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

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.

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

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

Having played it, it is a pretty fun game, I really like the 'real world' aspect of it, it adds a nice dimension when you go out for a walk or go visit a new place, I don't play it obsessively but it's quite nice to play casually, I think there could be room for more augmented 'reality' based games like this.

But (stating the obvious) all games can't appeal to everyone, if you are a type of person who requires instant gratification, to beat a game in a few hours or have no intention of leaving the house then it's obviously not for you.

Yes! Have been waiting for this game for a long long time. Really interesting game. Have been banned from it because I used the unofficial version.

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.

Very well explained. I've also been playing on and off since last winter and while the gameplay itself isn't complex, it's a refreshing change from typical gaming in that, <gasp :eek:>, you actually have to get your a$$ of the couch to play. God forbid anyone actually get a bit of exercise, or maybe socialize face to face with someone. ;)

I've made some new friends, both teammates and opposing players, and seen parts of my city that I probably wouldn't have been to otherwise.

Google have some ulterior motive? Possibly, don't really care, enjoyed playing it regardless. You think all the big video game houses are making games for everyone to play out of the kindness of their own heart? There doing the same thing any corporation is doing, trying to make money. And you could be certain that all the Google bashers in here would be praising it to high heaven if Apple had created it. :rolleyes: