New Taipei City’s Happy Christmas Town Experience Mission & Ingress Goes Global

▲Group photo of the blue and green teams at Mission Day in New Taipei City.

Photo and text provided by the New Taipei City Tourism Bureau

Given the success of the previous collaboration with Ingress during Anomaly Day, which created a buzz that drew both domestic and international tourists to New Taipei, the New Taipei City Government has once again teamed up with Ingress today (12/5) to host the “Mission Day in New Taipei City” mission activity. Guided again by Google Maps, the public can discover the charm of New Taipei Christmas Town on foot, by bike, or through public transport.

▲(Far right) Mr. Kento Suga, representative of Niantic, Inc. (Ingress is part of the augmented reality experience developed by U.S.-based Niantic, Inc.).

The New Taipei City Tourism Bureau explained that to highlight the city’s innovative spirit, this collaboration with Ingress includes several breakthroughs—such as hosting the world’s first nighttime mission. By completing 18 missions in sequence, players can form a beautiful image of “New Taipei Christmas Town” on their Ingress game record. This complete image set can also be exchanged for Taiwan’s first-ever “Mission” virtual badge issued by Ingress, creating a lasting memento.

The designed route mainly consists of 18 area mission points, still centered around Banqiao District. Beyond Christmas light displays, the urban experiences include traditional culture, historic temples and architecture, as well as local street snacks. Participants not only gain the satisfaction of in-game rewards but more importantly, will uncover a side of New Taipei they may never have known before.

▲Christmas-costumed players (at Wanping Park).

Notably, along the mission route planned in collaboration with Ingress, players can enter Wanping Park. By completing missions themed around light displays such as Adventure Time’s Finn and Jake, Regular Show’s Mordecai and Rigby, The Amazing World of Gumball, and We Bare Bears, participants can also enjoy Cartoon Network’s festive creativity.

As for missions around the city government area, the most prominent is the “world’s only 360-degree 3D holographic projection Christmas tree,” featuring the adorable “Santa Bear” and “Cube Bear” as the protagonists of the light show. The charming and touching display leaves a deep impression. There are also mission points like the “Fairy Tale Carousel” and the “Dream Hot Air Balloon.” It’s recommended that after completing the game missions, players take some time to enjoy this rare nighttime amusement park—it’s sure to delight visitors of all ages.

▲Christmas-costumed players.

Ingress players (referred to in-game as “agents”) are divided into two factions. Players must walk across the city to explore, cooperate, and virtually capture “Portals” that disguise themselves as various urban landmarks using their smartphones. Players compete in the game and encounter real-world adversaries, helping foster community bonds. The winning faction with the higher score influences the ongoing storyline of Ingress.

Unlike typical games, Ingress encourages creative play. This time, the “composite image” mission initiated by the New Taipei City Tourism Bureau was inspired by Taiwanese players. To celebrate Christmas, some players even used existing New Taipei “Portals” to spell out the word ‘X’mas,’ adding extra festivity. It’s undeniable—Taiwan is full of creative talent.

※About Ingress:
Ingress is an augmented reality experience created by U.S.-based Niantic, Inc., which was originally a company incubated within Google, founded by John Hanke. After his previous startup, Keyhole, was acquired by Google, Hanke took charge of the Google Geo team (including Google Maps and Google Earth). The company’s AR adventure game Ingress has been downloaded over 13 million times, with players from more than 200 countries and regions. Leveraging this global reach, major Japanese gaming company Nintendo and Pokémon GO jointly announced an investment of 20 million USD in October 2015.