Google's Multiplayer Augmented Reality Game 'Ingress' Launching for iOS in 2014

[BobVB]

Ios equivalent shadow cities

They are closing down. I did get a very grindy feel To it and stopped playing after a month or so. Obsessive get very powerful, occasional play will accomplish little. I can see the appeal but I think ingress will be a bit too little, too late. This style game has largely run its course already.

 

[Gasu E.]

Sounds more like a demo of an interesting idea, than a game that is good in and of itself. Perhaps Google will open up the platform, so more talented game developers can create something worthwhile.

 

[perringaiden]

I bought an Android specifically to play it, and its been great. Its not a game to play alone though. You have to actively find other people or its boring, like playing an MMO and expecting to raid by yourself. You simply can't do anything significant past the levelling process without getting out and socialising with players in your local area.

This, more than anything else is one of the big features I like.

Also, on the monetising, see an app called Field Trip, which uses images taken by players to show off local attractions and points of interest. That's what the game is supporting. A free way of getting images and details of interesting things around an area, taken and written by locals.

 

[djtech42]

Google is just trying to do what any other company in the world is trying to do: make money. They're just trying to do it in a "different" way (not really different just not how most companies do it nowadays).

Google collects information about people and shows targeted ads toward them all over the Web. That is their main source of revenue.

 

[clientsiman]

Great game, I playing it every time I go for a long walk.

 

[rmwebs]

I imagine geocachers would love this

 

[PracticalMac]

I've been playing Ingress for a couple months and enjoy it. I suspect many people on this forum would take swipes at the game since it is Android-only at this point. I acquired an Android device purely to play the game and use my iPhone as a hotspot to bridge the data service to the device.

One of the major goals of the development staff was to get people "off the couch" and out into the outdoors. That's the huge plus of the gameplay. Anyone that plays Ingress will do a lot of walking. You will see other parts of your city you have missed if you travel out to see other portals. And if you only stay in areas where you are familiar you will gain an appreciation of public art and other landmarks people typically submit as portals.

It is much like an MMORPG except instead of moving your avatar in a virtual world, you actually drive, bike, and walk to locations in the real world. Instead of chatting with your teammates over voice-chat, you will be able to meet up with people in your area face-to-face.

The gameplay itself is very simple at this point. There's really only two aspects of the game: acquiring resources and using the resources to take over territory from the other side. There are some subtleties of the game you will have to learn, but once you learn them you can reach max level in as little as a month if you play a lot. It took me two months. Two months of a lot more exercise than I was getting in the past.

The developers have put this whole story together for the players. If you're into that type of fantasy, awesome. I personally don't pay a whole lot of attention to it and rely on other players to let me know how the gameplay changes over time. The developers have listened to the players and improved the game. They also occasionally tweak the game parameters to try and influence player behavior. Probably as experimentation.

I don't play nearly as much anymore. But every once in a while I'll get out, do some more walking, and take back a few more portals. In the process of playing the game I've seen more parts of my community and met lots of people on both sides. I've been very happy with the experience.

Sounds like a more interactive Geo Cache adventure.

Never heard of it but it sounds creepy. I'll pass thanks Google.

From a person with a cows head avatar.

I often wonder about that, just curious.

 

[kinderdm]

Game still says its a closed beta on the play store. I had requested an invite over half a year ago and still never have heard anything. I know people can send invites and Im sure thats the idea, to make it more social, but no one I know has even heard of this. I guess in the time waiting I have just lost interest in this after hearing nothing more on it for so long.

 

[9000]

"Hey guys! Have fun while we mine you for data!"

It's probably using it for Google Maps data at worst. More likely just more "hey look, we're hip and cool with it" stuff.

 

[twigman08]

Google collects information about people and shows targeted ads toward them all over the Web. That is their main source of revenue.

I don't get your point? I know that? I even said Google is doing it "differently" than most companies do to make money." Meaning yes, Google does rely on it's adds to get the revenue. Which is different than most companies.

Maybe it's just I don't live with a tinfoil hat on and have nothing to hide and if I did I wouldn't type it into a public search engine.

 

[djtech42]

I don't get your point? I know that? I even said Google is doing it "differently" than most companies do to make money." Meaning yes, Google does rely on it's adds to get the revenue. Which is different than most companies.

Maybe it's just I don't live with a tinfoil hat on and have nothing to hide and if I did I wouldn't type it into a public search engine.

I'm not paranoid. I just don't like when a company makes money off of ads rather than well-designed products.