SideQuest OC 🏆

First Place Overall & Community Track Winner @ Laserhacks 2026

SideQuest OC is a location-based mobile app that transforms your city into a game world. By combining real-time geolocation with Gemini 2.5 Flash, the app generates context-aware missions based on your surroundings and character persona.

🌟 Key Features

• Gemini 2.5 Flash Game Master: Powers a high-speed engine that generates epic, narrative-driven missions in under 10 seconds.
• Persona-Driven Gameplay: Quests are tailored to four distinct classes—Adventurer, Chill Explorer, Social Seeker, and Solo Thinker—each with unique quest vibes and mission types.
• AI Vision Verification: Uses Gemini Vision to act as an automated referee, analyzing uploaded photos to verify quest completion while maintaining a "generous" acceptance policy for selfies and landmarks.
• Intelligent POI Discovery: A custom utility that translates vague user "intents" (like "a scenic viewpoint") into concrete Google Places data.
• Live Community Feed: A real-time record of completed quests, including proof photos, XP rewards, and global leaderboards.

🛠️ Technical Stack

Backend

• Core: FastAPI (Python).
• AI Integration: LangChain Google GenAI (utilizing Gemini 2.5 Flash).
• Database: SQLAlchemy with SQLite for managing users, levels, and quest history.
• External APIs: Google Maps Services (Places API) for location intelligence.

Frontend

• Framework: React + Vite.
• Styling: Tailwind CSS with a "Cartoon-Style" custom UI.
• Location: Browser Geolocation API for real-time tracking and "Radar" sweeping.

🏗️ How It Works

The system operates through a specialized "Engine" that manages two primary AI pipelines:

1. Quest Generation: The engine uses a SideQuest Pydantic schema to force Gemini into returning structured JSON. It injects your current location data and character persona into a system prompt to ensure the mission feels local and "in-character".
2. Multimodal Verification: When you upload a photo, the app sends the image and the quest context to Gemini. It uses a specific "ACCEPT/REJECT" logic to determine if the photo reasonably represents the completion of the task.

🚀 Setup & Installation

1. Environment: Create a .env file in the root with:

   • VITE_GEMINI_API_KEY
   • VITE_GOOGLE_MAPS_API_KEY

2. Backend:

   pip install -r requirements.txt
   python main.py
   

3. Frontend:

   cd my-react-app
   npm install
   npm run dev
   

🏆 Hackathon Credits

Built for Laserhacks 2026 and winning 1st place overall along with the community track out of 80+ participants. SideQuest OC was recognized for its technical polish, creative use of the new Gemini 2.5 Flash model, and its ability to turn mundane locations into community-driven adventures.

Built With

• css
• html
• javascript
• python
• sqlalchemy