SquiReal: A Web Platform for Gamified Eco-Friendly Challenges 🌱

🌍 Project Overview

SquiReal is an interactive web application designed to encourage eco-friendly behaviors through gamification and community engagement. Built using PHP and the CodeIgniter framework, the platform allows users to participate in environmental challenges, track their progress, and interact with others striving to adopt sustainable habits.

The core idea behind SquiReal is making sustainability engaging and accessible by integrating elements like achievements, social sharing, and progress tracking. Whether it’s reducing waste, adopting greener habits, or supporting local sustainability initiatives, SquiReal provides an interactive way to take action.

📌 TODO: Screenshot of the SquiReal homepage showing available challenges and user engagement stats.

🚀 Key Features

1. User Dashboard 🏆 - Track progress, view completed challenges, and see personal achievements.
2. Eco Challenges 🌿 - Participate in sustainability-focused tasks such as waste reduction, energy conservation, and community events.
3. Leaderboard & Achievements 📈 - Compete with others, earn points, and unlock badges for completing eco-friendly actions.
4. Community Feed 💬 - Share your progress, inspire others, and exchange tips on sustainable living.
5. Local Initiatives 📍 - Discover and participate in nearby environmental initiatives using geolocation features.

📌 TODO: The user profile page displaying challenge stats, achievements, and recent activity.

🛠️ Tech Stack

SquiReal is a web-based application built using:

1. Backend: PHP with CodeIgniter 4, a lightweight MVC framework for efficient routing and database handling.
2. Frontend: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with AJAX for a responsive user experience.
3. Database: MySQL to store user profiles, challenges, achievements, and progress.
4. Authentication: Secure login system using PHP sessions and user roles for different access levels.
5. APIs & Geolocation: Integrated for fetching and displaying local sustainability events.

📌 TODO: Architecture diagram illustrating how the frontend, backend, and database interact.

🔄 How It Works

1️⃣ User Registration & Profile Creation

Users sign up, create a profile, and set sustainability goals based on personal interests.

2️⃣ Participating in Challenges

Challenges are categorized (e.g., waste reduction, energy conservation, community actions). Completing a challenge awards points and unlocks new achievements.

3️⃣ Tracking Progress & Social Engagement

Users can track personal impact via a progress dashboard and share milestones on the community feed.

4️⃣ Earning Rewards & Ranking Up

The leaderboard system ranks users based on completed challenges, encouraging friendly competition.

📌 TODO: A user completing a challenge and earning a badge.

🎯 Challenges & Solutions

Building a Scalable Web App

With a growing user base, performance optimization was critical. Using CodeIgniter’s lightweight MVC structure and caching mechanisms helped maintain fast load times.

Encouraging Long-Term Engagement

To prevent users from dropping out after initial use, gamification was enhanced with progressive challenges, streak rewards, and personalized recommendations.

Ensuring Security & User Privacy

1. Secure authentication: Implemented login protection against brute force attacks.
2. Data privacy: User location data is only stored with explicit permission.

📌 TODO: Security architecture diagram explaining authentication flow.

💡 Lessons Learned

Working on SquiReal provided valuable insights into:

✅ Efficient PHP development with CodeIgniter’s lightweight MVC approach.
✅ User engagement strategies through gamification techniques.
✅ Database structuring for tracking achievements and challenge progress efficiently.
✅ Balancing performance and UX in a community-driven web application.

📌 TODO: Diagram showcasing database schema for user progress tracking.

📢 Conclusion

SquiReal is more than just a web app—it’s a community-driven movement towards sustainability. By making eco-friendly actions rewarding and social, the platform motivates users to build lasting green habits while fostering a sense of collective responsibility.

🔗 Explore the project on GitHub: SquiReal Repository

Let me know if you’d like to refine any section further! 🚀