LOONER: The Phygital Scavenger Hunt
LOONER: A augmented reality scavenger hunt game that turns cities into interactive playgrounds, merging real-world exploration with digital ownership
Demo
About
Why are you participating for Based SEA? Our team is deeply connected to Southeast Asia, with all of us living and working in Indonesia. We are participating in Based SEA because we want to contribute to the local Web3 and gaming ecosystem, leveraging the immense creativity and vibrant culture of the region. Our motivation is to help bring a phygital revolution to the local gaming community, making advanced blockchain and AR technologies accessible and enjoyable for people across Southeast Asia. Additional Features Before the Buildathon, LOONER already had basic features like 2D geolocation map and NFT item collection. During the Buildathon, we added several new elements, including a global leaderboard system for player rankings, optimization of the AR minting system, a 3D immersive map with avatars and items, and the ability to mint NFTs directly on the map. We also created a generative spawn system that generates 20 coins around players when they connect to the map. Additionally, we integrated the Basename system.
How it's made
What challenges are you focusing on? We’re addressing the challenge of the limited opportunities for real-world interactions in digital gaming and the complexity of blockchain adoption. Many current games keep players disconnected from the physical world, resulting in reduced social engagement. While Southeast Asia is experiencing rapid growth in its blockchain community, many people still face challenges in understanding and using blockchain technology effectively, limiting the technology’s overall potential impact in the region. How does your submission address this challenge? LOONER transforms cities into playgrounds, encouraging people to explore real-world locations, interact socially, and earn valuable digital assets. By integrating augmented reality with blockchain, we are creating a unique phygital experience that reconnects users with their surroundings. Our platform will also simplify blockchain onboarding by using seamless wallet integration, helping make Web3 technology more accessible to new users in the region. Challenges we ran into One of the significant challenges we faced was creating a seamless user experience while incorporating complex blockchain technology. Most users are unfamiliar with crypto wallets, so simplifying onboarding through wallet abstraction and integrating third-party tools like Base SmartWallet and ThirdWeb required time and iteration. Additionally, we introduced three types of mintable systems: QR code minting, AR-based minting, and collectible items on our 3D immersive map, which presented unique integration challenges. Another technical hurdle was optimizing the geolocation-based AR map—balancing real-time updates with performance on mobile devices was challenging, but we overcame it by improving our backend architecture and using efficient data streaming methods.