treehouse in a tree. At the top: "Treehouse", "Editing", and the example v1 in the history. The deck has two sockets (A and B) that accept parts, and the parts tray at the bottom holds "Slide", "Swing", "Flag", and "Telescope". A finger lifts the slide and carries it to the deck: near socket A a translucent slide snaps in place as a preview, with its landing spot on the grass. Moving on to B moves the preview to B, and the landing spot changes to the pond. The finger pauses at B and then releases: a slide of exactly the previewed shape locks in, its bolts fasten, and the railing gate swings open. The child on the deck notices, walks to the slide, rides down the same curve gaining speed, and plunges into the pond, holding for 0.1 second in the splash. As the child bobs up and waves, the screen takes a snapshot, and the treehouse with its slide enters the history as "v2" (the example v1 stays). Finally a new socket appears on the cabin roof, "Telescope" in the parts tray lights up, and the finger moves toward it. No purchases, odds, or time limits for parts appear.
Offense and defense against others, ranking, and rating changes make your current position clear.
Repeated action
Challenge an opponent
Risk
Without material to learn from after a loss and without fairness, only frustration remains.
An air hockey match. At the top "You" (yellow) and "Haru" (cyan) face each other, both in the same tier "B2"; the score is 2 – 2, "First to 3". At the bottom are the scoring order (you, Haru, you, Haru) and "Same-size mallets and goals". A finger touches your mallet and pulls it back, and the aiming line (bouncing off the bottom rail) turns as the direction changes. On the frame you strike, the puck shoots off and bounces off the bottom rail exactly along the aiming line. Haru starts moving 0.1 second after the strike and slides low to defend, then reaches upward after the bounce but is too late: the puck skims over the mallet into the upper part of the goal mouth and holds for 0.1 second. The score becomes 3 – 2 (the score display on the table rail matches), and "Decided" appears. The two mallets meet lightly on the center line; Haru says "Nice shot" and you say "Thanks". The path of the winning shot (yellow) and Haru's defending move (cyan) stay drawn on the table with a "Review" legend. Finally the path of the next challenge, "Score with a double bank" (top rail → bottom rail → goal), appears faintly on the table and the finger returns to the mallet. No rank changes or calls for a rematch appear.
Move from the ordinary state into a special being.
Make the staged release of ability through transformation, combination, equipment, or awakening into the reward.
Repeated action
Enter a special state
Risk
Forcing a long effect every time becomes an obstacle. Separate the first time, important moments, and a shortened version.
A mountain gorge. The old rope bridge has fallen, and six people are stranded on the far side. On the near plateau stands a small orange rescue rover on tracks. At the top: "Rescue rover R-3", "Drive form", "Rescued 0 / 6", and the reasons it can transform: "Can transform", "Core 3/3", and "Gap 5.0m (reach 6.0m)". A dotted outline previews the bridge over the gap with a "5.0m" dimension, and next to the transform lever at the bottom a note says "The first transformation is shown in full". A finger touches the lever knob and pushes it up; on the frame the knob reaches each stop, that stage begins. "Brace": legs come out and grip the ground, lifting the body. "Reach": a three-section beam extends across the gap, and its claw grips the far edge. "Cross": deck panels unfold from the near end, rails stand up, and a ramp lowers to the far side. On the frame the deck is complete, the outline of the machine-turned-bridge lights up and holds for 0.1 second, and the name at the top changes from "Drive form" to "Bridge form". The six people climb the ramp, cross the bridge, and gather on the rover's back; the "Rescued" count rises by one as each person makes it across, reaching 6 / 6 with "Done". Finally the view pulls back to show another gap beyond the plateau (5.1m, five people waiting, "Next gap: 5 people"), an option appears next to the lever, "Next time: Show all / Shorten 0.5s", and the finger is poised over "Shorten 0.5s".
Vulnerability, reactions, and relationships make you want to meet again.
Grow an emotional relationship through a character's expressions, small crises, care, friendship, and unexpected sides.
Repeated action
Return to see the character or relationship
Risk
Do not force the relationship with excessive guilt or neglect penalties.
A snowy day at the foot of a big tree. A small resident called "Pokka" (a round body with a light inside) has come home with a basket of berries, but its door is covered in ice and icicles and will not open when it tugs the handle. It shivers and puffs white breath; at the top are "Pokka", "Freezing", and "Trouble: the door is frozen shut". A finger comes in from the right, touches Pokka's head, and strokes it left and right three times. Each finished stroke warms its body and the light in its chest by one step (one of three small flames at the top lights up), frost falls from its head, and the shivering gets smaller. On the third stroke the shivering stops, it becomes "Toasty", and Pokka closes its eyes and nuzzles the finger, holding for 0.1 second. The warmth of its light spreads as a ring: wherever it reaches, snow melts into grass, the icicles and the ice on the door melt, the door swings open, room light falls on the grass, and the window lights up ("Solved: the door opened"). A bud pushes up from the thawed ground. Pokka hops for joy, and the nuzzling moment becomes a photo that goes to the front of "Our record" at the bottom as the fifth photo, "Snow day" (the others are "Starry night", "Acorn", "Rain shelter", and "The day we met"). Finally Pokka points at the bud and says "When it blooms, let's see it together", and the finger comes in from the right to hover by the bud. There are no words blaming absence and no heart counts.
