Wild Goose Chase

Wild Goose Chase is a gamified exploration app that turns your city into an interactive playground. Find real-world locations, unlock hidden eggs, collect unique geese, all while exploring new places!

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Inspiration

We were inspired by a simple observation - people spend hours scrolling through apps to find things to do, yet still end up going to the same few places. Platforms like Google Maps and Yelp are great at showing options, but they don’t actually motivate people to go. At the same time, local businesses struggle to convert online visibility into real customers. We wanted to bridge this gap by creating a platform that doesn’t just recommend places, rather it makes exploring them fun and a worthwhile social experience. This was the genesis of our idea - What if your city felt like a game?

What It Does

Wild Goose Chase transforms cities into interactive playgrounds where users can explore real-world locations, unlock hidden eggs, and collect unique AI-generated geese. You can:

  • Discover new places through a map-based interface
  • Unlock eggs at real-world locations
  • Collect unique geese revealed only upon arrival
  • Leave reviews and earn rewards
  • Add friends and explore socially
  • Help local businesses drive real engagement through sponsored locations!

How We Built It

We built the app using a mobile-first tech stack:

  1. Frontend: React Native with Expo
  2. Animation: Gimp
  3. Navigation: React Navigation
  4. Maps & Location: Google Maps Queries, Yelp Embeds
  5. Backend and Database: Supabase

Data Flow:

  • Location --> fetch nearby eggs
  • User reaches location --> unlock egg
  • Goose is revealed and added to collection

This allowed us to model exploration as a loop: Discover --> Visit --> Unlock egg --> Collect goose --> Share Collection

What We Learned

  1. How to build and structure a React Native + Expo app from scratch
  2. How to integrate location-based services and real-time map interactions
  3. How to work with Supabase for authentication and backend data
  4. Designing gamification loops that drive user behavior
  5. Creating animations to convey joy and user appeal
  6. The importance of user motivation vs. just functionality

Challenges We Faced

  1. Location + Map Integration - Handling real-time user location and syncing it with map markers was tricky, especially ensuring accuracy and performance. We also used egg pins to mark locations worth exploring, and creating a cohesive UI originally was a challenge.

  2. Backend Setup (Supabase) - We initially ran into issues when connecting Supabase in React Native. We also faced issues with using Expo, since the app wouldn't render unless our computers and phones were connected to the same network.

  3. Designing an Appealing Design and Gamification Loop - It was challenging to balance exploration, rewards, and social interaction. We had to make sure the app felt fun, not just functional. Creating the goose pond animation also proved a significant challenge, since Expo wouldn't work with transaparent .svg files, and we had to keyframe the location of one singular image that we created to match the background color of the pond in the Profile page.

  4. Time Constraints - Like any hackathon project, we had to prioritize core features, which were to give functionality to the map and unlockable eggs, and the basic goose collection system.

In conclusion, Wild Goose Chase encourages people to explore their surroundings, support local businesses, and turn passive screen time into real-world experiences. We’re not just building an app - we’re turning your city into a game.

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