Video games have been a big part of culture since the 1970's and 1980's. The medium has been making an impact on society in more ways than one. That said, video games have been largely confined to a single room. Even with portable gaming through dedicated handhelds and smartphones, nine times out of ten the games take place indoors.
Two companies are planning to change that. Nintendo and Niantic Labs have been developing apps; Pokemon Go for the former, and Ingress for the latter. Pokemon Go has players catching and training the titular creatures while encouraging them to go outside instead of confining themselves into a room to play. Ingress is a competitive social game where dozens of players get together either as the Enlightened or the Resistance. Think geocaching combined with gaming and you get the idea. While Pokemon Go is going to be released somewhere in 2016, Ingress is available on iTunes and Google Play now.
The greatness of these two games are that they require people to go outside to get their gaming done. Not even Candy Crush or Words With Friends can do that. In the process, there's a possibility that players can make new friends in their outdoor ventures. That would mark a compromise between playing video games and going outside.
Of course, there's the possibility of meeting those random strangers that may have bad intentions. There are, after all, adult players in addition to children playing these games. Also, people have been protective of their data because of events unfolding around the world. They fear their data may be sold to other companies or even government agencies. No comment has been made at this time, but it does raise some questions about safety and privacy.
Overall, even with the controversy I applaud companies making an effort to make games that enable people to leave their homes and see the world. It would encourage players to see actual living beings, rather than some username on an online service. Even better, it would stop the racial slurs being spouted by kids playing Call of Duty and make them realize who they're actually talking to. That's definitely a positive that can be thought of in the age of mobile gaming.
Read more about Ingress and Pokemon Go on slate here: http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2015/09/ingress_a_video_game_that_inspires_people_to_go_outside.html
Download Ingress on Android here: Ingress - Android Apps on Google Play
Download Ingress on iTunes here: Ingress on the App Store
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