Walk by the lunchroom at my office and you’ll hear… nothing. When Candy Crush first entered the scene I had dismissed it as a passing fad. Many months later, my coworkers are still grossly entrenched in the saga moving their eyes from their monitors to their mobile phones during scheduled breaks. I don’t get it.
What I could understand though is the new variety of location-based games like Ingress, by Google’s Niantic Labs. Using GPS technology and regular updates via social media is a natural next step for the mobile gaming industry, but what I really love is how the game is melding the game world with the real world.
In Ingress, players choose one of two factions to defend (Enlightenment / Resistance) and seek out portals to “capture”. The portals are typically sculptures or historical landmarks and “capturing” them is like checking in on Foursquare. Like other online games, this one encourages the growth of online communities but takes it one step further by making it a game that’s more fun in person.
I just downloaded the game. It really is time to move.