For those that do not know, Ingress is a game for Android phones produced by a subsidiary of Google. The game is an "augmented reality" game in that it takes place in the real world and you have to travel to real world locations in order to play the game. The game uses your phone's GPS position to identify where you are on the map.
The points of interaction on the map are called portals and are located at monuments, landmarks, sculptures and other such public locations. When you arrive at a portal you can "hack" it which will then give you items. You can then use these items to claim the portal for your own team and set up control fields by linking together portals. There are two teams in the game and items can also be used to break down an enemy controlled portal.
I've been playing Ingress for about a week now and have mixed feelings about it. As a low level player it seems quite brutal in the amount of commitment it takes to play. I work in a location where there are two portals very close by but they are held by high ranking players on the opposing team and I have little chance of hurting them. The best I can do is keep hacking them to get items and experience until I am a high enough level to do some real damage.
The problem is it seems to take a very long time to get to the next level. After a week and about thirty or so portal hacks I am about a quarter of the way to level 2. As a level one player you can do almost nothing if there are active higher level players in your area. This game really does some like a long grind to level up. The main reason I keep playing it is because I am fascinated by it as an experiment in a new form of gaming.
So I wonder if anyone else has played? What do your think of it? Even if Ingress is flawed, do you think there is greater potential for this sort of game?
The points of interaction on the map are called portals and are located at monuments, landmarks, sculptures and other such public locations. When you arrive at a portal you can "hack" it which will then give you items. You can then use these items to claim the portal for your own team and set up control fields by linking together portals. There are two teams in the game and items can also be used to break down an enemy controlled portal.
I've been playing Ingress for about a week now and have mixed feelings about it. As a low level player it seems quite brutal in the amount of commitment it takes to play. I work in a location where there are two portals very close by but they are held by high ranking players on the opposing team and I have little chance of hurting them. The best I can do is keep hacking them to get items and experience until I am a high enough level to do some real damage.
The problem is it seems to take a very long time to get to the next level. After a week and about thirty or so portal hacks I am about a quarter of the way to level 2. As a level one player you can do almost nothing if there are active higher level players in your area. This game really does some like a long grind to level up. The main reason I keep playing it is because I am fascinated by it as an experiment in a new form of gaming.
So I wonder if anyone else has played? What do your think of it? Even if Ingress is flawed, do you think there is greater potential for this sort of game?