Youngsters, teenagers and adults on the streets looking into their phones; gathering into groups during the day, night and even mid night… My curiosity increases. It’s the new obsession people have – the new game- POKEMON GO. I wondered why this one suddenly erupted to be one of the most famous games worldwide? The answer was pretty simple. This game is a superb mix of real and virtual world. Augmented reality is one step closer to reality as it gets virtual features into your actual surroundings. Data glasses and games like Ingress are some other examples of augmented reality games but they did not get as much attention as this one. One of the reasons for this could be the excessive publicity on social media like Facebook and Twitter and Pokemon events like ‘Pokemon Walks’ that are conducted by various groups to get together and play.
To get to know more about the game, I decided to download the Pokemon Go game and play it before simply judging it or criticizing it on the basis of reviews given by people. If there are 5 million people downloading the game right when it is launched; calling it a mere obsession would be an understatement.
I remember people criticizing other social sites and games like Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds games, Candy Crush Saga, etc. but later people got used to it and those who criticized were the ones using it too. That reminds me of the ‘Dunning- Kruger Effect’ which says that people often think that they are smarter and more knowledgeable about things than others but in reality they are incompetent and cannot accept the fact which leads them to making bad decisions.
But to give it a thought, wouldn’t it be amusing if with the help of your geo location, you started seeing Pokemon characters right near you in real streets through your smart-phone camera? The game requires players to be at certain spots to “catch” all the Pokémons and sometimes to battle them against one another. This has become a worry for many parents as these games are distracting children. Parents are confused about whether to let them play or not.
But why were people going crazy for this game? After playing it myself, I could conclude that the game has many positives which I noted while being there on the street trying to learn the game and tactics.
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Motivates you: Not only do I agree with some parents in my neighbourhood but I admit it myself too that it did help me deal with procrastination and actually made me get out of bed to understand the game. It motivates you to leave laziness and boredom because to play the game and ‘catch em’ all’, you have to actually go around and take a walk. Unlike other games, it does not make you sit in one place
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Social connection: To be frank, initially the game was pretty annoying to me as I was struggling to get a hang of it, but when I did move further at various Pokestops, I met people (children, teenagers and adults) and they actually helped me get through the game. I should admit I’d never seen these people in my neighbourhood before. This is one thing that would really help introverts and people with confidence issues to socialize more. People are making new friends, meeting old ones. In fact, I have also seen families and friends playing the game together which helps them connect and grow better in communicating.
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Physical exercise: I believe the game is extremely good in the sense that it actually makes you walk around the entire area to “catch em’ all”. It makes you travel to many places and even streets in your own neighbourhood that are undiscovered by you. Pokestops are particular landmarks that make one gain prizes an reward. To hatch a Pokemon egg, one needs to travel a particular distance. And physical exercise is always good and advisable.
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Free: It is free of cost to download the game and only requires a smart phone.
But that does not mean that the game doesn’t have any negatives. And I did come across some of them while playing which should be considered too.
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Distraction attracting Danger: Moving along the streets of India with a phone itself is a hazard; so you can imagine how one walking on the streets with eyes and nose in the phone may lead to severe accidents and injuries. It is a question of Life and Death. The game displays that warning on the screen but is that enough?
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Pokestop locations: A Pokestop is a place at a particular landmark where you get chance to win many exciting rewards in the game. The landmarks placed in India are not at very safe locations and a research should be further done by game developers to have safe landmarks.
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Internet connection: This game works on internet connection. Hence having a strong internet connection is mandatory and wifi cannot work as you need to move around distances catching Pokemons.
Looking at it from the Psychological point of view, I think it has been a great boon to people with anxiety and depression. The game would ask them to get out of their normal surroundings and go hunting for something. Meeting new people and socializing with people of similar wants and needs make you speak and interact with them as your interests are mutual. It makes people more active. These simple acts of leaving the house and socializing and being more active can also be helpful for all those facing issues like social phobia, low confidence, low self esteem etc. Spending time in public, communicating and exercising has anyways proven to be one of the best ways to deal with various mild to moderate types of mental illnesses.
After a thorough analysis of the game, my personal take on this would be that it does have many positives and is a boon for children who do not want to get out of their house or have difficulty socializing. If locations of play are taken care of, the game is helpful and fun. Also as a parent, one should remember the basic preventions taken while allowing any game to a child.