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Wild idea: Create an actual game based on Nearby #3356

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@misaochan

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@misaochan

I've been toying with the idea of creating an actual mobile app game based on Nearby. We could essentially reuse most of our current backend code for authentication and getting the Nearby pins, the difference would lie in how they are displayed and used. Note: This is quite a spur-of-the-moment thought, it might not actually be a good idea. ;)

Differences with Nearby:

  • UI: Music, full screen (no nav drawer or action bar), fun colors, animations. Instead of pins, we can use any other sort of thematic model to represent the points. Instead of being a circle on the map, the user could be any avatar they choose. Mapbox 3D could be used for a more "3D feel"?
  • Photo upload is streamlined and simplified, they literally just take and submit the photo (basically only "camera" option available, no "gallery" option) and we will automatically use the title, desc, and category of the Wikidata item. They also have to physically be at the location to take the photos, "search this area" would not exist.
  • Gameplay: Could be xp-based, where submitting a nearby photo gives xp, and a "streak" (e.g. 4 photos in 1 day) gives extra xp. XP gives levels. Once they reach e.g. lvl 10, they could participate in Review, where they get extra xp (much smaller) for reviewing existing pictures.
  • Extra stuff: The associated Wikipedia article could be displayed in something like "scrolls" associated with the point (we don't have to display everything, just the first X lines of text, and link to the actual article).
  • Quests: Maybe weekly quests for things like "photograph 5 monuments" or "read 10 scrolls". More XP or special rewards for completing these.
  • Rewards: Levels give barnstars, and also special profile frames or profile pictures that can be used in their profile in our leaderboard. Leaderboard could display user levels. Completing quests could unlock avatars, etc.

Potential downsides:

  • Probably have to put this on the app store as a separate app (at least at first), so that assets don't bloat the original app without a good reason. If instead we decide to incorporate this into the actual Nearby, we'd need to use a lot of caution
  • Doing it in native Android code would likely be harder, especially for animations and gameplay procedures. Programs like Unity is free for below a certain profit margin (essentially, always free for us), but we need to check if it's license compatible.
  • Selfie-pocalypse... could perhaps be avoided by imposing severe penalties for deletion %, similar to our existing level system
  • Not so good for "proper" users, they would need to use the actual Commons app for a lot of things (like actually editing the desc instead of using Wikidata's).

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