So for the past few months I've been playing a game called Ingress. In a lot of ways, this game is inspired. It uses GPS to overlay the game on top of the real world. The objectives in the game are real locations that have been marked as "portals" that you can view and interact with using a phone app.
The idea has a lot of promise. I initially found it compelling because the link between the gameplay and the real world makes it very immersive. And it basically gamifies hiking and geocaching (which is perfect for me).
However, there is one critical flaw. It is an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online). I have never been a fan of MMOs because I am not a fan of the type of people who play MMOs or a fan of how they play. Players are divided in two factions which compete for area control. The game has become infested with trolls who have completely given up on winning the game. (And not to be biased, but in our area primarily the other team. Our team outscores them 5-to-1 on a regular basis.) They just run around and stomp on other players who are trying to actually play.
It wouldn't be so bad except the gameplay seems specifically designed to encourage such behavior. It is 100 times easier to destroy something than it is to build it. There is no other explanation for how unbalanced this game is except that it is by design. They want you to build it and then have it destroyed so you have to build it again so it can be destroyed again. I guess that is supposed to be "engaging". But to anyone who does not want to be staring at their phone 23 hours a day, it just ends up turning into pure frustration. The people who invest time and effort into playing get rewarded least. The people who just go around smashing stuff without expending much time or effort get a quick reward.
And the sad part is that it could be a great game. If you were playing against a computer opponent, it would be way better. Even as an MMO, with everyone trying to take down some invading faction. Then there would be no incentive for such dickishness. If you insist on it being competitive, fine. Just make it a little harder to tear things down. Make them work for it. Most of them will then just give up because they are too lazy.
And maybe I just answered my own question. Maybe it is specifically designed to be easy so that they can keep all these lazy players in their system and boost their numbers. How sad but probably true.
The idea has a lot of promise. I initially found it compelling because the link between the gameplay and the real world makes it very immersive. And it basically gamifies hiking and geocaching (which is perfect for me).
However, there is one critical flaw. It is an MMO (Massive Multiplayer Online). I have never been a fan of MMOs because I am not a fan of the type of people who play MMOs or a fan of how they play. Players are divided in two factions which compete for area control. The game has become infested with trolls who have completely given up on winning the game. (And not to be biased, but in our area primarily the other team. Our team outscores them 5-to-1 on a regular basis.) They just run around and stomp on other players who are trying to actually play.
It wouldn't be so bad except the gameplay seems specifically designed to encourage such behavior. It is 100 times easier to destroy something than it is to build it. There is no other explanation for how unbalanced this game is except that it is by design. They want you to build it and then have it destroyed so you have to build it again so it can be destroyed again. I guess that is supposed to be "engaging". But to anyone who does not want to be staring at their phone 23 hours a day, it just ends up turning into pure frustration. The people who invest time and effort into playing get rewarded least. The people who just go around smashing stuff without expending much time or effort get a quick reward.
And the sad part is that it could be a great game. If you were playing against a computer opponent, it would be way better. Even as an MMO, with everyone trying to take down some invading faction. Then there would be no incentive for such dickishness. If you insist on it being competitive, fine. Just make it a little harder to tear things down. Make them work for it. Most of them will then just give up because they are too lazy.
And maybe I just answered my own question. Maybe it is specifically designed to be easy so that they can keep all these lazy players in their system and boost their numbers. How sad but probably true.
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