GMU Guesser

Inspiration

After discussing for over 3 hours what project to do, an idea struck that instantly garnered unanimous approval: GeoGuessr but just for campus. If you're unfamiliar, the idea is a game where:

you're shown a 360° image (a.k.a. a Photo Sphere, you can pan around)
you have to guess the precise location on campus with a map Many steps went into putting this together, but we were excited to tackle and conquer every problem that came our way.

What it does

Our project is a game that intends to teach new students their way around campus through a fun and difficult challenge. Alternatively, students who are well into their GMU career can test and flex their skills on the map! Alternatively alternatively, seniors on their way out have the chance to fully come to terms with just how little they actually know about the scenery on campus.

How we built it

We started simply by assigning each member some tasks. Notes on the project plan, assignments, and assets were shared in a Discord group chat, and the project uses git for version control, hosted on GitHub.

Challenges we ran into

The toughest hurdle that we're arguably still jumping over is React. Unfamiliarity with the framework alongside falling face first into error after error was grueling. Taking a step back however, trial and error is the lifeblood of computer science. It might feel frustrating in the moment, but after the fact, we can look back and see just how much we've grown. The second biggest challenge was finding a good phone app to take 360° photos. There are several out there, but most are paid (or astoundingly awful), especially on iOS. We eventually found a good one, aptly named 360 Photo Cam.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The main thing we're proud is the UI and the clean look of the game.

What we learned

We learned optimal strategies for debugging and troubleshooting React. We also went a little deep into Photo Sphere communities and learned great alternatives to a 200 dollar 360° camera.