【Ingress】 Celebrating 10 years of community
The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.
In 2014, Ingress Agents searched for dead drops – hidden geocaches with Volatile Portal intel – all over San Diego during the Helios Anomaly Series.
Two years earlier, the "Buck Rogers: Past, Present, & Future" panel was disrupted by a troubled comic book artist who claimed there were messages hidden in plain view in the old episodes. Messages about Portals, he said.
History repeating. Or maybe recursing.
While most of the dead drops were made outside, some were located in the Exhibit Hall at the WeLoveFine and HarperCollins booths. You needed a Comic-Con badge and the password.
I was at the WLF booth when a little girl came bouncing down the Exhibit Hall, zipped passed me, and got the attention of one of the workers.
In a hushed whisper, she said: The secret password is ████████.
The worker went to the back, grabbed a manila envelope, and handed it to her. She took it with both hands, buzzing with excitement.
Just before they left, her dad mentioned: She loves Ingress; she loves this kind of stuff. And then they took off.
It was a blink-and-you'll-miss it, tiny interaction. No more than a minute. But why that specific minute stayed with me after all this time is because that little girl wasn't sitting on the couch, moving a virtual hero on a screen. She was the hero who secured valuable intel for her Faction.
I don't remember what Faction she and her dad were on. I'm not sure if it matters. She saved the day. She won. And she knew that.
I've been thinking about that moment a lot these days because I wish more people could feel that same feeling, too.
That feeling that you matter. That you are a part of something bigger than yourself. That you are connected to a global community of people who want you to succeed.
Ingress is not a game.
Ingress is a community.
It's a community where I can show up in a city where I don't speak the same language or even know what side of the stairs to walk on, but I still feel welcomed because I can open up my Agent Profile and we can share a drink while we compare stats and talk story and admire our mission banners.
Where Agents host their own parties and meetups to celebrate together with friends, and organize their own marketplaces with the coolest and most creative merch.
And it's a community where Agents support Agents, like Quint Arrow and Nomson Curry. (We'll be back in Japan to see the new Techthulu units up and running at both of these locations.)
I don't know if it's the XM influence or what, but I could physically feel the warmth and love from every Agent I was fortunate enough to meet this Anomaly weekend in Yokohama and last month in Los Angeles.
Thank you. I missed this. And I'm excited when I hear Agents saying to each other: I'll see you at the next one.
More events, more often. More reasons to meet you out there. There are other changes coming to the Scanner in the future, but events are what I'm most excited for.
Thank you for being a part of our Ingress community, and here's to Ingress forever.
I'll see you at the next one.