

Show HN: GeoGuesser for iOS - Street View location guessing game - smnl
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geoguesser/id660070298?ls=1&mt=8

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nsrivast
Simon, did you adopt the idea from
[http://geoguessr.com/](http://geoguessr.com/) ? I came across that game a few
months ago and couldn't reach the developer, but I'll share with you my
comments at the time:

Love geoguessr! Thank you for making it, I am officially addicted.

I think there are lots of interesting things one could do with the gameplay
and data. I would classify it as a Game with a Purpose[1], and I wonder if you
have considered using the data you gather to answer some interesting
questions:

1) Can we re-map the world according to the similarity measure measured by
your game rather than the geographic measure? If so, what does the map look
like?

2) How much additional information do you get by exploring? (What is the
relationship between distance explored and subgame score?) Is there a way to
add this as a feature of the game, i.e. require players to "invest" points to
explore a larger area?

3) What are the salient features of a landscape that place it geographically?
Language on stores/signs, architecture, landscape geography, prominent
flora/fauna, type of cars/roads. Can we identify and classify these features?

Having built a few games with a purpose before (e.g. Wikiwarp [2]), I would
love to help if I can. I would be happy to contribute to development to get
access to your very interesting data!

Thanks, and best of luck!

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_with_a_purpose](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_with_a_purpose)
[2]
[https://github.com/nsrivast/wikiwarp](https://github.com/nsrivast/wikiwarp)

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smnl
Yup, it was adapted from geoguessr.com, and I'm trying to extend the concept
by adding different game modes and in-game hints

In reply to your questions: 1\. What do you mean by similarity measure?
Currently, the scoring is just done on a tiered basis on geographic distance,
though that scale might be worth adjusting

2\. Currently, it uses a webview to show the street view, and moving around is
disabled because that tended to crash the app. However, now that Google just
added street view to its iOS maps api, I'm planning to integrate that

3\. Yes, all of those things you listed can help determine where a landscape
is. I haven't thought about formally classifying those features, though it
could be something worth exploring

Thanks for the feedback! Will reach out to you if I figure out a way you can
help with this!

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woobar
Love the original web GeoGuessr. Biggest complain about this version - I am
stuck in one point and cannot get closer to signs or any landmarks. I might
recognize Lombard Street without any additional info, but a random wall in the
middle of Mexico has no chance.

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smnl
Yea, the current version uses a webview to show the street view, and
moving/shifting the street view tended to make the app crash, so that's why
it's disabled.

However, now that Google's added street view to their official iOS maps API,
I'm planning to integrate that and it may allow features such as moving and
zooming.

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wooster
Flagging. Lifting someone else's idea and also their name for that idea seems
sketchy.

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valhallarecords
Pretty well done game. Challenge mode is an interesting new gameplay mode
where you try to guess the location in the least amount of tries. I wonder
what the breakdown is between people who play Classic vs. Challenge mode.

~~~
smnl
Thanks! It currently doesn't track user analytics, but that could be something
worth looking into

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pseudometa
Total ripoff of the website game GeoGuessr. Hopefully royalties are being
sent.

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untog
Most of the fun of the original GeoGuessr (for me at least) was doing
detective work to find out where I was. A little more difficult to do on an
iPhone.

