Ingress is an augmented reality (AR) game for Android and iOS platforms developed by Niantic, a software development studio that spun out of Google. A social game designed to encourage players to physically explore their surroundings, it makes creative use of location data to tell a story of warring factions in a dystopian sci-fi world.
The Ingress team regularly holds large-scale events where “agents” (as Ingress players are known) across the globe can connect and enjoy the game together. The latest of these—XM Anomaly: Shōnin 03—was held in Kyoto on March 28, 2015. Hearing that what happened in Kyoto would have the potential to shape the future of the Ingress universe, we knew we had to answer the call!
Agents Abound!(8000 Players Estimated in Attendance)
We arrived in Kyoto at 10 a.m., just as registration opened at Maruyama Music Hall in scenic Maruyama Park, renowned for its cherry blossoms. After signing up, we posed for a group shot with our fellow agents.
▲John Hanke, a vice president of Google and founder of Niantic Labs, the team behind Ingress, also made the trip to Japan for this special event. He spoke to the crowd, explaining how a family trip to Kyoto he had taken a few years back inspired and influenced him greatly in the game’s development. He encouraged the agents in attendance to take in the rich cultural history of the city in between their heated battles.
▲Maruyama Music Hall only holds 2,500 people at full capacity, so needless to say, many agents were left outside. All told, it was a massive event, with roughly 8,000 agents descending on Tokyo to battle for the future of mankind.
▲Out-of-the-way small shrines and jizo (small Buddhist statues) were set as “portals,” the objectives of which players must vie for control, and a heated battle quickly escalated between the two opposing factions.
▲Curious structures like this one were also featured as portals. This particular monument stood at the entrance of a local business.
▲Agents do battle in narrow alleys typically unexplored by tourists and visitors. They must have appeared awfully suspicious to locals unfamiliar with the event.
▲Here’s another portal, this one located at Doshisha University’s Muromachi Campus. This hall is a venue for film festivals and concerts, and is open not only to students and faculty but the general public as well.
▲Agents in their thirties and forties made up the majority of participants. As befitting an international event, we encountered agents from across the world, many of whom were clearly enjoying taking in the sights as they waged their invisible war.
▲Signposts like these abound in Kyoto. Many of these also served as portals, allowing agents to learn history as they explored the city. This particular sign marks the former residence of Umon Fujii, an imperial supporter from the Edo Period.
At Battle’s End
When the day was done and the battle over, agents gathered for an after-party at the Kyoto International Conference Center. Results were announced, and special guests and sponsors presented gifts and awards to the participants.
▲Agents looking to kick back after a hard-fought day and enjoy the XM Anomaly to the fullest filled the halls of the ICC Kyoto.
▲A group photo from an official Ingress event held the previous March, with only twenty-six agents in attendance. What a difference a year makes!
▲The mayor of Kyoto, Daisaku Kadokawa, also made a special appearance in a green kimono matching the Ingress motif. Beside him is Masashi Kawashima of Niantic Labs, the driving force behind this event.
▲Agents who had demonstrated particularly impressive results over the past week were rewarded with special gifts from the event’s co-sponsors.
▲Niantic Labs also presented the agents in attendance with QR codes allowing access to the closed beta version of their latest app in development, Endgame. (*This game never saw an official release.)
An Agent and a Gentleman
The thousands of agents navigating through narrow alleys with smartphones in hand were surely a curious sight for unsuspecting onlookers. That said, we were impressed at their impeccable manners—keeping to the side of streets and alleys to leave a path for tourists, keeping their voices down in residential districts so as not to disturb the residents, and so forth. Various cities and organizations outside of Kyoto have also shown an interest in teaming up with the Ingress team to bring in visitors. At this rate, it might not be long until an Ingress event comes to your neighborhood! We encourage you to keep an eye out—you just might see your surroundings in a whole new way, and make some new friends in the process!
*This article was originally posted on April 6, 2015.
Translation: Jon Machida