Ingress (video game)

Ingress
Developer(s)	Niantic, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Niantic, Inc.
Platforms	Android, iOS
Release date(s)	Closed beta November 15, 2012 Open beta October 30, 2013 General Android Release December 14, 2013 iOS Release July 14, 2014
Genre(s)	Augmented Reality, MMOG

Ingress is an augmented-reality massively multiplayer online location-based game created by Niantic, Inc.. The game was first released exclusively for Android devices on November 15, 2012, and was made available for Apple's iOS on July 14, 2014. The game has a complex science fiction back story with a continuous open narrative, which however is not necessary for playing and enjoying the game. Ingress has also been considered to be a location-based exergame.

The gameplay consists of capturing "portals" at places of cultural significance, such as public art, landmarks, monuments, etc., and linking them to create virtual triangular "control fields" over geographical areas. Progress in the game is measured by the number of "mind units" (MUs) captured via such control fields, i.e. people nominally controlled by each faction (as illustrated on the Intel Map). The necessary links between portals may range in length from meters to kilometers or hundreds of kilometers, created in operations of considerable logistical complexity. International links and fields are not uncommon, as Ingress has attracted an enthusiastic following in cities worldwide amongst both young and old, to the extent that the gameplay is itself a lifestyle for some, including tattoos. Gameplay relies heavily on the player physically moving about the community in order to interact with portals. Playing in a vehicle is possible, but increases in speed disable some features of the game. This is done to encourage physical activity and safe driving, and also discourages GPS spoofing.

In addition to the main interactive map, called the Scanner, players also have access to a "COMM" tab that displays local and regional, even worldwide, live activity going on within the game, such as faction progress and activity, in-game communication, and alerts.

Each player, or "Agent", also has a profile page that is viewable by any other agent using the mobile app. Profiles contain a wide variety of information, including the agent's name, current level and AP, earned badges, completed missions, and a long list of statistics. Players can choose to withhold most of the statistical information from appearing on their page, instead leaving visible only their badges, AP and mission list. Also available on the profile page, if the agent so decides, is a link to their Google+ page.

Setting

The game makers' framing device for the game is as follows: Alongside the discovery of the Higgs Boson by the physicists at CERN in 2012, it has also been discovered that the Earth has been seeded with "Exotic Matter," or XM. This substance has been associated with the Shapers, a mysterious phenomenon or alien race which is neither described nor seen (and which thus functions as a MacGuffin).

Factions

Within the game, human reactions to this discovery fall into two opposing factions: the Enlightened fight believing their actions will uplift humanity and bring about the next chapter in human evolution, whereas the Resistance believes that it is protecting humanity from Shaper ingression and preserving humanity's freedom. These two factions are the opposing "sides" or "teams" in the game. The Resistance is represented in the game by the color blue, and the Enlightened by green. In some areas, the Resistance are colloquially referred to as "Smurfs" and lower-level Resistance players as "Smurflings". Similarly, the Enlightened in general are referred to as "Frogs" or "Toads", lower-level Enlightened players as "Tadpoles".

In real life, the factions occasionally ignore the back-story and co-operate for the sake of real-life gameplay and game balance: for example, by establishing neutral zones and rules of engagement; for training new players; for socializing; and occasionally for serious real-life purposes such as honoring fallen heroes. Niantic Labs not only supports these activities, it often arranges them.

Gameplay

Play environment

The Intel Map for Seattle, Washington, on December 2, 2012. Virtual portals (octagons with spokes), links (lines joining portals), and control fields (colored spaces) overlay a map of real geographical and civic space via Google Maps; green represents the Enlightened faction, and blue the Resistance. The space controlled by the two factions is fairly evenly matched here.

