Ingress (Android GPS game)
Anyone here play Google's Augmented Reality game Ingress?
It's a GPS driven capture-the-flag game - played in the real world, with a free app for Android from the Play store. (Yes, it's free. No, it isn't available for Apple.)
There's also a fascinating (and quite deep) backstory, including a couple of books. Basic overview: A new energy source (called "Exotic Matter" or "XM" in the game) has been discovered. Has the ability to 'shape' (control) people. The "Enlightened" faction believe that the intelligence behind the XM (beings called "Shapers") are benevolent, and that welcoming them will bring about enlightenment. The resistance are rather more sceptical, and want the technology, but don't trust the underlying message. The resistance have some suspicion that the enlightened are already under shaper control. The two sides battle to control key locations ("Portals"), and link those portals together to control areas of the map.
There's a lot of talk about getting people up off the couch and walking around, but unless you happen to live in the city centre (or very close to a few other really dense areas) it turns out to be more of a driving game. It has taken me to plenty of interesting places I had no idea were nearby in the course of searching out portals though.
If you find your area doesn't have many portals, you can make your own out of any public art - murals, statues, monuments, interesting architecture or notable public buildings are good candidates (they'll generally accept things like public libraries and even post offices). It's just a case of using the app to take a photo, mark the location on the map, and write a short description.
I've been playing it since the first public beta last November - and I have invites to give out if anyone is interested :)
