What didn't you do before Ingress?
I know several people who got on their first plane or travelled internationally for the first time because of Ingress. I got on a bike for the first time since childhood because of Ingress. What did Ingress inspire you to do?
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Explore. I really wasn't into going somewhere and find out out new places, it's history. I prefered good book and my couch. Ingress changed my mind. Now I love to see new cities, their POI, history, monuments, sights, etc. I spend hours only walking, making new friends in another locations and getting to know new things and I love it!
Get in cars with strangers that I had never met before.
I didn't go to seedy places at night, or traipse through college campuses that I wasn't a student at.
I drove much better, and respected most traffic laws.
I didn't hop into strangers cars, although with Uber and Lyft, maybe I would have ended up doing that.
I didn't socialize with people from all over the country, and the world.
I didn't travel the country and the world for silly games.
I didn't think much about the importance of security or privacy before Ingress.
Before Ingress, I was a work obsessed, borderline fruit loop, one loop away from a complete nervous breakdown. Now I play Ingress, Pokémon Go, and wonder where all my time goes! I'm a lot fitter too.
Go outside and make friends.
1) Jumping in the car at random hours to drive 2 hours for one single geographic location.
2) Getting no sleep all night long while driving along a 100 mile route to target specific geographic locations.
3) I've always been a traveller and such, but now my travel is more focused. I have more incentive to branch out and visit new places!
As a not actually an answer to this question, but in the spirit of it though: in the first year of my playing Ingress, I separated from my spouse, eventually getting a divorce. Ingress has been what supported me through that process, giving me a social outlet with new people that didn't know me as one of a couple, but knows me as just me. I cannot be grateful enough to this community for that.
Go outside, i used to be too lazy to go outside, since i started my journey in ingress i've changed to some healthier habits and met awesome people!.
I have always Walked alot around and enjoyed doing so. But now i actually see all the hidden gems around out There. never had i ever cared About looking for The history or cultur around my Town. cause i was'nt paying any attention to it- i do now! and Even reseaching and exploring Things i now thanks to ingress have this new grown interrest for. :-)
Before ingress, I'd sit at my PC through lunch. I'd talk to work colleagues and family, but no one else. My weekends were still late nights for work but read a book when quiet.
Now, I go for a walk before work, lunchtime and after work. Take the long route. Go places I would never of gone. Seen places I've never noticed before. And the gaps on night shift are filled with Hacks,links,field and attacking the opposition. The routes go 'slightly' out of the way or along a portal rich route. I talk with people from all over the country. Meet up with them in foreign lands.
Has ingress changed my life? I think that's a definite Oh Yeah!!
Got in a small boat, travelled to a small island, dressed up in protective clothing, and counted gull nests. While the gulls dive-bombed me. Twice.
Might've captured some portals too...
I never truly got to see more areas of Minnesota, where I live. Exploration is more common for me, now.
30 in a 35 zone 🙃
Never fully explored my own city. No idea who lived where, who is buried where it what cool statues, monuments, etc are scattered throughout the city
For me, the first thing was discover art in my neighborhood that I never knew existed!
See the world in a "potential portal candidates"-filter. Thanks Niantic.
I had never missed so much sleep for a game unless it was a drinking game. Nor had I asked someone to stand in a river during a flash flood warning / thunder storm with an antenna looking for signal (I know). I had never said the words "I'm gonna blow it up" near a National Monument. I had never chosen my daily routes to work based on the density of gaming locations. I had never driven all night just to return to where I started. I had never led a large team of people in a precise, international, military-like operation. I had never studied decoding. I had never traveled for a game. I had never hopped in a stranger's van in the middle of the night in a big city. I had never done a tour of the Google offices. I had never broken the axle of my car for the sake of revenge. I had never used a signal booster. I had never heard of a bgan. I had never driven a ridge in 72mi/hr winds during a mandatory evacuation under false pretences.
I could keep going. But, I have a feeling I better stop before I somehow get into trouble.
Wow, so many great responses. I'm enjoying this thread!
Here are some repeats from above, but these are things that have really changed in my life:
Here are two things that Ingress hasn't changed, but enhanced:
Wow, so many great responses. I'm enjoying this thread!
Some of these are repeats from above, but they are things that have made an impact in my lifestyle:
- Discovering the history behind buildings and monuments in the towns around where I live (to make them good portal candidates)
- Travelling long distances to join group events with strangers.
- Wandering into dodgy looking places at night
- Thanks to OPR I've learnt what a ha-ha is, and the relative rarity of different types of UK postboxes.
Here are some things that Ingress hasn't changed, but enhanced:
- Exploration. I've always like getting in the car and visiting a city or town I've never been to, just to wander about. Now, I wander about with a bit more purpose. This is one of the things that made me get addicted to Ingress.
- Looking at maps. I've always liked examining maps for interesting things. Another thing that caused me to get into Ingress. Now, of course, I'm looking for unique visits, fielding opportunities, or potential portal candidates.
Number of California counties visited before Ingress: 5
Number of California counties visited after Ingress: 58
I visited the final one last year; went to an old ghost town having its anniversary. Helped the descendant of the bartender knock down the front door so he could get in, and watched him leaf through a picture book of his memories of growing up in, well, nowhere.
"Lot of memories here", he said, and was right.
Memories in nowhere for something not really there is definitely a thing.
Going to visit a city you've never heard of to attend an anomaly. Meet amazing people who become your friends at those cities - sometimes only seeing them every few years but still carrying on from where you left off each time. For me that's the best part of ingress.
(also being pinged and tracked at a few thousand feet in the swiss alps by agents organising an op by plane - telling me not to link! - that was a surreal feeling but also pretty cool lol)
I used to never pay any attention to my surroundings, but now, contrary to popular belief walk around everywhere with fresh eyes, not staring at my phone, but looking up trying to find things to photograph and submit so that others may stare at their phones! 😁
Talk to and meet as many new people. Ingress helped a lot with confidence for me, meeting new people in my town within a few days of starting to play, my first farm with 10+ players, going to gamescom for work and talking to a random person wearing an ingress t-shirt.
It's taken me many more places I'd probably never had travelled too :)
I never had the courage to just walk up to complete strangers and talk to them before Ingress. Now, I'm still nervous, but I'm not as afraid to say "Hi." I forced myself to walk across a bridge I would never have dared to in the past. I started writing more, putting my thoughts out there for the world to see and judge.
10,000 daily steps.
Explore the area. I was in the Navy stationed here in Annapolis from 2010 to 2013. Didn't know much about the place I now live in until I started playing.
Decide to take the long way home.... 800km+ longer.
Take 3 hours to drive 5km.
I'd never gotten a "why are your friends so weird" from my family before I joined 😆
...leading quickly to my first "we don't want you hanging out with a bad crowd"...
...which in turn led quickly to my first time lying about where I was going and what I was doing.
I'd never gone camping in the California Redwoods with a couple of people who I'd only met briefly and a few more who I'd only met online.