A player using the mobile app is presented with a map representing the surrounding area. The map has a black background and is completely unmarked, except for buildings and roads which are outlined in grey but not labeled, and bodies of water (pale blue). Visible on the map are portals, Exotic Matter (XM), links, control fields, and items that players have dropped from their inventory. Distances from the player to ingame locations are displayed in metric units only, to avoid confusion between players. The app is currently available in sixteen languages; however, the language choice affects only the text displayed, not the audio such as "Portal in range".

As a rule, players must be physically near objects on the map to interact with them. The mobile client represents the player as a small arrowhead in the center of a circle 40 meters (130 ft) in radius, which represents the perimeter within which direct interaction is possible. (A player sees only their own location, not that of any other player.) The color of the arrowhead corresponds with the faction of the player (blue for Resistance, green for Enlightened), as will the XM storage. XM can be thought of as 'energy' - a high amount of XM is needed to perform actions in the game, and it can be replenished by walking through an area of XM (common near portals). A player can 'hack' a nearby portal to acquire in-game items, some of which can also be used to replenish XM.

Players are rewarded with AP (Action Points) for actions within the game. Accumulating AP beyond certain thresholds grants higher access levels, i.e., access to stronger items and longer portal recharging capabilities. The access levels are numbered 1 through 16, with 16 being the highest.

In addition to earning AP, certain actions within the game can earn a player a Badge. Badges are typically multi-tiered (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Onyx - the highest) and become a requirement for level advancement starting with Level 9. Most badges are statistic-based: for instance, capturing and maintaining a portal for a significant amount of days, total MUs captured, fields and links created, various offensive actions, and even successfully discovering new portals. Some badges are obtained by attending special Ingress events, though these usually do not count towards advancement (except "Innovator" and "Vanguard" badges, which are given by Niantic every game anniversary).

In September 2014 Niantic Labs introduced missions to the game. A mission is a user-created set of places to visit (waypoints) and interact with in specified ways. Some missions list all the waypoints from the start, while others only reveal them one at a time as the user progresses from one to the next. Completing missions can win the player virtual medals.

Portals

In the game, Earth has a large number of "portals", made visible by the "scanner" (the mobile phone game app). They are colored green, blue, or grey, depending respectively on whether they are currently controlled by the Enlightened, by the Resistance, or are unclaimed. Players acquire portals for their faction by "deploying" at least one resonator on them. They can also add mods (modifications) to protect the portals or increase their power in various ways. A portal with no resonators is unclaimed, also called a "ghost" portal.

Players acquire game items (resonators, weapons, etc.) by maneuvering themselves, typically by walking, biking or driving, to within 40 meters of portals and "hacking" them by selecting this option on their scanners. Any player can hack any portal and receive items, subject to limits on frequency: Hacking a portal starts a "cool down period", initially 5 minutes, until that player can hack that portal again; and attempting more than 4 hacks within 4 hours will cause the portal to "burn out" for that player for 4 hours. These periods can be reduced with the "Heat Sink" and "Multi-hack" mods. Hacking a portal controlled by the opposing faction also earns the player 100 additional AP (Action Points), at the risk of being attacked by the portal in the form of losing XM.

To claim a portal for a faction, a player equips, or deploys, at least one resonator on it. If a portal is claimed by the enemy, the player must first neutralize it by destroying the opponents' resonators with weapons called XMP ("eXotic Matter Pulse") Bursters, the principal means of attacking a portal. XM itself is neutral, not aligned with either faction, but an XMP Burster fired by a player of one faction will damage any portal of the other faction within range, while having no effect on portals of the player's own faction.

Portals are typically associated with buildings and landmarks of historic or architectural significance— such as sculptures, murals, and other public art, libraries, post offices, memorials, places of worship, public transit hubs, parks and other recreational or tourist spaces, or with business locations. Players may submit requests for the creation of new portals, and the number of portals has increased steadily over the lifetime of the game. The density of portals correlates with player density and thus with population density, so the central areas of cities typically contain the highest concentration of portals.

Game items

A player may have various items that are useful in the game. These are generally, but not necessarily, obtained by hacking portals. A player is limited to a maximum of 2000 items in inventory at any one time, except for the excess acquired in the single most recent hack. (But see key lockers.)

