Growing up in this age of advanced consumer technology, I haven't really been wowed by many technological advancements. I've demoed virtual reality headsets at a lo
cal community open house, which I think just needed one more push to become impressive(maybe I can be wowed by a higher resolution). However, this past week, I have seen the future. And it is "Pokémon."
"Pokémon Go," the latest mobile release by Nintendo, is not entirely like your average "Pokémon" game. For one thing, it bases your map on your actual physical location on the planet. You wander about looking for Pokémon by actually getting out of your chair, if not your house. When you are close enough to a Pokémon, it will appear on your phone screen, where you can catch it, superimposed over your surroundings using the camera. There are also PokéStops, where you collect items, and Gyms, where you can battle other Pokémon to support your team alliance. The location of these special, hard-coded nodes have been...recycled by Niantic, the third-party developer for the game, from "Ingress," their previous ARG(augmented reality game, of which "Pokémon Go" is another example).
I can honestly say this is one of the most unique gaming experiences I have ever seen, and judging from the community response, I'm not alone. People everywhere are getting outside, having adventures, and even meeting new people all because of this free app. Well, when the servers are up: even the developers weren't expecting this much of a phenomenon. There are people out there who go exploring their neighborhoods in the dead of night to catch new and rare Pokémon.
Which brings me to the other interesting thing about this game: how effectively it convinced a significant number of people to go out of their way to change their behavior. I mean, exercise and socialization are good and all, but...it's just stunning. I expect this to be on the news in the near future, most likely because of some poor kid who ignored the reminders to look up from your phone and got themselves killed. But hey, I'll be optimistic and hope that won't get it banned.
Is this the future of gaming? Maybe. Is it groundbreaking and innovative? Certainly, if you've never heard of Niantic's other game. As for me, I feel like I'm watching something happen, like this could be the start of something big. It might, it might not, all that is for certain is that I have to go take a walk to my local park. You know, for exercise. The four PokéStops there are merely coincidental.
