Endgame: Proving Ground

The story of the alternate reality for Endgame: Proving Ground is the same as Endgame: The Calling. They are both elements in a transmedia storytelling strategy by author James Frey and Nils Johnson-Shelton partnering with Niantic Labs. The story world of Endgame is told via website in an interactive manner, as narrated six days a week by an actress who in 2014 began telling the pre-story to the books by James Frey.[1]

Twelve families were chosen by extraterrestrials long ago. They have been training since then while waiting for the sign of the "endgame", at which point one survivor will need to recover three keys and thus decide humankind's fate.[2]

Endgame: Proving Ground used the Google Maps API to mark points of interest, similar to Niantic's other games: Ingress and Pokémon Go.

Players can walk around outside at these points and collect equipment to increase their ability to defend or attack points of interest, much like a traditional role playing game.

Players can also claim the points and then are free to wander. Fights result after an already claimed point of interest is contested by an opposing player. The player who has the current claim will receive a notification to defend the point and can respond from anywhere in the world as long as they're online. If not online the duel challenge goes to the next player on the team. Should no players be available to defend the claim to the point, an artificial intelligence will duel against the player who is seeking to claim the point as his own.[3]

• Official website