mjah Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Someone please tell me you play this game. My wife discovered Ingress about 6 months ago and got me hooked over the winter. I have never seen anything quite like it. Ingress is a free worldwide territory-based game based on Google Maps, served up by a serious rack of Google hardware, and played on your phone or other GPS-enabled mobile device. It forces you to know or learn the locations of local community interest sites in your hometown. Or in any other town for that matter, depending on where you may travel. To capture territory you claim these sites by engaging in (virtual) offensive and defensive struggles against nearby members of the other team. The game never pauses and -- so far -- never ends, meaning you can take or lose territory at any time of day or night... and you can always subsequently lose it or take it back again later, depending on who wants it badly enough. The goal is to take it all. Everywhere. Kinda bland and boring, no? Oh, and there is a back story which literally nobody pays attention to or cares about. But here's the thing! To play, you actually have to GO TO these places. You have to be up, active, and in the community. Outdoors. And if you play by car, your offensive and defensive abilities get completely neutered as soon as you top 35 mph or so. Many sites of interest aren't accessible by car anyway, so you have to be on foot or on a bike to reach them. So it's a mobile game that forces YOU to be seriously mobile, not just the phone. And it works beautifully. There is also a powerful social aspect to Ingress, as you only get so far without meeting up with other players every so often. My only real reservation with the game is the fact that I have a low tolerance for extreme spectrum-case nerdy types, and there are a few more of those per dozen in the Ingress ranks than in real life. But I suspect it doesn't bother them at all, so who's really the one with the problem? Anyway, just thought I'd share. I highly recommend it if you feel the need to be a bit more physically active, want to have an entertaining and enduring reason to do so, and don't mind charging your phone a bit more often once you're hooked. Here's an article on Ingress from last year. Ignore the part about Google Glass. It really captures the game's interactive aspects, as well as Google's potential motives for creating it in the first place. Deep inside Ingress Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaGoonie55 Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Grabbing it now. I'll let you know what I think!!! Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 There is also a powerful social aspect to Ingress, as you only get so far without meeting up with other players every so often. My only real reservation with the game is the fact that I have a low tolerance for extreme spectrum-case nerdy types, and there are a few more of those per dozen in the Ingress ranks than in real life. But I suspect it doesn't bother them at all, so who's really the one with the problem? Not much to add, but I was laughing at this part. I was on the metro the other day heading to work, and the guy next to me was this late 20's (guessing) potbellied guy wearing sandals, some kind of loose workout pants, wild hair, doing the duck-face thing with his lips for some reason, and watching Power Rangers on his phone in Japanese. Just a mess, probably has never known the touch of a woman, looked like he had stopped trying. I irrationally thought that what he probably needed best in his life was a punch in the grill and a Gunnery Sgt. Hartman style scream fest about getting his **** together. So to answer your question, I'm probably the one with the problem . He's probably very happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain James Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 looks crazy interesting! i wish it was available for my windows phone. i can't get clash of clans either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVAbrendan Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Sounds sweet! Can't find it on iOS tho... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Apparently there is an iOS port of Ingress, though it runs on jailbroken phones only. You'd have to be pretty motivated. The chatter has Ingress on iOS sometime in 2014, though there is no date yet: Google Is Working on Ingress for iOS, but It Won’t Be Ready Until 2014 Google’s mobile augmented-reality game Ingress, which has found a small but passionate audience on Android, is also coming to Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS, but not until next year. Ingress product manager Brandon Badger confirmed the iOS plans in an interview yesterday with AllThingsD. The game launched into closed beta last November, and so far has racked up about one million activations, with hundreds of thousands of active players every month on Android phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Alright, I'll admit to being a little intrigued, especially since I started biking again. Since it's free, I might download it. If my neighborhood is a territory, I will slap a **** who tries to take it away. There's only one entrance and exit, so don't even try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sisko Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 Not much to add, but I was laughing at this part. I was on the metro the other day heading to work, and the guy next to me was this late 20's (guessing) potbellied guy wearing sandals, some kind of loose workout pants, wild hair, doing the duck-face thing with his lips for some reason, and watching Power Rangers on his phone in Japanese. Just a mess, probably has never known the touch of a woman, looked like he had stopped trying. I irrationally thought that what he probably needed best in his life was a punch in the grill and a Gunnery Sgt. Hartman style scream fest about getting his **** together. So to answer your question, I'm probably the one with the problem . He's probably very happy. That's funny. I could've sworn I saw some creep staring at me the other day. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted June 7, 2014 Share Posted June 7, 2014 So, Google has made a real life version of tribalwars. Those monsters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forehead Posted June 8, 2014 Share Posted June 8, 2014 I haven't spent much time at it, but there are a few "portals" near my house. I made the mistake of picking the resistance, it looks like they already control pretty much my entire surrounding area. I've "hacked" a portal or two that already belonged to me team, for whatever good that did me. Is there an instruction manual somewhere in the game? Oh, I also figured out how to view my team chatter. Some of those guys are...uh...really into this game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjah Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 I'd never call joining the Resistance (blue team) a mistake. It's good to be a rebel! Do it! Here is a pretty decent intro to some Ingress basics. Ingress Basics, Links and Fields The Ingress app also has a built-in tutorial to get you started, and they give you some bonus points for completing it. Ingress has an "intel" site that uses Google maps to show you the state of the game anywhere in the world. Very useful for planning. Ingress Intel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AsburySkinsFan Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 iOS available in 2014.....ummmm.......it's 2014 now I want my app. #firstworldproblems Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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