Face Race

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  FaceRace

Inspiration

I wanted to explore how facial recognition could move beyond static filters and become a primary gaming controller. The idea was to create a hands-free "racing" experience that feels both goofy and competitive, turning a person's everyday expressions into a tool for precision gaming.

What it does

Face Race tracks specific facial landmarks—like mouth opening, eyebrow raising, or eye blinking—to control an on-screen character. Players must react quickly to incoming obstacles or speed boosts by changing their expressions in real-time to survive as long as possible.

How we built it

The project was built using Lens Studio. I utilized the Face Mesh and Face Gesture triggers to map movement to game logic. The gameplay loop was scripted using JavaScript to manage the spawning of obstacles, score tracking, and the increasing difficulty curve as the "race" progresses.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest hurdle was calibration. Everyone’s face is different, so what one person considers a "smile" might not trigger the same way for another. I had to spend a lot of time fine-tuning the sensitivity thresholds to ensure the game was responsive without being frustratingly sensitive.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m particularly proud of the UI/UX flow. Making sure the player knows which expression to make at the right time without cluttering the screen was a challenge. Successfully integrating a smooth "game over" and "restart" loop within the Snapchat interface feels like a huge win.

What we learned

I learned a deep amount about user behavior in AR. I realized that players get fatigued if they have to hold an expression for too long, which taught me the importance of "micro-gestures" and rhythmic gameplay design rather than constant muscle strain.

What's next for Face Race

I plan to add multiplayer capabilities where users can challenge friends to beat their ghosts. I also want to introduce different "vehicles" or characters that unlock based on the player's high score to increase replayability.

Built With

• lensstudio