15 July 2014

Ingress - Now on iOS!

| Agent_Q
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For those who missed the conversation earlier this year, Ingress is a game you play in the real world. Rather than playing a game on a screen, or even a large grassy field, it’s a game where the whole world is your playground. Or should I say battleground? For in the game, two factions, the Resistance and the Enlightened, are battling for control of all of the cultural and historical landmarks around you. Using mobile devices to display game data, “agents” of each faction physically visit each location to strengthen or change which side controls it.

It’s a game with no end – and almost no point. Many locations, or “portals”, change hands several times a day, and it’s often the same players doing the changing. If there is a point, it’s not in the game itself, but in what happens when you play the game. At its simplest, the game can be played individually, to achieve individual achievements and levels. But because it’s played across all of Canberra, Australia, and the world, Ingress is an opportunity to meet people from everywhere – make new friends, build new networks – some players have even formed new relationships. It’s also a chance to visit new places and discover cultural and historical treasures that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

Last, but not least, it’s a game that can get you, or even your whole family, off the couch on a regular basis, and racking up hundreds – even thousands – of kilometres of walking, cycling, or exploring around your area. The game keeps track of your physical activity: my own stats show I’ve walked over 1200km playing the game since October last year; 45km of that over the last 7 days. It might not seem like much to some; but for a desk-bound office worker like me, being motivated to do that kind of activity after dark, in the middle of winter, speaks a lot about the health benefits of the game. I’ve made some terrific friends with other players, and we regularly get together to play as well as simply to socialise.

The biggest downside to date has been that many of my existing friends and family haven’t been able to join in on all of this fun, or reap the benefits of playing, simply because the game was launched on Android only, with iPhone users left out of the action.

But weep no more! For today, Niantic Labs, a Google startup company and the developers of Ingress, have finally released Ingress for iOS devices, allowing a whole swathe of new users to participate in the Ingress community. It coincides with a massive change of in-game dynamics, which has made portals significantly easier to capture for new players – so there hasn’t been a better time to join the game since… well, since the beginning of the game!

All that’s left is for you to decide which of the two factions to ally yourself with. I am aligned with the blue team, or “Resistance”, who (in the game’s story) are fighting to protect humanity from the mind-controlling forces of aliens known as “Shapers”. The green team is working to advance the influence of these aliens over humanity. If you’re into game lore, then I’d encourage you to join the Resistance, and help us prevent the influence of alien mind control over the nation’s leaders, here in Canberra! In the process, you will earn our internationally-acclaimed “medals” for in-game achievements – exclusive to the Canberra Resistance.

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Another reason to join the Resistance are to help us restore balance to the game. The first RiotACT post on Ingress early this year attracted hordes of new players to the Enlightened, and a couple of months ago, the game logs indicated that active green players outnumbered us more than two-to-one. The Enlightened have dominated Canberra with a slimy fist for months now with as much as 90% ownership of the portals in Canberra a few weeks ago; so I’d encourage new players to join the Resistance, and help us restore balance to the game – and by doing so, make the game more fun for both factions.

Finally, we of the Canberra Resistance are a great bunch of people from diverse backgrounds. We have amazingly talented players; brilliantly intelligent ones; incredibly good-looking agents; and even a few who claim they’re all three. 🙂

So whether you want to get fit, meet new friends, see new places, help us restore the balance in Canberra, or just have heaps of fun – come and join us at the Canberra Resistance: http://canberra.shaperdefence.net/. Alternatively, if you’d like to join the Enlightened, get in touch with them here: canberra.enlightened@gmail.com.

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When Ingress came to IOS, it kind of passed me by.

At first.

Then I got a message from a friend in South Australia. “Hey, Pete!” he said, “You’ve got to play this new game I’ve found. I don’t have a clue how it works, but it’s a lot of fun! Oh yeah, and you’d better be on the blue team, ‘cos I am.”

Well, call me lemming.

So I installed the thing, and like my mate, I didn’t have much notion either. It was about making triangles. Or something.

It’s reasonably complex and nerdy, and all the players I’ve met have upped their data plans and bought chunky battery packs.

But yes, it’s fun.

Gets me out and about – I’ve now walked over 800 kilometres since first starting, according to my stats.

Gets me visiting historic sites, cultural hubs, artworks and all manner of places I normally wouldn’t see.

Best of all, I’ve met some delightful people. It’s a game where coöperation works better than lonewolfing. Sure, you can wander round the War Memorial at odd hours in your pyjamas by yourself, but when there’s a few, it’s much more fun.

My choice of team was arbitrary, but it doesn’t really matter which side one joins. The same sort of people play on both sides.

In terms of the game’s spurious backstory, alien energy is seeping into our world through portals. The Enlightened are the giddy gullible sort who embrace whatever comes along, while the Resistance prefer not to mindlessly support something before understanding the effects.

It’s not just Canberra – it’s a global thing. I’ve been around the world and found that hunting portals offers a unique look at the best bits of a city. Because it’s the locals who have hunted them out and submitted them.

Enlightened are the underdogs of the world.

Resistance in Canberra are just not matched by a very exciting and motivated opposition.

Hi Agent_Q,

What a great write up! I couldn’t have said it better myself.

I’ve been playing Ingress for well over a year now and absolutely love it. In that time I have seen parts of Canberra and the nation that I’m certain I would never have discovered if it weren’t for Ingress and the Resistance community. The best part is that I have a whole new circle of friends who have proven to be some of nicest people I’ve ever met.

#MyIngressStory started when I was injured playing football and was strapped into a leg brace for three long months as part of my recovery. I basically had to learn to walk again and Ingress gave me something to do on these otherwise boring expeditions off the couch; it gave me extra motivation. Since then I’ve walked, run, climbed, and rode hundreds and hundreds of kilometres – not only recovering fully from my injury but also giving me a whole new hobby of exploring the outdoors.

The Resistance have become like a family to me, and I’m not talking about some faceless online Sims-like family. We are real people with real lives and outside of Ingress I’ve been really supported by Resistance members – heck I even got a job interview out of an Resistance connection!

My final message to RiotACT readers is when you join The Resistance be sure to sign up your friends and family too so as they don’t miss out. There are plenty of couples, families, brothers, sisters, mates, etc. that play with us and it’s always more fun with more people.

See you on the field.

– Varthrax

Vive la resistance!

I’d like to extend my thanks to the excellent community managers Resistance-side. I now have so many Google Hangouts that my phone’s battery goes flat about thirty seconds after charging it 🙂

Now I get to combine the thing I love (computer games) with something I need (exercise, less sitting-down) and something I hope to enjoy (the company of other people).

Good luck, and have fun!

So much fun, so addictive… viva la resistance!

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