Thursday, July 11, 2013

Ingress: Imagining 10,000 Agents In NYC


I think we are in an early phase of moving from 1,000 portals and 500 agents in New York City to 2,000 portals and 1,000 agents. And the pace is not fast enough for me. But it is only a matter of time when the game gets bigger and we will eventually end up with 100,000 portals and 10,000 agents in the city. I can see that happening. And I can see that happening by next summer at the most. I can't wait for the game to go public.

When there are 10,000 agents in the city there will be at least 10 blue and 10 green teams in the city. Each team will have a slightly unique character. The current crop of L8 agents will be largely irrelevant to those future generations of agents. Face it, this is not a complex game. You will still play the game with the Intel map and the app. Everything those 10,000 agents will do will get reflected in the Intel map, and you will still just be reacting to the Intel map. I think 10:1 is a healthy ratio. As in, there are 10 portals for every agent. Less than that and the game is hampered. Like right now. There are not enough portals in my home territory for me to be able to get into recruiting in a major way.

Most agents will choose to play solo, like now. Even those who join organized teams will mostly play solo, like now.

Complex fielding will remain the top challenge in the game. The game will turn New York into an even more of a walking city than it already is, and has been before the game, and that is awesome. The game also has a Neighborhood Watch element to it. Agents hungry for AP visit portals in the remotest locations at the oddest hours.

If you think of the game as a great way to explore neighborhoods in the city, this game is as interesting as the city, which is very interesting. If you think of the game as a way to meet people as I do, this game is a great icebreaker. You do meet plenty of people.
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