Resonators

A portal may be equipped with up to eight resonators, determining the level and the color, or faction alignment, of that portal. A portal with no resonators will be grey, requiring players to equip a portal with at least one resonator to claim, or "capture", it for his or her faction. The farther the resonators are from each other and from the portal, the harder it is to attack the portal. In order to accomplish this, when deploying resonators the player should be as far away as possible from the target portal while keeping it within the 40-meter radius of their access range. A portal can only have resonators of one faction; therefore, a player must destroy all the resonators on an enemy portal, possibly with assistance from teammates, before capturing it.

Resonators have levels ranging from 1 to 8. A player can deploy resonators only up to his or her own level, with additional restrictions on how many resonators of each level an individual can deploy on a given portal. The game mechanics reward teamwork by limiting the number of high-level resonators a single player can deploy; up to eight players working together can create a far higher-level portal (maximum portal level of 8) than any one player can create individually (maximum portal level of 5), and eight players are required for a portal to reach the highest possible level. Furthermore, resonators decay over time, about 15% every 24 hours, and must be recharged from a player's XM reserves in order to maintain control of the portal. This can be done either on site, or remotely through the use of a portal key.

Mods

A portal may also be equipped with up to four modifications, or "mods". Six types of modification are available:

• Shields mitigate (reduce) the damage from an enemy's attack by 30–95%. Common shields offer a 30% damage mitigation, Rare shields 40%, and Very Rare shields 60%; adding further shields improves mitigation but by decreasing amounts. The Very Rare "AXA Shield" provides 70% mitigation.
• Turrets improve a portal's counterattack defense by increasing its rate of attack and damage done per attack. This item is considered Rare.
• Force Amplifiers increase the strength of each portal's defensive counterattack against a player who attacks it. This item is considered Rare.
• Link Amplifiers increase the maximum distance that a link may be created from that portal. This item is considered Rare, and the more powerful "SoftBank Ultra Link" is Very Rare. Very Rare link amps also exist, but they must be obtained through codes from Niantic (rather than through hacking).
• Heat Sinks reduce the cooldown periods between a player's hacks of a portal. They come as Common, Rare, and Very Rare.
• Multi-hacks increase the number of times a player can hack a portal in a 4-hour period without causing burnout. They come as Common, Rare, and Very Rare.

Keys

Keys ("portal keys" in full) are associated with specific individual portals, and every portal has keys. Keys most commonly come into play through hacking: the items received by hacking a portal will fairly often include a key for that portal. Keys provide two abilities:

• to recharge the portal's resonators from the player's XM reserves remotely, without being within the usual 40-meter range
• to create a link to that portal, by being within range of another portal and using its LINK capability, subject to certain restrictions

Capsules

Capsules are containers that allow players to organize, store, and share their items. If a player wants to give another player a large number of items from the first player's inventory, it is tedious to drop them one by one and for the other player to pick them up one by one in the same place. Instead, the first player can put them into a capsule at any time, no matter where the player is, and then go to the agreed-on spot and drop the capsule in a single action. Then the second player can pick up ("acquire") the capsule, also as a single action, and unload it into their general inventory at their convenience.

Each capsule can hold up to 100 items. They can be added or removed in any order.

Besides the ordinary capsules, there are at least two special types of capsule:

• MUFG capsules, sponsored by a Japanese financial group, "pay interest" on their contents, occasionally creating a duplicate of an item and adding it to their contents.
• Key lockers are available only through the in-game store. As their name suggests, they can hold only portal keys, with the usual limit of 100. They come in five colors; the colors behave identically, but each player is limited to one of each color. Keys stored in these lockers are not counted against the player's inventory limit of 2000 items, so a player can keep up to 500 additional keys at the cost of only 5 inventory spots (plus the cost of the lockers themselves).

