Verba was born from a deep question:
“What if debating wasn’t just a skill to learn — but an experience to live?”
What Inspired Us Public speaking and critical thinking are timeless, but the methods to teach them haven’t evolved much in decades. As student debaters, we saw the need for an immersive platform where aspiring orators could train, compete, and grow — beyond classroom boundaries. Inspired by gamified learning, interactive roleplay, and AI's potential to personalize education, we built Verba to democratize debate.
🛠️ How We Built It We started by mapping the debate lifecycle — from motion discovery and prep, to live rounds and post-debate analysis. Using Lovable AI and Cursor, we crafted a cinematic, emotionally responsive frontend.
Core Features: 🎮 Real-Time Debate Arena with Speaker Timer, Role Selection & AI Moderator
🧠 Motion Vault — 1000+ filterable debate topics with difficulty levels & categories 🧰 Prep Templates for IR, Ethics, Policy, Tech motions 💬 Speech Notes Overlay — Sticky, draggable flashcards for real-time speaking aid 🏅 User Ranks & Badges based on wins, consistency, and participation 📊 AI Judging & Feedback (in beta) using NLP-powered scoring
We also integrated Google Auth, a smart leaderboard, and built multi-format support (Asian Parliamentary, BP, MUN-style, and One-on-One debates).
🧩 Challenges We Faced Creating a live role-based experience with dynamic UI changes for each participant.
Ensuring debates feel emotionally responsive and intuitive, even for first timers. Balancing responsiveness across devices with aesthetic complexity (Framer Motion + Tailwind + GSAP). Implementing secure Google OAuth and routing it to user-based components. Designing an experience where debating feels like gaming — but smarter.
📚 What We Learned How to merge debate pedagogy with real-time interactivity Deepened our understanding of UX for educational gamification Used AI tools not just to build, but to think creatively and push boundaries Mastered Lovable AI, Cursor, and advanced frontend stack integrations
🔧 Built With
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