Husky Seeker

Among Us, but in real life—like never before! Dive into thrilling games, complete wild scavenger hunt-style tasks, and unmask the imposter to claim victory.

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Inspiration

We created Husky Seeker to transform the way University of Washington students explore their campus. Our inspiration came from the popular game Among Us, which we wanted to adapt into a real-world campus experience. We saw an opportunity to combine the excitement of social deduction gameplay with the educational value of learning about UW's rich history and landmarks, creating a unique blend of gaming and campus exploration.

What it does

Husky Seeker is a mobile game that turns the University of Washington campus into an interactive gaming environment, similar to Among Us but in the real world. Players are randomly assigned roles as either Crewmates or Imposters, mirroring the core mechanics of Among Us. Crewmates must navigate the campus, visiting specific landmarks and completing tasks while learning about UW's history, much like completing tasks in Among Us. Imposters, on the other hand, must blend in with the Crewmates while attempting to eliminate them, creating the same tension and strategy found in Among Us. The game uses actual UW locations and landmarks as task points, creating an authentic campus experience. Players must work together to identify imposters while completing their objectives before time runs out, maintaining the social deduction elements that make Among Us so engaging.

How we built it

We developed Husky Seeker using React Native with Expo for cross-platform mobile development. The backend infrastructure was built using Supabase to handle real-time multiplayer functionality. We integrated device GPS capabilities to enable accurate campus navigation. Our team designed custom user interfaces for both Crewmate and Imposter roles, ensuring an intuitive and engaging user experience that captures the essence of Among Us while adapting it to a real-world campus setting.

Challenges we ran into

During development, we encountered several significant challenges. The most prominent was connecting our Supabase backend with the React Native frontend, particularly in implementing real-time updates and game state management. We also faced difficulties with location services, as implementing accurate campus-based location tracking proved more complex than anticipated. Synchronizing game state across multiple devices in real-time presented another major hurdle. Due to time constraints, we were unable to fully implement all the planned features we had envisioned, including some of the core Among Us-style mechanics we wanted to adapt to the real world.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Despite the challenges, we achieved several significant milestones. We successfully created a fully functional game concept with clearly defined roles and objectives, staying true to the Among Us formula while adapting it to a campus setting. Our team designed an intuitive user interface that works seamlessly for both Crewmates and Imposters. We implemented the core game mechanics and navigation system, and developed a scalable architecture that can support future expansion and additional features.

What we learned

Throughout the development process, we gained valuable insights about mobile game development. We learned the importance of thorough planning before implementation and the complexities of working with real-time databases and location services. The project taught us about the challenges of synchronizing game state across multiple devices and the critical role of clear communication in team development. We also discovered the unique challenges of adapting a digital game like Among Us into a real-world experience.

What's next for Husky Seeker

With additional development time, we have several exciting improvements planned. We aim to complete the backend-frontend integration to enable full real-time multiplayer functionality. Our roadmap includes implementing the task completion system, emergency meetings, voting mechanism, and real-time player tracking - all core features inspired by Among Us. We also plan to add more UW-specific content and landmarks, create a comprehensive scoring system with achievements, and develop support for multiple game modes. Additionally, we intend to release a fully working admin dashboard for game management to enhance the overall user experience.

Teammates: Hiya: Design, Frontend and Backend Sophie: Design, Frontend and Backend Arya: Frontend and Backend Alex: Design

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