LoveSim (Snapchat Lens)

Inspiration

We were inspired by the growing intersection between AI, storytelling, and social platforms. Dating simulators and visual novels have traditionally relied on fixed scripts, but recent advances in generative AI made us wonder what would happen if every player could experience a completely personalized romance story.

At the same time, Snapchat is already a place where people express identity, emotion, and social connection through the camera. We wanted to combine these ideas and explore whether AR could become more than a visual effect, transforming into a medium for interactive storytelling. This led to LoveSim, an AI-powered romantic simulation experienced directly through a Snap Lens.

What it does

LoveSim is an interactive choose-your-own-adventure game where the player becomes a student navigating a crush and potential relationship in a situation of their choosing.

At the start, players describe the scene they want to play out or their ideal partner. Using AI, the game generates a personalized storyline that evolves based on player decisions. Throughout the experience, users select dialogue and actions that influence how the relationship develops. We track user's motions for greater interactivity, such as allowing them to move their head left/right to select a "path" to play out.

The Snap Lens dynamically updates visuals to match the story’s mood and setting, changing scenery, filters, and atmosphere as the narrative progresses. Each choice affects future interactions, ultimately leading to an ending where the character decides whether or not to go on a date with the player.

Every playthrough is unique, shaped by both imagination and decision-making.

How we built it

We built LoveSim using Snap Lens Studio as the core platform, combining AR interaction with AI-driven narrative generation.

Key components included: • Snap Lens Studio for AR visuals, scene transitions, and interaction design • AI text generation to create dynamic dialogue and story progression using Gemini / OpenAI • Game state tracking to maintain character personality and relationship development • A branching decision system that feeds player choices back into the narrative engine • Visual effects and filters that adapt to emotional tone and story context

We focused on creating a seamless experience that feels native to Snapchat while functioning as a fully interactive game.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was platform limitations around external API usage. Our initial plan was very ambitious and involved connecting to multiple external AI services, including a hosted rendering server and additional models for richer storytelling and image generation.

After consulting the Snapchat experts in Discord/in-person-workshop and reviewing documentation, we learned that Snap Lenses cannot directly call external APIs within the native app due to security and privacy restrictions. This forced us to redesign our architecture during the hackathon.

We also faced challenges with: • Maintaining consistent character personalities using AI • Preventing repetitive dialogue • Balancing player freedom with coherent storytelling • Synchronizing story progression with AR visual updates

Adapting quickly to these constraints required significant iteration and creative problem solving.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Building a fully playable AI-powered narrative experience inside Snapchat
• Turning a Snap Lens into an interactive game rather than a traditional filter
• Creating personalized storylines that differ for every player
• Successfully adapting our technical approach after major platform constraints
• Delivering an emotionally engaging experience within a short hackathon timeframe

We’re especially proud that players feel immersed and invested despite the story being generated in real time.

What we learned

This was our first time building with Snapchat Lens Studio, even though we have long been active users of Snapchat and its lenses. Experiencing the platform from a creator’s perspective gave us a completely new understanding of how AR experiences are designed, optimized, and delivered inside a social app.

We learned how to think differently about interaction design, building experiences that are camera-first, lightweight, and intuitive within Snapchat’s ecosystem. Working within platform constraints pushed us to be more creative and intentional with both technical implementation and user experience.

Moving forward, we plan to continue developing on Snapchat and exploring new ways to combine AR with AI-driven storytelling. LoveSim is just the beginning, and we’re excited to build more interactive lenses that turn everyday social platforms into immersive experiences.

What's next for Untitled

• Multiplayer or shared storytelling experiences
• Additional storylines outside of high school love
• Continue working on figuring out generating an adaptive background/animation/video based on the scene