Show part of the answer and leave a larger question.
Keep mysteries, character relationships, world secrets, and the results of choices unresolved, making the user want the continuation.
Repeated action
Confirm the answer to the question
Risk
Only adding questions without paying them off loses trust.
A study at night. The grandfather clock has stopped at 3:59; neither the pendulum nor the gears move. A key with a crescent-moon head is pushed into the gear window, its tip caught where the gears mesh. At the top: "Episode 2: The stopped clock", "Clues 3", and the question "Why did it stop at 3:59?". A finger grips the key head and pulls; the key comes out exactly as far as the finger moves, and on the frame its tip clears the gear teeth, the gears turn, the pendulum starts to swing, and the second hand moves. The question is stamped "Solved" with the answer "A key was blocking the gears", and the key goes into the fourth slot of the clue tray, "Crescent key", taking the clues from 3 to 4. When the minute hand reaches 12 and it is 4:00, the striking hammer rings the bell; its pull runs along a rod on the wall and releases the bookcase latch, and the bookcase slides aside. Behind it is a hidden door with light seeping around it; the crescent on its keyhole and the crescent on the clue key light up simultaneously. A moment later, a new question appears: "Who hid the door that opens at four?". Finally a dotted line runs from the clue key to the keyhole of the hidden door, and the finger is poised over that key. No text trails off into an ellipsis to drag the story out.
You do not want the record you have kept to break.
Daily routines, consecutive days, limited periods, and recovery waits make time itself the reason to return.
Repeated action
Return to keep the record
Risk
Loss aversion easily becomes stronger than enjoyment. Provide rest, grace, and record recovery.
On an evening desk, a screen for drawing the flipbook "The bird takes off" one page a day in a ring-bound notebook. Below are "Days drawn 13" and a three-week calendar: each of the 13 drawn days shows that day's bird in miniature, Sunday of the first week is a "Rest" day marked with a moon, and only today's cell is an empty dotted outline. Today's page holds a pencil draft of the bird, a faint overlay of the previous page, and a dotted wing. A finger enters from the right, touches the base of the wing, traces the dotted line up to the wingtip, and brings the leading edge down to the shoulder; ink appears only where the finger has passed, and once the stroke is finished the bird is inked and colored. The notebook then flips from page 1, the bird on the 14 pages flutters into flight, and the calendar cell for each page's day lights in turn as its bird appears (on the rest day the flipbook only holds on page 6 for a beat, and the moon cell lights the same way). From the last page the bird lifts off the paper (the page keeps only a white, bird-shaped cutout and the pencil lines), holds for 0.1 second, circles over the right side of the notebook, comes down into the calendar to the right of "Days drawn", and perches in today's cell. In that frame "Days drawn" goes from 13 to 14, and the card below, "Today's page: Take off", changes to "Done". Finally the notebook turns to the next blank page with a faint overlay of today's bird, a draft of the bird heading for the berries, and "Tomorrow". The next calendar cell reads "Tomorrow", and the card flips over to "Next page: Fly to the berries". "Make it a rest day (resting keeps your days drawn as they are)" can be chosen from start to finish. No deadlines, countdowns, notifications, or messages about losing the record appear.
No stimulus engines match the conditions.
§3
Expression theme atlas 14
The worldview layered over a stimulus engine. It is a visual layer, not the mechanism of the stimulus itself.
Combined machinery
Machinery
Primary colors, Mechanical parts, Gauges, Launch, Huge decisive text
Choose one stimulus engine and one expression theme, and a design prompt for AI is assembled here. You can also use "Start from an example" under the matrix.
Decide on the one action you want repeated
Choose one stimulus engine that fits that action
Choose up to two auxiliary engines
Layer on an expression theme that fits the audience and content
Implement one each of forecast, input, immediate feedback, amplification, and next promise
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The selection or conditions have changed. Your edited text is kept as is.
Add conditions
§4
Ethical boundaries
"Dopagaki UI" is a technique for designing strong reactions, and it does not need to aim at dependency. Cross the following conditions and constraint, not enjoyment, becomes the center.
Conditions that must not be crossed
Tie payment closely to an uncertain reward
Make it look like leaving loses property or relationships
Hide the odds, deadlines, and cumulative cost
Make stopping, disabling notifications, or pausing difficult
Presume the judgment of children or vulnerable users
Combinations to always flag
Anticipatory reveal × paid purchase
Continuity maintenance × expiry as punishment
Attachment protection × guilt over absence
Collection completion × hidden rarity
Competitive resolution × opaque matching or ranking
Design for children × paid variable rewards (all cases)
Use strong stimuli toward celebrating achievement, conveying progress, and making creating feel good. Do not center continued use on fear of loss or misperception.