PhotoCity is a game where you can create 3D models out of pictures that you take of the places around you. Every picture you upload actually adds 3D points to the model, which is how you raise your score: 3D points = game points!
The video at the right shows a 3D reconstruction of the Paul Allen library on the University of Washington campus which was made by the efforts of players of PhotoCity. You can see other reconstructions on our Reconstructions page, linked here.
By playing PhotoCity, you help us create the biggest, most complete reconstruction of your campus possible!
To play, create an account and choose your zone and team color. You'll also need:
On the home page, you can see a map showing locations of models. Around the models are flags. These flags show places where you can take pictures to earn points. A flag's color is determined by which team has contributed the most points to that flag. For example, yellow flags are currently "conquered" by the yellow team.
There are two different sizes of flags. Larger flags have been captured by teams; however, smaller flags are still "disputed," and if a team is leading in points in that flag, that flag will only be a pale version of that team's color. To completely capture the flag, you'll need to take more pictures there.
You will also notice there are some white flags on the map. White flags indicate a place on the map where no pictures have been taken yet. You should keep an eye out for white flags especially -- if you capture a white flag, you'll earn bonus points.
To capture a flag, simply take a photo of it. When you look at the map page, and click on one of the flags, you'll see a picture like this:
The column outlined in orange shows what location the flag that you clicked represents. So, to capture that flag, take a picture which has those points in it. Here's an example of a picture that worked for the flag shown above:
When your picture registers, you'll get to see another picture that shows what points were added to a 3D model thanks to your efforts! It will look something like this:
The above picture is an image of the 3D model, and the orange points in it are the points that the picture added.
To capture a white flag, all you need to do is take a picture of it, and the white flag will become a pale color of your team color. To capture a flag that already belongs to another team, you'll need to have a lead of 2000 points.
Capture the white flags for your team!
For taking pictures, a 2 or 3 megapixel camera would be best. If the pictures you take are too large, they may take longer to process. Pictures with dimensions smaller than 2000x2000 pixels and with a size smaller than 3MB are perfect.
You'll notice that on the buildings on the maps which have models, there are pictures of castles.
Once a model has obtained enough points, the player which has contributed the most points to that model owns that model, and their username is placed underneath it. The color of the turrets shows what team the player belongs to.
Models that have no pictures at all taken of them are labeled Uncaptured, and have white turrets.
Try to frame your shots so that your photo shows new detail while still overlapping existing 3D points in the model. When you click on a flag, you'll see a picture of the 3D model, an orange-colored column showing what to take a picture of to gain points at a flag, and photos that other players have successfully added to that flag.
Be sure to look for holes in the model! Filling in these holes can yield a lot of points as well as significantly improve the model.