Powerups

Powerups are only available from the in-game store. Items from the store cannot be dropped to other players. Power-ups include:

• Frackers - Frackers double the hack output of the portal for ten minutes or 150 total hacks, whichever comes first. They can be deployed on portals of either faction.
• Beacons - Beacons make a symbol hover above a portal for four hours. Generally, there are four beacons available: Enlightened, Resistance, Target, or Meetup. However, beacons with other symbols have also been available in the store for a limited time, such as Niantic and Obsidian.

Power cubes

Performing actions in the game consumes XM, which may be replenished by using a power cube. (Players can also "recycle" almost any kind of gear, essentially destroying it and gaining a specified number of XM immediately.) Power cubes are classified as Very Common, and they come in levels 1-8. In February 2016, the Lawson Power Cube was unveiled. This Very Rare sponsored item essentially expands a player's XM tank.

Weapons

Weapons destroy enemy resonators and mods, and neutralize enemy portals (enabling a player to then capture said portal). There are three classes of weapons:

• XMP bursters - These are the most common type of weapon. They come in levels 1-8. When fired, a blast of energy is released in a ring, starting at the player's position and decreasing in energy as it spreads out.
• Ultra strikes - These are similar to XMP bursters, but have a much smaller range and are more potent.
• Flipcards - There are two types: ADA Refactors, and JARVIS Viruses. ADA Refactors flip a green portal blue, while keeping all mods and resonators intact (but blue, rather than green). If a blue player uses it, all resonators and mods are shown as "owned" by (i.e., deployed by) that player. If a green player uses one (usually to destroy a green link), __ADA__ is shown as the owner. The opposite is true of JARVIS Viruses.

Portal links and control fields

Two portals that have all eight resonators deployed and are controlled by the same faction can be linked by a player from that faction who stands within range of one and has a portal key for the other. (Keys are obtained by hacking but, like most such in-game objects, can be dropped. After twelve hours they disappear, unless picked up by another player.) The maximum possible length of a link depends on the level of resonators on a portal (higher level resonators equal longer linking range) and mods (specifically, link amps (rare and very rare), and SoftBank Ultra Links). However, one cannot create a link that crosses an existing link from either faction. Both portals must have at least three resonators deployed to maintain the link. The opposing faction can destroy the link by attacking one or both portals so that one portal's resonator count falls below three.

When three portals are linked in a triangle, they create a control field, claiming the Mind Units (MU) within that field for their faction. Portals within a field cannot originate links, but can be linked to from any portals on the perimeter (that is, any of the three portals defining the triangle). The opposing faction can destroy a control field by destroying one or more of the links that form it.

In an effort to capture as many MUs as possible, additional fields can be created that blanket other fields. This is called layering, and each subsequent field that is created "recaptures" the MUs from the previous field(s), adding to the count. Layering is most often accomplished by utilizing one or two common portals, called anchors, to host inbound and outbound links and using a unique portal(s) each time to create each additional layered field. Periodically, faction members will coordinate large-scale layered fields that span multiple countries.

Supported devices

A strong Wi-Fi or cellular data connection is required to play Ingress, as well as GPS. Devices running Android 4.0+ and iOS 7 and later are supported.

In areas with no cellular service, a BGAN modem may be used to reach portals.

Business model

Ingress is partly supported by advertising. Companies can pay for their locations to be used as portals in the game, thus making their stores a pilgrimage site for Ingress players, which may translate into real-world sales.

Another form of advertising is sponsorship of in-game equipment. Players can virtually acquire various tools and weapons to use in the game. Sponsored versions of these include the "AXA Shield", the "Lawson Power Cube, the "SoftBank Ultra Link" and the "MUFG Capsule", all categorized as Very Rare and performing significantly better than nonsponsored versions.

In October–November 2015 Niantic added an online Store and Shop. The Store, accessed through the game app under OPS, sells in-game items that are priced in Chaotic Matter Units (CMU) [not to be confused with XM (Exotic Matter)], which in turn may be purchased for national currency in countries that permit it. Niantic's Ingress Shop, accessed through the Ingress website, sells physical merchandise such as T-shirts and patches for real currency.

