Image from forbes.com
Pokémon Go is Changing Gaming Forever!
JENNIFER | AUGUST 15, 2016 12:19AM
Pokémon Go is driving gamers nuts with the chance of playing in an unprecedented manner! Who would have ever thought a game could bring a group of religiously addicted (indoor) players who are accustomed to sitting on their asses hours at a time to leave their comfort zone and move around and sometimes even run outdoors? This could be a blessing and a curse. Critics from all walks of a life have something to say about the way this game is affecting people.
In a communications course that I teach, the debate amongst a group of students rose on whether or not Pokémon Go has made a good impact on the general playing population. Both groups were truly connected to their opinions. While one group of students found it to be a great idea for players to go out and get some exercise, the opposing team thought that it would be leaving the diehard gamers looking sillier and less attentive to their surroundings. The latter student went to the extent of quoting the genius, Albert Einstein by stating, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” She worries that the players are losing the human touch and merely depending on machines to be happy. On the opposing side, another student did not hesitate to add that gamers are being more active and although it may seem weird to those who do not play, players are interacting and working in solidarity because they tend to play in herds.
According to Collective Evolution, “...the game has been downloaded over 75 million times – and this is before even reaching both China and South Korea.”
While some people have their opinions on how the game is countering human interaction, it is clear that Generations X, Y and Z have adopted a novel way of interaction. The “augmented reality” type of game has gamers thrilled about the idea that they can do something different than what they are accustomed to. While this game has become an international sensation, few people had no clue that the game was introduced as a hoax or April Fools joke in 2014. Little did the public know, this game had been in the works for quite some time. From an exciting game to witnessing hideous sites, Pokémon Go gamers have been in for, not only, virtual treats but real-life ones as well.
Although the game is fun and tremendously popular as shown in this video, there have been situations where players have been prone to walking into danger or into places where they have encountered the unexpected. It is clear that, all neighborhoods are not suitable and safe for players to use their phones at night. The more people who were starting to use their phones in the later hours of the day, the higher the chances that thieves have had to scheme robberies onto their victims-to-be. The more vulnerable and unsuspecting people look, the easier it makes it for criminals to attack. That was the case for some players whose phones were snatched from them while they were embedded in their games.
There was another circumstance when the game led a 19-year-old female in Wyoming in search of one of the aquatic Pokémon characters and instead she stumbled upon a human corpse floating in a river. Situations like these are helpful to the authorities, however, scary and traumatizing to a few players.
Pokémon Go has brought light to a huge mass of players and it has also brought darkness to others. Many have been locked into their screens loving the benefits of the game and making pit stops in diverse locations, while others get lost or walk into scary situations that range from getting robbed at gunpoint, witnessing dead bodies or even crashing their cars.
Some of the scariest Pokémon Go situations that players have encountered. Watch this video compilation.
Representatives of the company have been giving players warnings prompting players to be alert and careful of their surroundings due to the disadvantages the game has caused in their real lives.
Now that this game has made history in the book of gaming, what will Pokémon Go do next? What companies will develop the similar games? What will be the next unprecedented type of game?
JENNIFER | AUGUST 15, 2016 12:19AM
Pokémon Go is driving gamers nuts with the chance of playing in an unprecedented manner! Who would have ever thought a game could bring a group of religiously addicted (indoor) players who are accustomed to sitting on their asses hours at a time to leave their comfort zone and move around and sometimes even run outdoors? This could be a blessing and a curse. Critics from all walks of a life have something to say about the way this game is affecting people.
In a communications course that I teach, the debate amongst a group of students rose on whether or not Pokémon Go has made a good impact on the general playing population. Both groups were truly connected to their opinions. While one group of students found it to be a great idea for players to go out and get some exercise, the opposing team thought that it would be leaving the diehard gamers looking sillier and less attentive to their surroundings. The latter student went to the extent of quoting the genius, Albert Einstein by stating, “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.” She worries that the players are losing the human touch and merely depending on machines to be happy. On the opposing side, another student did not hesitate to add that gamers are being more active and although it may seem weird to those who do not play, players are interacting and working in solidarity because they tend to play in herds.
According to Collective Evolution, “...the game has been downloaded over 75 million times – and this is before even reaching both China and South Korea.”
While some people have their opinions on how the game is countering human interaction, it is clear that Generations X, Y and Z have adopted a novel way of interaction. The “augmented reality” type of game has gamers thrilled about the idea that they can do something different than what they are accustomed to. While this game has become an international sensation, few people had no clue that the game was introduced as a hoax or April Fools joke in 2014. Little did the public know, this game had been in the works for quite some time. From an exciting game to witnessing hideous sites, Pokémon Go gamers have been in for, not only, virtual treats but real-life ones as well.
Although the game is fun and tremendously popular as shown in this video, there have been situations where players have been prone to walking into danger or into places where they have encountered the unexpected. It is clear that, all neighborhoods are not suitable and safe for players to use their phones at night. The more people who were starting to use their phones in the later hours of the day, the higher the chances that thieves have had to scheme robberies onto their victims-to-be. The more vulnerable and unsuspecting people look, the easier it makes it for criminals to attack. That was the case for some players whose phones were snatched from them while they were embedded in their games.
There was another circumstance when the game led a 19-year-old female in Wyoming in search of one of the aquatic Pokémon characters and instead she stumbled upon a human corpse floating in a river. Situations like these are helpful to the authorities, however, scary and traumatizing to a few players.
Pokémon Go has brought light to a huge mass of players and it has also brought darkness to others. Many have been locked into their screens loving the benefits of the game and making pit stops in diverse locations, while others get lost or walk into scary situations that range from getting robbed at gunpoint, witnessing dead bodies or even crashing their cars.
Some of the scariest Pokémon Go situations that players have encountered. Watch this video compilation.
Representatives of the company have been giving players warnings prompting players to be alert and careful of their surroundings due to the disadvantages the game has caused in their real lives.
Now that this game has made history in the book of gaming, what will Pokémon Go do next? What companies will develop the similar games? What will be the next unprecedented type of game?
