INGRESS. Claim your teritory, create your own story, build a history...
INGRESS.Claim your teritory, create your own story, build a history...
Not so long ago, Google’s acquisition of Niantic Labs earned them a remarkable real-time game called Ingress. I won’t write any history about how this game was built. Yet, I might tell you a little background from the game story that is considered as a base to build your own story, and some particular things related to the gameplay itself. And yes, all of you can create a story. But the best of it is that you are not alone. It is you with your community -called faction- that can create a history.
In the game I am ArkaDeva. A Level 8 lady. Although I am an Enlightened agent, I will write as a non-faction :p
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Firstly, I want to let you know that my writings do not represent the whole storyline in which most major country play ingress. I might mention some, but I will emphasize stories from my own home land. An archipelago named Indonesia.
The Ingress gameplay is basically about domination : portal domination and coverage domination; how many you can get, how big you can create, how far you can go. Owh..don't forget about how good your coordination is. The best part of this game besides exploring an area thoroughly is that you can go out on your own (be a solo player) but at some point in the game you cannot advance without others. Yes, ingress forces you to interact with other agents. To join up, to team up, to communicate, TO CONNECT.
Ingress does not have characters --unlike some other games. There are no swordsman, acolyte, hunter, or else. There are only 2 factions : the Enlightened (green) and the Resistance (blue). By default, we -human- are all resistance. *see the explanation about the faction here* There's no right or wrong, good or bad. It is about what you believe. And everyone have their right to claim their beliefs.
Basicly, all agents (players) have a same ability. Nothing differentiate them but color and the background story. Enlightenment is an alliance of Shaper, an unknown creature who brings Exotic Matter (XM) through portal existence. Some say, Shaper brings knowledge while others say it want to do Ingression to the earth, to take over mankind *hey,you find where the name Ingress come from ;) *. Resistance, on the other side, have strong belief in humanity. They said, we, human, do not need Shaper’s power and against its existence on earth. If you want to take benefit from Shaper’s knowledge, you are an Enlightenment. But if you refuse the Shaper on this mother earth, you shall join Resistance.
The way you play the game and communicate with other agents define your character. That's why I like to say that while playing ingress, the character is you. The game might be virtual, but the achievements are very real.
Playing a new character very differently than your true self in real life? Go ahead. Ingress is a big enough stage for theatrical acts. Even if your real character doesn't fit to any antagonist preference, you can build one. Since you define the antagonist by yourself, the curtain is always open.
This option, however, gives super broad probabilities for agents (players) to build their presence in the Ingress world: how you want to be known by others--which surprisingly affect others' perception about your real life character.
Audiences don't fall in love with plots. They fall in love with characters. Unforgettable characters."#CannesLions
Misinterpretation often happens. Conflicts spark up. Good if it happens and stays only in the COMM chat room but sometimes it is dragged into personal (real life) conflicts. Yup. It happened to some people. Hopefully only to a very few.
The same conflicts, though, create stories. Some are told over and over through a faction's generation, some are remarkable histories. Stories based on conflict mostly happened because of character influence. IMHO a faction's achievement rarely hatch conflicts. It raises competition -- which is good. Well, some stories raise up because internal issue. Could be a problem, could be a mission.
When I started to step into this parallel world, I was recited a story about eosmate (well, it is basically because I am enlightened), galesh, confrontation between some agents and what lies behind it, achievement that were made (some achievements were not strong enough to be memorized as a history though :p), etc. What story have you heard when you join a faction? Would you like to share it? ;)
Some stories become hyperboles, although the events were real. It is you who decides whether to believe it wholeheartedly or just accept it as an event. Haha ;) Drama is always added to the story.
Those stories and histories draw emotional bond between agents and their factions. To be in the community, to be involved in a mission, to be a family, to write another (his)story, that is what it means to be an agent.
If the stories doesn't motivate you enough, you still have the actual game mechanism to be achieved : leveling up, experience to be gained by attacking and capturing portals and create control field.
Ingress is still in beta, they say.
A player's level maxed out at level 8 yet their AP (experience point) is continues to grow. The question is "what's next?" What happens after level 8? Or maybe the question should be "what will you do after achieving a level 8?" Will you just stop?
Although you don't need to be a L8 agent to write a story or be part of it, this question often haunts. Some lose their motivation while others focuses to leave a mark in a faction’s history. Which one will you choose?
Ingress only provides platform. The rest is user generated content. The rest is up to you.
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So, what are you waiting for?
If you haven't sign up as an agent you can ask to get invitation from Ingress website or contact your local agent (in Indonesia you can contact here). Find the community in G+. This is my community. And this is one of our history (i am the video editor ;) )
Become an agent.
Claim your territory, create your own story, build a history.
INGRESS
Future reads (external permalink)
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Future article :
Ingress segmentation player finding
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