What motivates you to submit Wayspots?
PkmnTrainerJ-ING
Posts: 5,138 Ambassador
Thinking on the thread where someone noted they feel demotivated to submit Wayspots, I wondered what motivates you to submit/review Wayspots?
Are you trying to improve your game board for the local area? Looking to add points of interest that may not be known about widely? Trying to just cram in one more Portal/Gym/Pikmin Flower? Adding to an area where you haven’t seen any Niantic gameplay?
Comments
I want pokestops. The more the better. But once I learned cell rules I didn't get all mad and act like a baby on the forums like some people... When I visit a new area, and I see a decorative fountain that's not in the game, I actually think to myself, the local pokemon players sure are lazy.
I primarily submit stuff for Ingress, the spacing rules are much more friendly and I'm not bound by invisible lines, but I submit stuff regardless (even if it's only in Lightship and not active in any current game). want to present stuff in the best way and best light I can, I don't want other people submitting something that should be an easy diamond and then they submit it with need moar p0k3rst0pz.
As a personal goal, I'm closing in on 1000 total wayspots submitted and almost 750 portals discovered.
I like exploring nature areas and submitting some of the cool stuff I find along my routes. The two large Federal and State Land complexes near me are spots where I've led birding groups on spotting trips, where I've scouted locations for birding competitions (yes, that's a thing!) and even won a contest or two along the way. Thanks to me, people can now more easily find a great observation deck, a trail marker in a wooded wetland, or a patch of conserved public-access land they may not have known about.
But the submissions that bring me the most joy overall? Those I've submitted in low-income, high-crime, underserved housing projects. When I drive by one of these spots with my game open and see a lure on a Pokestop, or a link from a portal, I know my contributions are being used and possibly bringing joy to someone's day. That's a great feeling!
I submit because I hope to improve the playability of games.
I learn a lot as I research POI. I love taking something that doesn’t look much and by researching I find an interesting story.
I am working two very different areas at the moment.
One is a national trust property with specific historical features and several national trails going through the woods. It’s a very upmarket area. As well as being a nice place to walk it is just into an area where submissions can get resolved at a reasonable pace. So I can get the satisfaction of a result.
The other is one of the most deprived areas in Britain. I’ve reviewed some dreadful nominations from there….they need someone who knows what they are doing. So I have been walking around trying not to standout and dodging tearaways on trial bikes. But I have found enough spots to do some decent submissions that will improve the game board and stimulate play ….but they will take some time to resolve. I need another way to earn upgrades 😂
Being above 2,000 approved wayspots now, I'm steadily holding onto the fact that a leaderboard will magically appear and my name will be somewhere up there in lights with the highest amount of portals discovered/wayspots approved. The dopamine rush of approval and seeing such be used in-game is great. I feel appreciated when something I've gotten approved appears in Comms as someone captures it, or when something creates a new gym and it gets used. Sure, I don't get that thanks in person, but it's improved someone's play area and made someone's day, hopefully.
Primarily speaking, I simply enjoy the thrill of exploration and wandering. In the last two weeks, I've driven upwards of 1,800 kilometres travelling down the coastal highway and into rural New South Wales, just exploring some beautiful towns and national parks and submitting so many different things! It's a hobby that I enjoy and would stick, even if the Niantic ecosystem were to shut down. The architecture of old historical towns, the events that happen, the murals painted and the friendly strangers, appeases the tourist in me.
Submitting wayspots is simply the additional plus.
I like submitting things that are not reachable by car - especially trail markers and trig stations. Trig stations many kilometres into the wilderness are my favourites. Shows I have the physical capability to leg it up hills.
I first started playing Ingress after Niantic had stopped accepting submissions. The town I lived in at the time had largely been skipped over by agents and was consequently terrible to play in. I had to drive for a good 40-60 minutes to find anywhere even remotely viable to grind AP despite there being many great potential Wayspots much closer to home.
A big motivator for me now is that I can help prevent similar bad experiences for others who might be looking to join my local Niantic communities. I love seeing Wayspots I created being lured up or used in fields, or silently observing the excitement in a group chat when someone gets a PokéStop within walking distance of their house or a new Gym at their local park.
I also still hold out the hope that Niantic will eventually, someday resume adding/reshuffling Pokémon spawn points around Wayspots and bring some virtual life to the parks, nature reserves, towns and suburbs that I've put a lot of effort into filling out. The possibility of improving spawn distributions in Pokémon GO was my original inspiration for starting out with Wayfarer, so it's very unfortunate they're not given more attention by the relevant team at the moment.
I only submit things that I would be delighted to discover, so I am motivated by discovering cool and interesting things and adding them to games. About two weeks ago I was out running an errand and came across an artist painting a brand new vibrantly-colored mural just around the corner from where I live. I stopped to chat with him then watched his social media so I could submit it when it was complete. And now it's a portal, but won't be a pokestop because it's blocked by something else.
I submitted some that I can easily reach from my workplace, so I can get items while on break from work.