WhereAmI?

whereami
lets guess

## Inspiration

The inspiration really just comes from the fact that I love 3D, I love maps, and I love the utilization of photorealistic apps.

## What it does

You're dropped into a photorealistic 3D view of a real-world location and must figure out where you are. Explore the scene, use hints when you need them, and drop a pin on the map or type your guess. Play five rounds and compete against a computer-controlled AI opponent, with scores based on how close your guesses are to the real locations. Hints can be your teacher — or your downfall. Every round tests your observation, instincts, and knowledge of the world.

## How we built it

I built Where Am I? end-to-end with an AI coding agent, using AI as a development partner to turn an idea into a working game. The game uses React and Vite for the frontend, Google Photorealistic 3D Tiles for immersive real-world environments, and Leaflet for map interactions. The AI opponent uses scripted guesses with randomized error, creating a competitive challenge while keeping the focus on human observation and decision-making.

## Challenges we ran into

The challenges came from:

Making sure you have the utilization of Google Cloud and you're using the correct version, because the regular version does not work appropriately — you use the alpha version.
Making sure that it takes over the full screen, because if you have it just on a partial screen, it is an issue.
Making sure you have a mini map to do everything else from a miniature-map standpoint.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The accomplishment I'm proud of is that I was able to build it. I've worked with 3D maps and things like that, so it's very interesting to get involved in what I want to do now.

## What we learned

The biggest challenge was turning an idea into a fun, working game. I learned that building with AI is a race of its own: it can accelerate everything, but you still need to steer, test, and make the calls. AI can help you build faster, but creating something that actually works and feels fun still takes human judgment, iteration, and creativity!

What's next for WhereAmI?

What I want to do next is get it working to the point where I can ship it off as a mobile application, turn it more into a game, and incorporate 3D elements into the map itself once that becomes available through Google's photorealistic libraries.