Trivia Tour

Location based scavenger hunts!

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What's the main idea? Trivia Tour is a location based scavenger hunting app. Some people have compared to a modernized (yet greatly improved) version of geocaching. Users will be able to browse the built in "package store" and download their own adventures. Each package will have a set of locations that the user must reach. How the package takes you there, however, is up to its creator. The package could take you and your friends on a sightseeing tour, it could take you and your class on a educational trip, or it could take you and your date on a romantic hide and seek journey through a big city. The package will tell you where to start and then it will guide you from checkpoint to checkpoint. For example, maybe you want to learn about the history of Worcester. Simply download an educational package centered around Worcester and the app will take you on a tour, telling you where to go, then pausing at each predefined landmark to explain what you are looking at. Another example of possible use is during NSO at WPI. WPI would create a free package that would guide you throughout the entire campus, stopping you in front of certain buildings to explain what they are and what their significance is. Lastly, and perhaps my favorite example, Trivia Tour can make for a perfect first date. A package creator can lead a couple on a romantic scavenger hunt date. At each stop they receive a clue so that they must work together and use to find the next stop.

More technical parts / about the app: So the obvious question now is: where are all these "packages" coming from? Well, the packages can be created by anyone! Anyone can become a developer and design their own unique packages with as many stops, clues, and hints as they like! This feature is actually mostly functioning and can be at tested (very beta, don't judge!) at http://users.wpi.edu/~jtfakult/public/TriviaTour/create_package/. All created packages will be downloaded formatted as a json. The user then only has to upload the file to the server where it will be encrypted, modified and polished until it's sparkly clean and ready to enter the package store. The app itself is already able to connect to the server and download packages. However, the search functionality of the store is not yet completed, so browsing isn't possible. There is still a lot of work to be done, but the more I work, the more gems I find hidden within the idea.

Why did I make it? Two reasons. First, I want people to have another fun game that they can play. But unlike many, this game is interactive. It causes them to think, learn, laugh, and even go outside and exercise. Second, I want people to share their cool ideas, pictures, riddles, and maybe their secret romantic side. I want the developers to have just as much fun with the app as the users. I want developers to also be users, and users to also be developers. It can be a truly social, friendly, and fun community.

Any future plans? Too many. One feature I definitely want to add is having picture based clues rather than text based clues. This would allow developers to be more creative, as well as produce simplistic yet entertaining content for users. I also have been toying with the idea of a point system. Pretty simple really: the more puzzles you solve, the more points you get. Maybe some days I could even design my own special event package that people can download and score even more points with. I also want to make the developer interface extremely simple: encourage developers with the ease of work. Also, maybe a better name for the app wouldn't be a bad idea... but I'm not sure yet. It would definitely be awesome if WPI ran with my NSO idea: I personally would have found it very cool to have a resource like that while I was learning the ropes. Then I also had the thought that teachers could use it to take attendance. Not sure how feasible that is though. The list goes on. The app has so many uses I can't explain it in a short bit of writing like this. I'm really excited to see where it could go.

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