Split from Google

On August 12, 2015, Niantic announced that it was being spun off as an independent company:

Important Account Information: Niantic Labs is becoming an independent company [... with] new partners joining Google as collaborators and backers.

As part of this operation, Google was to begin transferring user data to Niantic on September 11. Users would be able to opt out of this process.

Special events

In addition to the ongoing competition between the factions wherever there are players, there are several kinds of special events held on specific dates.

Anomalies

XM Anomalies are periods of unusually high XM (Exotic Matter) concentration where players from both factions compete to control clusters of portals in order to win points for their team. Anomalies usually occur over the course of several weeks, with different events located in major cities around the world. Starting with 13MAGNUS 12 Oct – 14 Dec 2013), anomalies have occurred quarterly, with the exception of third quarter 2014, when there was none. Anomaly sites are divided into two categories: Primary and Satellite locations. Niantic Labs employees, as well as characters from the Ingress story (see Cast), often attend events at Primary anomaly locations. More points are awarded to the prevailing faction at Primary Sites than at Satellite sites. Players who participate in an anomaly are awarded a unique badge with the emblem of that anomaly. The outcome of XM Anomalies often influences future events in the Ingress backstory.

From	To	Name	Primary sites (number & list)	Notes
13 Jul 2013		Voynich	8: Hamburg, Germany; Oslo, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Helsinki, Finland; Stockholm, Sweden; Moscow, Russia; St. Petersburg, Russia	No badges awarded
3 Aug 2013		Minotaur	8: Minneapolis, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; St. Louis, MO; Kansas City, MO; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Denver, CO; Atlanta, GA; Toronto, Ontario, Canada	No badges awarded
11 Aug 2013	24 Aug 2013	Cassandra	13: Sydney, Australia; Milan, Italy; Tokyo, Japan; Düsseldorf, Germany; Boston, Massachusetts; Washington, DC; Manila, Philippines; Paris, France; São Paulo, Brazil; Hong Kong, PRC; Cologne, Germany; Chicago, IL; New York, NY	No badges awarded
12 Oct 2013	14 Dec 2013	13MAGNUS		No badges awarded
15 Feb 2014	29 Mar 2014	Recursion	8: Miami, FL; Bangalore, India; Nashville, TN; Austin, TX; Zagreb, Croatia; Boulder, CO; Berlin, Germany; Los Angeles, CA
12 Apr 2014	21 Jun 2014	Interitus	11: Amsterdam, Netherlands; Flagstaff, AZ; London, U.K.; Santa Fe, NM; Beijing, China; Melbourne, Australia; Kansas City, MO; Santiago, Chile; Birmingham, AL; Kraków, Poland; Gettysburg, PA
12 Jul 2014	27 Sep 2014	Helios	11: Montreal, Canada; San Diego, CA; Dublin, Ireland; Chicago, IL; Taipei, Taiwan; Detroit, MI; Prague, Czech Republic; Minneapolis, MN; Bogotá, Colombia; Tacoma, WA; Munich, Germany	Also London Special Edition
18 Oct 2014	13 Dec 2014	Darsana	6: Salt Lake City, UT; Brussels, Belgium; New Orleans, LA ; Tokyo, Japan ; Charleston, SC; Barcelona, Spain	Also Darsana Global
21 Feb 2015	28 Mar 2015	Shōnin	5: Austin, TX; Florence, Italy; Pasadena, CA; Hanover, Germany; Kyoto, Japan
30 May 2015	20 Jun 2015	Persepolis	5: Bratislava, Slovakia; Washington, DC; Utrecht, The Netherlands; Tohoku, Japan; Portland, OR
10 Oct 2015	12 Dec 2015	Abaddon	6: Hamburg, Germany; New Orleans, LA; New Taipei City, Taiwan; Oakland, CA; Okinawa, Japan; Milan, Italy	Flash Shards Special Events: 10 Oct 2015, 24 Oct 2015: Boston, MA; Houston, TX; London, U.K.; Zurich, Switzerland
27 February 2016	2 April 2016	Obsidian	4: Seattle, WA; Hong Kong; Vienna, Austria; Orlando, FL
28 May 2016	16 July 2016	Aegis Nova	7: Brooklyn, NY; Rotterdam, Netherlands; Tainan, Taiwan; San Diego, CA; Moscow, Russia; Sydney, Australia; Tokyo, Japan

