LOUIS GRAY: Welcome back to Google Developers Live at I/O.
I'm Louis Gray.
I'm joined here with John Hanke
from the Niantic Project.
Welcome, John.
JOHN HANKE: Thank you.
LOUIS GRAY: Now the Niantic Project
actually is really cool.
I think you guys have a couple of games that are out.
You've got "Project Ingress," and you have "Field Trip,"
which isn't so much a game.
But both of them are really tied to discovering the world
around you.
So I want a couple questions to start us off.
First of all, what is the Niantic Project?
It is part of Google, right?
JOHN HANKE: Well, we try to keep it a little bit
mysterious.
But yes, it is part of Google.
We're kind of like a little startup in Google.
And I guess the goal of the Niantic Group is to explore
these kinds of applications in mobile that use location and
explore this area of ubiquitous computing, things
that are telling you about the world around you, helping you
explore, but without necessarily using an app in a
conventional sense.
LOUIS GRAY: You have a history of working
with startups, anyway.
You came from Keyhole with the Google acquisition of Keyhole
and really became the backbone of Google Earth and a lot of
the other work that we've done.
It really seems you have a passion for maps.
Help us understand how both of those projects, Ingress and
Field Trip put together, are helping Google's location
information get better or helping users know more about
their world.
JOHN HANKE: Yeah.
I love maps, obviously.
I came in in 2004 with Keyhole and was the Product Lead for
that part of Google for about seven years.
During that time, I used to daydream about other things
that we could do with the mapping
data and the resources.
And one of those things was a game.
And as smartphones started to proliferate, I felt like the
time was right to tap into all of the mapping data that we
have and to create an awesome game for mobile that would
encourage people to really get out and explore their world.
And that's really the spirit behind both "Ingress" and
"Field Trip."
LOUIS GRAY: So let's talk a little bit about Ingress.
What is the deal, anyway?
For those who haven't played it, how do you describe it?
And what's the difference between the Resistance and the
Enlightened, for those who don't know?
JOHN HANKE: The story behind Ingress is, it's a science
fiction themed story that really puts a layer of reality
onto the world around you.
So there's a mysterious energy that's been tapped into in a
lab in Geneva, Switzerland.
And through the story of Ingress, you begin to learn a
little bit more about that energy.
It's called exotic matter in our world.
And as it turns out, it's all around the globe.
And it's concentrated in these places called portals, which
often are pieces of public art or museums
or historical sites.
And you use the Ingress application on your Android
phone to discover those places in the real world and then to
tap into them.
And you can mine virtual objects.
You can interact with them and you can try to take control of
those locations for one of two fractions--
LOUIS GRAY: One of the two teams.
JOHN HANKE: --the Enlightened and the Resistance.
LOUIS GRAY: And so as a player, you pick a team, and
you go find these portals.
And you have to blow them up and use up your XM energy and
all of that.
Now poor me, I find myself often trying to take my Level
3 or Level 4 skills.
I just can't blow up a Level 8 portal.
When you look at Ingress, is there room for the novice
player who's just starting it now or wants to get into it?
Or have all the places basically been locked down by
the hardcore players?
JOHN HANKE: Yeah.
There's definitely room.
One of the things that we didn't expect with Ingress was
how much teamwork and collaboration
would end up emerging.
But we found that people really love getting together
and playing in groups and having meetups.
We're having one here in San Francisco this week.
But we have them all around the country,
all around the world.
So it's a great way for a new player to kind of get into the
game would be to meet up with other Ingress players.
And some of the more senior players really love taking a
newbie under their wing and showing them the ropes and
also helping them level up in the game and become powerful
enough to start affecting the real global battle.
LOUIS GRAY: And you have something special going on
here at Google I/O. Is that right?
JOHN HANKE: Yeah.
There's kind of a game within a game.
So we're doing two things.
We're doing Operation Fan-Out, which all I/O attendees are
able to take part in that.
And if you level up during I/O, you get a really cool
Ingress t-shirt.
If you show up as a Level 8 already, we have a special
Level 8 t-shirt for you.
And we have another thing that's open to non-I/O
attendees as well.
It's called Operation Bowstring.
And that's being played out across San Francisco.
And it culminates in an event on Thursday night at Cupid
Span, which is down in the Embarcadero, with a meetup
over at the Alchemist bar later.
LOUIS GRAY: "Ingress" right now is Android-only.
"Field Trip" is available for both Android and iOS.
How do you see that the users of the different operating
systems use the apps differently?
JOHN HANKE: Yeah.
I guess if you were to look at Field Trip, it's available for
iOS and for Android.
It's rolling out globally today, actually.
Initially, it was a US-only launch and in the UK.
There are subtle differences.
We've noticed that Android users tend to
spike on the weekends.
And they're out using and so maybe exploring more than
their iOS counterparts.
I don't know if that means that Android users are more
into exploration than iOS users.
But yeah, there are small differences.
LOUIS GRAY: Should we expect to see even more products
coming out of Niantic Project?
JOHN HANKE: Well, you never know.
We are looking at a range of technologies
in this mobile space.
We're very interested in wearable computing and what
you can do with it.
But the things that we're putting all of our energies
behind right now are "Ingress" and "Field Trip."
LOUIS GRAY: So I should expect to have "Ingress" on my Glass
any day now is what I'm hearing.
JOHN HANKE: Well, I think Glass would make an excellent
platform for some awesome games.
So we'll see about that.
LOUIS GRAY: Yeah.
Absolutely.
Now one last question before we wrap.
Niantic Project, as a startup at Google, do you have more
freedom to do more things?
What does that mean to be within Google but also be
within this tiny little enclave?
JOHN HANKE: It was a great opportunity.
It was set up with Larry's support so that we could
pursue this area across ideas and concepts, from mobile to
social to geo, and try to weave those things together in
new ways to explore what could be done to create apps that
were really native to the new wave of devices that will be
coming, wearables.
LOUIS GRAY: Excellent.
Well, I appreciate you taking the time, John.
I know we've been real quick jumping into "Ingress" and
"Field Trip." For those of you who haven't download those
apps already, definitely check them out.
We have more exclusive GDL at I/O content coming.
And we'll be talking about Google Now with
Baris Gultekin at 3:25.
So please stay on the stream and enjoy your sessions.
We'll be right back.