Stretch

INTRODUCTION

We are a team of Git Empowered women who is tackling a problem of no-shows to free amazing events that organisers put so much efforts to create. This impacts event organisation at all levels, but especially creating barriers to secure funding and host future events.

Framing the Problem

There're a number of reasons why people might not come to the event they registered: conflicting shedule, personal commitments that take precedence over the event, health issues, lack of interest/motivation, logistical challenges, social anxiety. Some of those are hard to tackle, but others we can try to eliminate by gamification. The main two that we chose that we believe we are able to solve is boosting interest and reducing anxiety through gamification - let's make the anticipation fun, rather stressful and daunting.

Idea Explanation

Link to the presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1LRaRnUYWfJaw9h_p38GMFd6p0K80rout/edit#slide=id.g33e8799b4e6_1_49

Mockup in Figma: https://www.figma.com/proto/ScPURpAmc7ZC5sjUMZKJd7/Hackathon?node-id=0-1&t=CuaRieZQS5A9YtJH-1

Our idea is to create a virtual character (sprite) of the atendee to assign points, give rankings, and build up event anticipaion.

1. Point-based reward system explained

Purpose: to keep atendees engaged.

• Every time the person shows up to an event, they gain a number of points.

• The point system are used in a number of things:

  • Give ranks that will be displayed on that person's profile and can be visible to other people - gives the incentive to maintain a certain status. Aditionally, being in a specific status group gives you access to aditional perks, like afterparties, or freebies.

  • Reedem the points for additional perks: free coffe in the area of the event, discounts on the travel to/from the event.

  • The points influence your giraffe's neck lenght: if you miss the event without prior cancelling, the points get deducted, the neck gets shorter to the point that the giraffe looks dismorphed.
    

• How the Pointing System Works

  Action	Points Awarded
  Attend Event	+5 pts
  Connect with a Buddy	+2 pts (reduces anxiety, boosts attendance)
  Social Share (promote event)	+2 pts (increases event visibility)
  Early Check-In (>20 min early)	+3 pts (rewards punctuality & networking)

  🎖️ Levels & Giraffe Neck Growth

  Points Range	Level	Giraffe Neck Length
  0–29 pts	Trailblazer	Default (100%)
  30–59 pts	Strider	120% (+20%)
  60–89 pts	Wanderer	140% (+40%)
  90–119 pts	Level 4	160% (+60%)
  120+ pts	Level 5	180%+ (Max growth)

  🚀 Example Scenario:

  • Event 1: Attend (5) + Early (3) + Buddy (2) + Share (2) = 12 pts

  • Event 2: Attend (5) + Buddy (2), total 19 pts (encourages further attendance)

  • Event 3: Attend (5) + Early (3) + Buddy (2) + Share (2), total 31 pts → crosses Level 2, neck grows by 20%!

  🥇 Reward Example (Level 3+):

  • 60 pts (~5–6 events): Free coffee voucher (funded by sponsors/partners)

  Additional Incentives:

  • Discounts on future event tickets

  • Meet & Greet with speakers

  • Priority seating & exclusive event access

1. Giraff's acting like an emotional support animal.

   • At certain times before the event (2-weeks, 1-week, 3 days, 1 day), the giraff's checking in with the atendee to see how they're feeling. The atendees choose the appropriate emoji and then based on answers, giraffe's giving feedback.
     Examples of feedback:
     Anxious: "Even I get wobbly knees sometimes. Want to try some deep breaths together? Inhale… exhale… Ahh, much better!"
     Excited: "Woo-hoo! Your excitement is like a tall tree full of the juiciest leaves—absolutely delightful!"
     Unsure: "It’s okay to have mixed feelings! If you need help deciding, I’m all ears (and a long neck to see ahead)!"

2. Buddy-up system (neck&neck) explained:

Purpose: to help newcomers / people to with anxiety to connect prior to the event.

• The buddying is possible after registering to an event.

• The person chooses to show themselves as "Ready to stick my neck out" (similar to linkedin "Open to work") to make other aware that they're looking to buddy up and also make it easier to look out for "buddies".

