EmotioScape

Map your urban emotions with a tactile retro console UI. Sketch over streets with hand-drawn tools, set custom metric markers, and print printable A4 Zines.

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Inspiration

Modern GPS navigation apps are marvels of efficiency—they optimize strictly for the shortest time and lowest traffic. But in solving for pure speed, they strip away the human texture of urban travel. They ignore the feeling of a sudden sunset chill, the nostalgic aura of a quiet alley, or the distinct "vibe" of a neighborhood.

We wanted to build a navigation app that wasn't about getting to a destination as fast as possible, but about celebrating the subjective, emotional journey along the way. Inspired by the tactile charm of 90s retro video game consoles, CDs, and memory cards, EmotioScape was born to turn impersonal city walks into collectible, printable works of art.

What it does

EmotioScape transforms mundane city walks into an interactive, sentimental playground:

  • Tactile Retro Console UI: Users insert virtual "Emotion CDs" (like Twilight Chill, Late Night Cyber, or People Presence) into a game console interface to instantly set the subjective mood of their exploration.
  • Real-Time Emotion Plotting: Pressing "PLOT" on the physical-style controller opens custom metric sliders (e.g., nostalgia, emotional intensity). Dynamic flower, crystal, or photo markers bloom live on the map as you record your feelings.
  • Hand-Drawn Map Decoration: A fold-out stationery drawer provides colored pencils, highlighters, and stamps to sketch over streets, circle hidden gems, and leave handwritten notes over physical paths.
  • Memory Card Collections: Pressing "STOP" automatically compiles physical paths, hand-drawn art, and emotion metrics into a Memory Card. Past cards can be re-selected anytime to append new logs, edit details, or relive memories.
  • Zine Studio (A4 PDF Export): Converts walk records into high-resolution 2-page printable A4 Zine booklets featuring full-page map covers and detailed emotional analytics infographics.
  • Monetization via RevenueCat: Through the EmotioScape Pass (PRO) (\$1.99/mo or \$19.99/yr), users unlock unlimited Memory Card save slots, unrestricted A4 Zine PDF exports, and full freedom to design custom CD-R emotion templates.

How we built it

EmotioScape was crafted with a modern, offline-first mobile architecture:

  • Frontend & UI: Built with Flutter and Riverpod for a reactive, smooth 60fps user experience featuring complex custom-painted UI components.
  • Data & Persistence: Powered by Drift (SQLite) for local reactive database storage and offline map annotation tracking, backed up with Supabase.
  • Monetization Engine: Integrated RevenueCat SDK to seamlessly manage subscription entitlements (EmotioScape Pass) and paywall presentation.
  • Zine PDF Engine: Developed a custom vector canvas exporter capable of rendering pixel-perfect 300 DPI A4 PDF booklets (pixelRatio 4.0) with embedded map overlays and metric charts.
  • Built-in GPS Simulator: Included a custom MockLocationNotifier allowing judges and users to simulate a live walking session anywhere in the world without stepping outdoors.

Challenges we ran into

  1. Real-Time Freehand Drawing on Moving Maps: Synchronizing freehand vector lines drawn on a screen canvas overlay with geographic latitude/longitude coordinates while maintaining smooth 60fps map panning and zooming was a major technical hurdle. We solved this by developing a dynamic coordinate translation pipeline.
  2. High-Res PDF Exporting: Rendering complex vector maps, hand-drawn sketches, and dynamic analytics into a print-ready A4 PDF without memory leaks required meticulous offscreen buffer management.
  3. Balancing Nostalgia and Usability: Designing a playful 90s retro console interface (tactile buttons, sliding drawers, spinning CDs) while adhering to intuitive modern mobile UX standards required dozens of design iterations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Successfully launching and publishing a fully functional, polished app on the Apple App Store during the Shipaton timeline!
  • Translating abstract "urban emotions" into a tangible, beautiful physical medium (printable A4 Zine booklets).
  • Achieving a seamless, frictionless subscription flow powered by RevenueCat.

What we learned

  • How to execute a Minimum Lovable Product (MLP) by prioritizing "user delight" (tactile UI and map sketching) over sheer feature quantity.
  • Advanced offscreen canvas rendering and PDF generation pipelines in Flutter.
  • Structuring a sustainable freemium model around user-generated content and collection mechanics.

What's next for EmotioScape

  • Community CD Marketplace: Allow users and creators to publish and share their custom CD-R emotion templates with other walkers globally.
  • AR Memory Drops: Leave spatial emotional notes and memory cards attached to physical real-world locations for friends to discover in Augmented Reality.
  • Google Play Release: Expanding to Android to bring emotional city mapping to explorers worldwide.

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