Contributors:
Dominic Benintendi – Full Stack Developer (Frontend/Backend Integration, Feature Implementation)
Ben – Project Lead, UI/UX Designer (Visual Identity, Navigation Flow)
Leo – Lead UI Designer (Styling, Component Design)

Team Name: 2g2q (“Too Git to Quit”)

Introduction

Player Needed originated as a capstone project at Ohio University, designed to simplify the process of organizing and discovering local events such as pickup sports, group study sessions, and casual hangouts. Our goal was to create a mobile app that was not only functional but polished, modern, and genuinely useful for small, spontaneous community events.

The app was developed to reflect real-world needs — flexible scheduling, easy group creation, location-aware filtering, and real-time messaging. We prioritized an intuitive user experience backed by a robust full-stack architecture.

Features

The core functionality allows users to:

• Sign up, create profiles, and manage personal information
• Browse and filter events by category, time, location, and tone (casual vs. competitive)
• Swipe through events, timelines, and group activity
• Communicate via integrated group chats

The interface was designed around a dark theme with a bottom navigation bar, responsive cards, and swipe-to-save gestures. Additional filtering tools and group-specific timelines enhanced relevance and engagement.

Target Users

We designed Player Needed for a wide range of users, including:

• Athletes and sports teams coordinating local games
• Students organizing study groups or club events
• Educators planning field trips or recurring meetings
• Charities hosting community outreach activities
• Private individuals scheduling hangouts or meetups

Flexibility and ease of use were key priorities — the platform needed to support spontaneous, small-group coordination.

System Architecture

The mobile app was built using React Native with the Expo framework, allowing cross-platform deployment to Android and web. The backend utilized Firebase for authentication, database management, and real-time chat.

Key architectural decisions:

• Modular React components for maintainability
• Firebase Firestore for cloud-hosted, real-time data access
• Firebase Auth for secure, hashed password storage
• HTTPS for secure data transmission
• Responsive UI designed for mobile-first interaction

Feature Highlights

Timeline

The app’s timeline serves as a personalized feed of upcoming events, filtered by the user’s preferences (e.g., sport, time, vibe). This ensured fast access to relevant events with minimal friction.

Groups

Groups offered deeper engagement by allowing users to create communities around recurring or interest-based events. Each group had its own timeline and chat interface.

Chat

Every group was equipped with a dedicated chatroom. Users could view group members, check profiles, and coordinate directly in-app.

Security and Privacy

Usernames and bios were the only publicly visible information. Authentication and data security were handled via Firebase, with all passwords securely hashed and all communication encrypted using HTTPS.

Conclusion

Player Needed was a formative experience in full-stack mobile development. React Native allowed for a streamlined frontend experience, while Firebase provided scalable backend services. Git and agile collaboration enabled our team to manage development effectively across roles.

Beyond technical implementation, we gained valuable insight into product design, user experience, and the importance of building software that responds to real community needs. This project highlighted the process of taking an idea from concept to deployment — and delivering a polished, functional product.