Q6: In comparison to Pokémon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, what do you think are the defining characteristics of Ingress? What sets the gameplay and experiences of Ingress apart and makes it special?
A6: I’ve talked about this a lot but happy to repeat myself on this topic. What I believe makes Ingress special is the core mechanic that requires people to get together in order to gather the high level resources. Not just one, two, or three people… but eight people. This forces a collaboration and shared experience for a daily (or near daily) mechanic of the core game loop of resource gathering that is unique to Ingress to quite a large extent. While multiple Trainers can place a Pokémon in a Gym, they can then walk away and to a large extent their experience is complete. There is something unique in having to build out a Portal together and at the same time if you want to hack that Portal to get the rewards immediately. There can also be strategy in where you deploy a Resonator on a Portal, what mods you use, how you link it. If you’ve ever built a L8 Farm and deployed a Common Shield or L8 Resonator you know what I’m talking about. There is more strategy and collaboration involved with Ingress in my opinion.