Ingress is not a complex game and I believe complex strategies are not possible. This is more tic tac toe than chess. But it is fun and that's the point. It is futuristic. It is global. I expect mass adoption. Frankly I expect it to hit Gmail like numbers in two years. I hope the game goes public as soon as possible. Why wait? The game is good to go.
Secrets are details that the other side does not know. My experience in New York City has been both sides have gone on to do similar things pretty much independent of each other. Not because there are moles, but because this is not a complex game. You play solo. Then you hit Level 8. Then you meet a dozen others who are L8. And you wonder, what if we all got together? You end up with L8 Farms, which are my favorite Ingress events, only by now you can find it on the map pretty much, and L7 Farms give you pretty good ammo too. The idea of L8 agents coalescing is no secret, because both sides are doing it. The idea of L8 Farms: not a secret. Both sides do the Alerts thing on the enemy's L7 and L8 farms. The idea is to destroy as soon as possible. Some top players get major thrill out of it.
I just happened by two L7 farms in my neighborhood and took them down both times pretty fast. Then I got to take down a L8 farm in Battery Park attended by none other than derp, who I claim is the top Ingress player in the world. I think they had managed not even two hacks yet. That's a score. Could not have happened without tomhuze's intel. The dude also paid for the cab.
In this game a car is a tank, a fighter jet. The other night Kimon, I and sma were claiming back some blue territory at and near Grant's Tomb, in a car. It was fun.
The game does not need more complexity, I think. You don't want L1 agents feeling too helpless and you don't want L8 agents feeling too powerful. The recent changes that cause XM drains for actions taken create a more level playing field. The game is good to go. Now complex strategies are all about increasing the number of people that might be playing the game. I want to live in a city where more than 10,000 people are playing the game.
The next challenge I have set for myself is to build an elite squad. Beer bores me. Agents with less than 2.4 million in AP need not apply. And that elite squad will get built once 10 times more people are playing the game. So Niantic, open up the flood gates. The larger the number of people playing the game, more complex the strategies possible.
Ingress: Phase 3
Ingress: A Great Game For The Knowledge Worker
Ingress Tips
Level 8 In A Month
