Netizen

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Ingress: High Level Stuff

Ingress Tips

(1) We Are Google's Ants

Google has deployed Ingress upon us because it wants to crowdsource the perfecting of Google Maps to hyperlocation, my guess. And that's fine by me. That does not take away from the fact that it is just a great game. I think this war game could emerge a major force for global peace. If you play Ingress you have friends all over the world already.

(2) Ingress-Work-Life Balance

You have heard of the work-life balance thing. Now there is a major Ingress-Work-Life balance issue. If you are not careful this game can totally suck you in. Hours pass by and you are still hacking. You want to go hack just one more Portal only one block away.

(3) Level 8 Socializing

After I hit Level 8 a whole new world opened up for me. I started meeting people. The best thing about hitting Level 8 is being able to attend Flash Level 8 Farm events. You end up with a lot of high level ammo with which to go cause major mayhem.

(4) Bump Points

Like there are Action Points, there ought be BP, bump points. You get those for meeting fellow players in person. You bump the two phones, the phones need not touch. You could bump one player max once per day. Otherwise the game has a major gender bias, I think.

(5) Only One Side

If you think about it, there is only one side. Officially it is two sides, but if the idea is to level up, there is but one side. Your opponents ("enemy" in the game) help you level up really fast. You are not building permanent structures, although it is possible to defend territory. There are parts of the city that look permanently blue, other parts look permanently green. But even those parts switch sides pretty often. It is like the sun looks quiet and beautiful with naked eyes. But we all know atom bombs are being exploded all over it, every second, multitude times a second. The "territories" are the same way.

(6) Ingress, Like Gmail

Gmail is fun, it is great, but it is not complex. Since it is my conjecture that this game is designed to help Google perfect Google Maps, it will not be made too complex. Actually at some level they are pretty much done building it. It is supposed to be a fun, easy, free, global game that just about anyone can play and have fun. Those waiting for a Level 9 to emerge wait in vain. My guess.

(7) Google+ And Ingress

Maybe the game already has Bump Points, it is called Google Plus. The social aspects of the game can not be quantified. How people meet each other, whether or not they want to get to know more of each other, those are social aspects perhaps best left to Google+ and events people organize through that platform.

(8) Physical Exercise And Socializing

If you are a knowledge worker tied to your computer, this game can help you leave your desk and go play. Go walk, get some exercise. Go meet new people. But know that this is not chess. This is not meant to be complex. There are not that many complex strategies possible. You go hack, and that is it pretty much.

Ingress is a great game for The Knowledge Worker. You sit in front of your computer all day. Ingress makes you walk/run/bike. Ingress makes you explore your city. Ingress makes you meet people. And it is a pretty secular gathering. You meet people from all sorts of backgrounds. The game is a great ice breaker. You start with already having something in common. And since the game is global you could be travelling and you would already have Ingress players to connect with no matter where you go.