Earlier this year, the Ingress community was stunned by the news that Niantic would be ending the Vanguard program by the end of 2024. For RES Vanguard Azhreia, this announcement marked the end of an incredible journey. Driven by the passion to shine a spotlight on Africa, her involvement in the Vanguard program turned into an adventure beyond her wildest expectations.
A Sounding Board for Niantic
Ingress, a game that blends the digital and physical worlds, has fostered a global community of dedicated players. Among these players are the Ingress Vanguards, a group tasked with helping shape the game’s future through feedback and community support. RGNN sat down with RES Vanguard Viona, known in-game as Azhreia, as she explains
Vanguards are meant to be a sounding board for Niantic. We would be asked to give our opinions on various new game features, events, and also offer feedback on Anomaly rulesets when requested.
Beyond these duties, Vanguards assist with the Portal Restore program and apply for positions as Embedded Reporters when those roles were available.
For me personally, I opted for the Portal Restore program, and have devoted a good chunk of my time on assisting players to get their portals restored. It’s been a labour of love, so to speak, and has endured throughout my Vanguard “career”.
Discovering Ingress and Community Involvement
Before diving more into the Vanguard program, let’s rewind some years to when Viona was just starting out as a young smurfling in South Africa. She was actually introduced to the game while it was still in the Beta phase, but did not download it herself until later.
I started working for a new company that sent me to Dubai for a work engagement there, and the colleague that initially told me about it was there as well. I watched him play (He was Enlightened), and about a week or so before I had to fly home I decided to download and install it. I chose Resistance, much to his surprise, but he ran with it and showed me around.
This was in Year 2, and after returning home, she got involved with the local community and participated in an Op that hooked her for good. Since then, Viona has switched to ENL once, attempted to return to RES, and eventually had to delete her account and start over after being denied (this was before Recursion was an option). Now firmly back as a smurf, she feels right at home where her journey began.
The local RES community and the Dubai RES community included me in everything. I made great friends in those circles, and that has kept me in it.
Memories in the World of Ingress
Throughout her time playing Ingress, Viona has collected a treasure chest of memories. From her first Anomaly experience in Hamburg during Abaddon to braving extreme weather conditions at her very first Mission Day, each event has left its mark. She reminisces:
I had my arm twisted by a fellow South African agent MadMonk3y and joined him in Hamburg in the Dream Team with mimtwin. It was daunting, and extremely exciting! I didn’t have a clue what I was doing, but I followed instructions and had a great time. I Even ran into Team Hasselhoff, where I got my first agent-created swag. I doubt agent horstkaktus would remember me running up to them while they were handing out those little envelopes.
Since then, she has made it a priority to attend international anomalies at least once a year. Despite the high cost of traveling from South Africa, Viona has participated in Anomaly events such as Via Noir in Rome, Magnus13 Reawakens in Petaling Jaya, Abaddon Prime in Amsterdam, and most recently, Buried Memories in Budapest.
If unable to attend in person, you’ll often find her contributing intel and support from behind the screen at home. Viona finds supporting remote sites with Anomaly intel particularly rewarding. She enjoys engaging with international players and assisting them on the field towards a Resistance win. Even in defeat, the experience remains fun and memorable.
A Journey to Representation
In 2017, the Vanguard program was launched by Andrew Krug, then Global Community Manager. Viona was motivated to apply by her desire to put the South African Ingress community on the map. The application process drew a lot of interest and over 3300 applicants. To qualify, the 24 selected candidates had to undergo an Ingress player background check by NIA OPS and were required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) when chosen.
When the program was initially launched, it looked a lot different than what it eventually grew into. It started out as a brand ambassador program, and was meant to promote Ingress in local communities.
It is evident that the experience has been a mixed bag of highs and lows. Viona found great reward in seeing how their feedback improved new updates. But one of the toughest moments was when Andrew Krug, who started the Vanguard program, announced he was leaving Niantic in 2019. At the time it left everyone unsure about what would happen to the program without him, but it carried on.
Community Projects and Challenges
One of Viona’s most visible contributions has been to the Portal Restore program, where she has connected with agents from both factions worldwide to help restore their portals after spoofing. Initially, the program only restored resonators, and only back to NIAGameMaster ownership. Over time, Viona and the Vanguards have successfully advocated for enhancements. These include restoring resonators to their original ownership, restoring mods when identifiable, and even restoring links on affected portals.
Further improvements allowed for restored links to cross existing links, eliminating unintentional and intentional blocking links from preventing a restore. And the process now also includes removal of all resonators, mods AND links from banned spoofer accounts. Of course there is still room for improvement, but it’s on the right track.
Despite these achievements, there have also been a lot of challenges, particularly misconceptions about the Vanguards powers and influence.
One of the predominant misconceptions by players is that we have access to Niantic systems, can ban players, view accounts, view tickets, remove and/or restore portals etc. I have been accused several times of being influenced by players to ban accounts, or accused of having portals removed. Even been accused that I am not doing my job in making certain that all portals are removed from restricted areas.
In reality, the Vanguards do not hold such authority and don’t have access to Niantic systems. They are not authorized to make any decisions related to Niantic or its games, including help center tickets, mission submissions, portal nominations, portal appeals, or account ban appeals.
Transitioning to the Ambassador Program
With Niantic announcing the retirement of the Vanguard program, the transition to the new Ingress Ambassador program brings mixed feelings.
I’m sad it’s going. We achieved a lot during our time as Vanguards, even though that might not be visible to players. And I believe we have so much more to offer still.
However, she remains hopeful about the potential of the new program. Viona believes the Ambassador program could bring more exposure to Ingress and promote the game in a proactive and positive way. She anticipates that the new role will focus more on outward promotion, whereas the Vanguards were primarily focused on internal feedback and communication with Niantic. Despite not knowing all the details yet, she is optimistic about the future of the game with this new initiative.
Viona’s Vision for Ingress
Speaking of changes, Viona shared her insights and aspirations regarding the future of the game, highlighting several improvements she believes could enhance the Ingress experience for players worldwide.
There are a couple of things I would love to see (and see again) in Ingress. One of them being new and exciting Anomaly rulesets and scoring mechanisms. We’ve had some really interesting gameplays for Anomalies in the past, like Shard Shuttle, Longest Link Path, Artifact Collection, Unique Hacks, Periphery Fielding etc. Some good, some bad, but always working towards a balanced ruleset that allowed the underdog an achievable chance of winning.
Viona feels that this element has been lost and would love to see a return to such dynamic strategies. Another enhancement she envisions is the introduction of more global events that encourage team effort rather than solo achievements, like the Buried Memories Global Op. Additionally, she hopes for more exciting recursion benefits, giving players something extra to strive for in leveling and recursing beyond just redoing the previous 16 levels.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Ingress Leaders
When asked for advice for players aspiring to take on community leadership roles within Ingress, Viona emphasized dedication and fairness.
Do the work, even if you don’t get a thank you for it. Leadership isn’t chosen, it’s earned. Get involved in your community, treat everyone fairly, try to organize local events or get-togethers, and start reaching out beyond your local community. There’s a whole world of Ingress players out there, and you can bring a bit of that back to your own community and help it grow.
Viona’s journey in Ingress, from a dedicated player to a passionate community advocate, serves as an inspiring example of what can be achieved with commitment and a love for the game. As the Ingress community moves forward with the new Ambassador program, Viona’s experiences and insights will undoubtedly continue to influence and inspire players around the world.
