Ingress is a near-real time augmented reality massively multiplayer online pervasive game created by Niantic Labs, a startup within Google, originally for Android devices, and since July 14, 2014 for Apple's iOS. The game has a complex science fiction back story with a continuous open narrative.
The gameplay consists of establishing "portals" at places of public art, landmarks, cenotaphs, etc., and linking them to create virtual triangular fields over geographic areas. Progress in the game is measured by the number of Mind Units, i.e. people, nominally controlled by each faction (as illustrated on the Intel Map). The necessary links between portals may range from meters to kilometers, or to hundreds of kilometers in operations of considerable logistical complexity. International links and fields are not uncommon, as Ingress has attracted an enthusiastic following in cities worldwide amongst both young and old, to the extent that the gameplay is itself a lifestyle for some, including tattoos.
Im on the Resistance team, currently lvl 6. During the Dorset Twoism gathering I Captured a few portals around the area, not that I told anyone.. Through fear of ridicule lol.
Mobile phone games in general suck ass, especially pay to win / gem store based games. Ingress however is a breath of fresh air really, it can get you out and about, maybe visiting places you would not have been otherwise.
There is also a social aspect to the game (not that I partake in it, I play it very casually). People from the same team meet up to do missions, maybe to take over a town or fortify an area followed by a trip to the pub.
People all over the world are working together to create large combo fields across the oceans.
vballs wrote:Im on the Resistance team, currently lvl 6. During the Dorset Twoism gathering I Captured a few portals around the area, not that I told anyone.. Through fear of ridicule lol.
i wish they made a game where you could hide mp3's and text files on GPS + scribbles-on-the-wall-as-passwords locations... like treasure chests... but then again, such a thing would never get authorized in iOS store or Google Play
(on the other hand you can't just write an application, release it as open source and have the people compile it on their phones - 100% secure 100% free 100% creative - for the same reasons. sad. smartphones aren't really smart, they are just retail outlets for those who decide what you should see on the screen, much like television
and don't even get me started about data-mining all that information gathered through ingress, starting from friendships and ending with your decision making process given a certain state of the map...)
untitled wrote:
and don't even get me started about data-mining all that information gathered through ingress, starting from friendships and ending with your decision making process given a certain state of the map...)
I'm in favor of Google using all the Ingress data for their big data mining analysis. How else do you think they can make their Google Maps as good as it is nowadays? Exactly.
untitled wrote:
and don't even get me started about data-mining all that information gathered through ingress, starting from friendships and ending with your decision making process given a certain state of the map...)
I'm in favor of Google using all the Ingress data for their big data mining analysis. How else do you think they can make their Google Maps as good as it is nowadays? Exactly.
I totally agree, that's why I am abstaining, I'm afraid my keyboard would explode from all the enthusiasm...
Also, I like the Enlightened vs. Resistance color schemes (green vs. blue), breaking with the tradition of blue being the color of police, tranquility and the wide blue sky. I also like that there are more Resistance members than Enlightened ones, reflecting the virtues of democracy, friendship and battle against green stuff.
untitled wrote:
and don't even get me started about data-mining all that information gathered through ingress, starting from friendships and ending with your decision making process given a certain state of the map...)
I'm in favor of Google using all the Ingress data for their big data mining analysis. How else do you think they can make their Google Maps as good as it is nowadays? Exactly.
I totally agree, that's why I am abstaining, I'm afraid my keyboard would explode from all the enthusiasm...
Also, I like the Enlightened vs. Resistance color schemes (green vs. blue), breaking with the tradition of blue being the color of police, tranquility and the wide blue sky. I also like that there are more Resistance members than Enlightened ones, reflecting the virtues of democracy, friendship and battle against green stuff.
Do I spot a little bit of sarcasm in your first line?
I don't know if there are more Resistance members than Enlightened ones. Why do you think this? It's true The Resistance currently has about 54% Mind Units vs 46% for The Enlighteneds but this could just mean that The Resistance has captured better control points and hence gained more Mind Units for its faction. Being with more Resistance players doesn't necessarily imply a higher Mind Units percentage. But the chances are higher of course.
Yes I was referring to the "raw" number of players (at least in my city and a few others I had the time and curiosity to check). I too signed up as Resistance - but after seeing that almost 80% of the players in my area were Resistance I switched over to balance the game (and I also like the color green more...). Surprisingly Enlightened has more girls haha
MrMessiah wrote:Decided to give this a go cos I'm on a bit of a mobile games that get you out and walking thing at the moment.
What side are you on?
Resistance. Lots of Enlightened round here, it seems. Not in as mrmessiah though as somebody already took that name. It'll give me something to do in the parts of town where I've already done all the Munzees.
untitled wrote:Yes I was referring to the "raw" number of players (at least in my city and a few others I had the time and curiosity to check). I too signed up as Resistance - but after seeing that almost 80% of the players in my area were Resistance I switched over to balance the game (and I also like the color green more...). Surprisingly Enlightened has more girls haha
I started playing this the other day, and instantly hacked a couple of portals and got straight to level two.
But...
I've chosen the Enlightened, and it appears that the town I live in is completely green. As in it's bang in the middle of a big green triangle.
Does that mean that my team has irreversibly taken over my town? In that case, is there any point of me grabbing more portals, considering that they're inside the big green triangle? If not then I guess I'm going to have to mission out of town to play the game, non?
It'll give me something to do in the parts of town where I've already done all the Munzees.