• When you are open to "buddy up", you have access to reach out to the other person to come to the event together, which reduces the anxiety to enter the room full of people by themselves.

• Buddies are able to create a "herd" (a group) to be able to arrange a meeting near the venue to get to know each other before the event.

• The system suggest "best buddies" based on the interests (previous events that they attended) to find a best match.

Implementation

How do all the pieces fit together? Does your frontend make requests to your backend? Where does your database fit in?

• Our solution is built around a unified frontend (Next.js/React) and a lightweight simulated backend.

• Frontend (React): Users interact directly - register, see events, buddy-up, and track their giraffe character’s growth based on points.

• Backend (simulated/mock API for MVP): Frontend requests user/event data via API endpoints. OAuth (Eventbrite/Meetup/Luma) integrated for realistic demonstration but mocked for MVP.

• Database (MVP approach): Mock JSON data (static files) simulates event data, user attendance history, points, buddies. Post-MVP, a real database (Firebase/Supabase/Postgres) stores user profiles, event data, buddy matches, points.

Api - integration
1. Add clickable link/button on confirmation page/email (after attendee bought ticket)

2. Button redirect to our app/webpage "Stretch"

3. Attendee see [connect with eventbrite 🔗]" button

4. Clicking this button triggers the OAuth flow. Attendee authorizes our app to access eventbrite data.

5. User explicitly authorizes ("Allow") our app to access their event registration details, RSVP & attendance history (via eventbrite API permissions)

6. Upon successful OAuth authorization, eventbrite gives our app a secure access token.

7. Our app uses this token to fetch event data automatically (attendance, RSVPs, historical reliability) via Eventbrite API calls.

8. Our backend standardizes/aggregates fetched data for use in gamification features: streak calculation, reliability score

9. Finally our frontend part:

user immediately sees gamification features clearly displayed in the app: badges/rewards status (🏅), potential buddies (🐾)

Challenges

What did you struggle with?

• Complex animations (giraffe SVG neck growth): Initially attempted pixel-by-pixel coding, proved time-consuming. Attempt to animate giraffe via JS code: (attention! very criptic, but you get the idea: https://github.com/code-with-angela/stretch)

• OAuth integration complexity: API authentication from multiple event platforms (Eventbrite, Meetup, Luma) was challenging, especially within tight MVP scope.

How did you overcome it?

• Chose to create 2 pictures of giraffe with longer neck, quickly achievable for MVP-prototype, but ideally would use sprite-sheet to make transitions smooth (we're looking to achieve the look of a duolingo owl).

• Used simplified mock OAuth & JSON data instead of full API integrations. Outlined real OAuth as the next step post-MVP.

Accomplishments

What did you learn?

• Learned to quickly prioritise explicitly realistic solutions (visual hacks, mock data) over overly-complex methods for immediate visual feedback.

• Learned efficient project scoping under tight deadlines (clear MVP choices, limitations, well-defined future roadmap).

What did you accomplish?

• Clear pitch-ready concept addressing social anxiety & engagement through gamification.

• Created an idea on realistic integration pathway (OAuth) post-MVP.

Next Steps

What are the next steps for your project?

• Fully functional MVP frontend demonstrating the giraffe-neck gamification visually.

• Real OAuth integration implemented for seamless integration with Eventbrite, Meetup, Luma.

• Real database (Firebase/Supabase) to store user/event data for robust long-term scalability.

• Commission graphic designer for smoother SVG giraffe-neck growth states, improving visual quality & user engagement.

How can you improve it?

• Implement more advanced matching algorithms for buddy recommendations based on detailed interests & past attendance.

• Add tangible real-world reward partnerships with local businesses (cafés, venues) for higher perceived value of points/badges.

• Further optimize frontend UX (mobile-first, animations polished af) for stronger visual engagement and user retention.

Business strategy

Monetisation strategy

Event management systems are the ones who's going to fund this project and share data with us to maintain our sprite.