I Admit It; I Was Completely Wrong About Pokemon GO, And It’s The Best Thing Ever

So, just a week or two before its release, I wrote this article on why I would not be playing Pokemon GO. Basically it was a lot of talk on how evil gaming is and how it’s ruining society and blah blah blah. I can be a very dichotomous thinker, and for a long time I’ve held the opinion that gaming are opiates for the masses.

HOWEVER. I couldn’t resist. I mean. Pokemon was my childhood. A day or two before it’s release, I became way too excited about it, and figured I’d just try it out. The game seemed to take forever to get to the US servers, but since they were released in New Zealand and Australia first, there was a lot of leaked footage of gameplay. There was also an illegal APK for Android users, so a few of my Android friends were already playing and posting pictures on FaceBook and Twitter. It looked really, really cool.

At that point, I still had not played any video games in 238 days. I have a timer on my phone that calculates the days for a lot of different things. The game came out. I was nervous. I had not played a game in so long, it almost felt like I was diving into some kind of delicious, exquisite desert that I had been depriving of myself. And I felt guilty, too, much like a binge eater before that big cake. I mean, here I was, just a week or two ago had wrote a blog why I wasn’t playing this game, and there I was getting getting the most retweets and likes (over 1k!) on a twitter status concerning the game’s release (that actually ended up being featured on a BuzzFeed article, woot!). And then finally, after an entire day of checking the iOS store every five minutes for Pokémon GO, it was there.

And then, the unthinkable happened. And it wasn’t what I thought.

I invited a friend over, and he came over. My mother even downloaded the app. Hah. My mother, yes, and one of my best friends, all downloaded the app and went around the neighborhood together to play and catch Pokémon. We ended up spending all night driving to different locations, playing the game, and seeing Pokémon through the augmented reality system on your phone. In what other situation would you actually end up hanging out with one of your close friends and your mother, hanging out, having fun, together?

I’ve been more social and exercised more in the past four days of playing Pokémon GO than I have in the past six months. And that’s pretty damn impressive for a video game. I’ve caught up with friends I haven’t seen in years. I’ve met people and made a ton of new friends. But most of all, I’ve actually seen sunshine. Yes. Real. Life. Vitamin D.

It’s been a blast. From meeting new people, to having your mother rush to come pick me up suddenly, hopping in her car in a frenzy because she just caught a Ghastly and she knew I’ve been wanting one oh so badly, to finding out that new friend you made knows another friend you’ve had and then all getting together to go Pokémon hunting, haha… it’s a great way to just get out there and get some exercise.

I was right about a few things though in my last post. This game is changing things. Right now, as I type this, there are a dozen kids and adults outside my neighborhood catching Pokémon. At the park where I went, there were five times as many people as I normally see. They are all on their phones, sure, but they are interacting with strangers, meeting new people, and I don’t mean to be condescending, but there are even a ton of overweight people out there too, all catching Pokémon! This app is single handedly getting people healthier, lose weight, meet new people, and get out there and get some sunshine.

It is a bit addicting, though. In the past few days, I have spent a ton of time just chasing down Pokémon. Now that I think about it, I haven’t been reading as much lately, or writing, which is really, really bad. If it gets out of control I’ll stop and delete the app and start my “non-gaming” timer over, but honestly I’m so puckered out (and sun-burnt) from playing Pokémon GO, I don’t even want to play for a few days. So while it’s a video game, it’s also a video game that you have to take care of yourself while you play, too. It’s a game that you’re going to have to take a break from. You can’t just walk around forever. And if you do end up playing too much, you’ll end up a burnt lobster that’s puckered out. I feel like I’ve been at the gym for the past few days, hah.

So even though it’s a video game, I’m giving it a shot. It’s making me more social, getting exercise, and meeting new people. And the most important part, still? You can’t just sit at your house and play all day, which is what I hate about general gaming in the first place. Just because I am playing Pokémon GO, doesn’t mean I am going to start playing any other video games like MMORPG’s or console games, anything that I can just sit on my ass and do. But I’ll definitely become a Pokémon Master, if that means I have an excuse to go out and meet new people and see old friends.

But for now, this Pokémon trainer is going to go read, meditate, and work on his novel.

Have playing Pokémon GO guys, but remember to hydrate, wear sunscreen, be safe if you go at night (go in groups), and most of all, don’t forget to catch ’em all!