ONE November afternoon last year in Manila, a war was fought.
People will never know what really happened at the walled travel spot of Intramuros and at the open space of Rizal Park in that afternoon of November 14. As families leisurely enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of the parks, two opposing factions fought for control over key locations within these areas.
Countless weapons were fired, shields were deployed, and defenses were shattered. Strategies were created, plotted and revised on the spot. Immediately. Reinforcements were called, troops were dispatched and control switched hands many times.
As traditional as this war was in concept, nothing in the way it was fought was so. There were no actual explosions, nobody was injured and no blood was really shed. The soldiers did not look like soldiers at all. In fact, they could easily have been mistaken for tourists huddled together wearing theme shirts. Young and old, they could have just been a group of friends just hanging out at the park. They looked just like you and me.
That is because they weren’t actually soldiers, and this was not an actual war. This was virtual. This is “Ingress.”
“Ingress” is an augmented-reality game developed by Niantic Inc., a former Google internal start-up. A massively multiplayer online game, it was launched for Android in November 2012 and had an iOS release in July 2014. The game currently has over 7 million players around the world.
“Ingress” combines real-world locations with virtual “portals” that players can interact with using their smartphones (or “scanners”, as they are known in the game). There are two factions fighting for control over these portals: Enlightened and Resistance. The Enlightened faction believes that harnessing the power of the portals is beneficial to humankind, while the Resistance believes otherwise. But it is not as simple as that. In fact, there is a complex science-fiction backstory to the game. Niantic Inc. has released snippets of it at various times in different media, and while the full story is yet to be told, users (or “agents”, the official game term), have been given enough information to be able for them to have a cohesive grasp of the “Ingress” universe.
Since the portals are in real-world locations, players have to physically get up and be within range of a portal to be able to interact with it. This makes the game a lot more physically demanding than most gamers are accustomed to, but this is where a big part of the enjoyment comes from. There have been many stories shared about “reclusive” gamers being lured out of their game zones and into the real world, being encouraged to do a lot more physical activities and improving their lifestyles because of it.
Not only does the game encourage physical movement and real-world exploration, it also encourages social interaction. In fact, many Enlightened and Resistance communities have been established in different locations around the world. Communities like the Manila-based Enlightened Pilipinas (www.enlightened.ph) aim to recruit new agents and train them to help them level up. These communities also plan and execute local social activities like meetups and hangouts, and they also carry out in-game “operations,” such as creating a BAF (big-ass field) or capturing certain enemy portals, that help their faction gain points needed for the global ranking.
The game is made even more interesting by the various organized events around the globe that bring agents together to play in specific locations:
• #NL-1331: November Lima 1331 is a black van that goes around cities and stops at different locations. It is actually a moving portal and agents from both factions can gather around where it stops. They must then accomplish certain missions after which they’re given a special badge. Agents then socialize with each other between one hour and two hours.
• Mission Days: These have the objective of exploring neighborhoods and cities by completing several missions in one day. An “Ingress” mission consists of a group of portals that need to be visited and/or hacked, sometimes in a specific order, earning an agent a special medal upon completion. More than being just for fun, Mission Days are also educational as it takes agents to places they would never have explored otherwise, and let them know more about the city or neighborhood they live in.
• “Ingress” First Saturday: The Ingress First Saturday events, which happen simultaneously across different locations and are great for those who need AP (Action Points) to level up. As the name suggests, these happen during the first Saturday of the month, and are organized by local faction communities. Enlightened and Resistance agents are brought together in one venue to first meet and socialize, then go on a head-to-head combat to fight for control over the portals within the area and gain as much AP as they can, within a specific time frame. Awards are then given to the faction with the most AP gained, as well as to individual agents with the most achievements.
• XM Anomaly: “Ingress” XM Anomaly event, which are similar to “Ingress” First Saturdays but with a global scope. XM Anomalies are scheduled every two months to four months, happening on preselected primary and satellite cities. During an Anomaly, the two factions again fight for control over several given portals, but this time, APs are not what determines who wins but how long a faction was in control of the portals. Snapshots are taken at specific intervals to determine which faction owns the most portals during that timeframe. There have been 11 XM Anomalies so far: “Voynich,” “Minotaur,” “Cassandra,” “13Magnus,” “Recursion,” “Interitus,” “Helios,” “Darsana,” “Shōnin,” “Persepolis” and the most recently concluded one, “Abaddon.”
Abaddon happened in Manila that November day. Portals in portions of Luneta and Intramuros were grouped into four clusters. Our Enlightened Pilipinas team was joined by members of the ENLPH community. They fought side by side to capture and defend the portals assigned to them.
Being the first Anomaly for most in the team, they sought the guidance of assigned Team Leaders. They were given roles and responsibilities weeks prior to the event. The members worked hard to collect the items needed to fight for the portals. On the day itself, Enlightened was declared the winner of Abaddon Manila.
They didn’t get any prize for winning. There were no cash awards, no plaques, no medals nor free food. But going home that day, all of the team members were happy.
They couldn’t stop talking about the experience and couldn’t wait for the next Anomaly event.
Some members said they play “Ingress” to achieve that perfect balance in their lives.
“Playing ‘Ingress’ refreshes us from the daily stresses of our work and gives us the opportunity to enjoy more of our lives. On top of that, because of the nature of the game, it also allows us to have memorable social interactions that contribute to further enhancing the quality of our lives.”
Maui Daton wrote this piece as an active player of “Ingress” and participated in one such activity last November. Like this story online via the BusinessMirror Millennials Universe (BMMU) Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Millennial-Universe/435594193285671. Follow BMMU on Twitter via @millennial_U or Instagram (type Millennial Universe). E-mail comments or story to millennialuniverse@yahoo.com and the editor at dennis.estopace@gmail.com.
1 comment
you got it wrong at some points man 🙂