ENIGMA'25 — Isipathana College Science Day Competition Platform.
The real-time digital infrastructure and live quiz software built for an inter-school science competition.
Role
Lead Developer & Architect
Category
Year
2026
About ENIGMA'25 & The Challenge
ENIGMA'25 is the annual Science Day organized by the Isipathana College Science Society. As a premier inter-school science competition, it brings together top student minds from across the country for a high-stakes battle of knowledge.
I designed and developed the digital competition infrastructure used throughout ENIGMA'25. Operating an event of this scale traditionally involves juggling disconnected tools: manual registration spreadsheets, physical paper invitations, third-party quiz apps, and separate scoring systems. This fragmentation creates logistical bottlenecks and risks errors during the live competition.
Beyond solving operational bottlenecks, my primary ambition was to create a creative, immersive experience that had never been attempted before for a school Science Day. The platform delivered an innovative, story-driven themed flow throughout the entire participant experience.
Ultimately, the challenge was not simply building a quiz app, but engineering an integrated workflow to coordinate the entire event lifecycle—ensuring the software was both creatively ambitious and technically rock-solid during live deployment.
The Solution: An Integrated Workflow
Digital Invitations & RSVP
Event operations began long before the actual competition day. We replaced traditional paper invitations with a custom-built digital invitation system.
Each invited school received a unique physical QR code that linked to a personalized interactive invitation. This allowed guests to RSVP in real-time, providing organizers with an accurate headcount and entry tracking system well in advance.
Organizers could monitor the RSVP status of all invited schools from a dedicated dashboard, streamlining pre-event logistics.
Narrative-Driven Registration
Instead of a generic web form, the multi-school registration was designed as an immersive, narrative-driven experience.
Guided by the event's thematic storyline, micro-interactions, and custom audio, participating schools registered their teams through a seamless and engaging flow. This not only ensured accurate data collection but set a premium, high-tech tone for the entire competition.
Multi-Round Qualifiers & Live Finals
The core of the event was the real-time quiz infrastructure, structured in two phases: a multi-round online qualifier and a live on-stage final.
To safely manage the initial participant flow, we implemented virtual breakout rooms. This provided a synchronized waiting area where participants stayed connected until their specific online qualifier session started.
The platform handled question delivery, participant state, and real-time scoring, seamlessly selecting the finalists and transitioning them to the high-stakes live quiz on the event stage.
Connecting to the Physical Event
This software did not operate in isolation—it was a core part of the physical event environment.
The system fed live data into dynamic stage displays, projecting real-time leaderboards, team standings, and competition results directly to the audience.
System Architecture
Organizer Operations & Live Control
A comprehensive suite of tools built for the organizing committee to manage the ENIGMA'25 event lifecycle, from creating questions to monitoring live sessions.
Engineering Challenges & Reliability
Network Interruptions & State Recovery
Problem: During a live event, participants could temporarily lose Wi-Fi connectivity, risking the loss of their competition progress.
Approach: Participant state was persisted locally. If a network drop occurred, answers were queued via IndexedDB and automatically synchronized with the database via batch writes the moment connectivity was restored. A temporary drop did not mean elimination.
Competition Integrity
Problem: Managing over 250 competitors simultaneously required automated oversight to prevent unauthorized assistance.
Approach: The platform implemented device locking using the Fullscreen API combined with strict visibilitychange window event listeners. Organizers were immediately alerted in the admin panel if a user attempted to switch tabs or exit fullscreen mode, ensuring a fair playing field without manual policing.
My Role & Technology
Deployed in the Real World
This platform was successfully deployed for the Isipathana College Science Day. It managed digital invitations, processed registrations, and executed the real-time quiz for 50+ participating schools and 250+ competitors, maintaining seamless operation across a 3-hour live deployment.
Responsibilities
- System Architecture
- Full-stack Development
- Real-time Systems
- Database Design
- Event-day Support
Technologies
- Next.js & React
- Cloud Auth & Security
- NoSQL Data Store
- Realtime Sync Engine
"The platform completely transformed ENIGMA'25. Beyond providing flawless real-time technical reliability, the interactive, story-driven experience and creative presentation captivated every participating school. It set an entirely new benchmark for event technology."