Mission days

"Mission Days bring together Agents from both factions to explore cities around the world through the lens of Ingress with unique and local adventures on foot." Often these are held in conjunction with Anomalies.

Cast

The game includes in-universe communications from several characters, including

• Dr. Devra Bogdanovich (Karen Strassman)
• ADA (A Detection Algorithm) (voiced by Laura Bailey)
• Misty Hannah (Misty Lee)
• Klue (Katy Townsend)
• Susanna Moyer (Ione Butler)
• Roland Jarvis (J.B. Blanc)
• Henry "Hank" Johnson (Christopher Corey Smith)
• Dr. Oliver Lynton-Wolfe (Yuri Lowenthal)
• The Acolyte (Amy Walker)

These characters also appear at different Anomalies with the cast in character. Also, if you purchase a Supporter Pack at an Anomaly, you will receive a in-game badge corresponding to the character who is present at the Anomaly.

Reception

A cross-faction portal hunt convenes in Washington, D.C., by the Smithsonian Castle on April 14, 2013.

Ingress was released in closed beta on November 15, 2012, with an accompanying online viral marketing campaign. The latter was noticed as early as November 8, and earlier publicity efforts had been noted at events such as San Diego's Comic-Con on July 12, 2012. Google employees had been testing the game for at least six months. Ingress has exited beta and is available for download on Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store. According to Alex Dalenberg of American City Business Journals, as of May 2013 there were about 500,000 players globally. In an interview in August 2013 with the fan site Decode Ingress, Niantic Labs founder John Hanke said "There have been over 1M downloads and a large chunk of those are active." Speaking with CNN, he said he didn't expect players to start talking to each other and forming clubs. The game has received local media coverage, and some players have attracted the attention of law enforcement, and hence commentary on the interaction of augmented reality games with real life.

The opposing faction members at MIT arranged a campus-wide truce after the death of Sean Collier, an MIT police officer shot by the perpetrators in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and placed their two respective portals side-by-side in a virtual cenotaph at the site of his death.

Portals which had been approved within the Nazi concentration camps of Dachau and Sachsenhausen were removed in July 2015; Gabriele Hammermann, director of the memorial site at Dachau, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that Google's original approval of these portals was a humiliation for victims of the Nazi camps and their relatives, and Niantic Labs' founder John Hanke stated that "we apologize that this has happened."

Awards

Ingress won a "special mention" at the 2013 Android Players' Choice Awards.
In 2014, Ingress won the 18th Japan Media Arts Festival Grand Prize for Entertainment Division

Similarity to Shadow Cities

The basic idea of Ingress is very similar to the older, now-defunct, augmented reality game, Shadow Cities. Both have two factions which are fighting for the future of the world with smart phones. The games have similar game mechanics and look-and-feel.

There are clear differences, however. In Shadow Cities players are in the virtual world, which is dynamically mapped around them, and can teleport within the virtual world, whereas in Ingress the portals are real world locations that players generally have to actually move to in order to play.

Shadow Cities was shut down on October 7, 2013 due to lack of popularity.

Game population

In 2015, Niantic told Tom's Hardware that they had 7 million players.

See also

• Geocaching
• Pokémon GO
• Struve Geodetic Arc
• Transmedia storytelling
• MMO
• Augmented reality

External links

• Official website