Pokémon Go + The Power of Play
Pokémon came out when I was still in diapers. I played for a bit as a child but never really understood the magical appeal of the game, until I saw the new mobile app that came out last Thursday (in the US).
Holy shit. This is brilliant. In order to play this game, you have to move. In the real world.
Pokémon Go uses the GPS on your phone to determine where you are “in the game”. Simply put, you have to walk, move around real locations to actually catch a Pokémon. For an AR game, this is pretty low barrier to entry — all you need is a smartphone/device as the app is free for now. There is a ton of different Pokémon to catch and a fair amount of gameplay mechanics to mess you up. The creators have also made an incentive for those who’ve collected enough Pokémon — you can take them to battle!
Pros
- Gets people to move. An all levels treasure hunt game that can be played by anyone anywhere.
- Gets people to move and go to places they ordinarily would not go to. The app is getting people to move around their neighborhoods (making boring suburbs coming alive!) and explore their local parks, stores, towns, cities.
- Shows, on a mass level, the incredible potential for interactive movement games. Also further demonstrates the potential for virtual reality movement games. I’m a big fan of using VR to help people become more active and productive, and am working on a couple of projects to make this happen. **
Cons
- You still need to look at a screen to catch a Pokémon. The reliance on a smart device is omnipresent; one can’t disconnect from iPhones and Androids yet.
- This is not a ‘con’ necessarily but something I’d like to happen. From what little I’ve played and seen, you pretty much just walk. What about crawling, jumping, balancing on one leg, or actually having to run to catch a Pokémon? I’d like to see how the app can encourage more movement, and maybe challenge players as they play the game more, to get better at movement.
- On a social level, the app could also encourage people to do something for someone in their social network in order to get a coveted item. Or, if you get enough Pokémons, you can go to a real gym and battle ?? I can see the possibilities for this to become a real social movement; people are already organizing get-togethers in parks and meetups to catch Pokémon together. The next Pokémon focused dating apps are being furiously made as we speak.
This is not the first AR app created to help people move more. But its’ overnight popularity generally shows two things:
- We love play. We move more when we are playing. So forget about telling people to exercise, and tell them to play.
- We love games that are both simple and complex. The goal needs to be easily understood and the rules/play guide needs to be increasingly complex, in order to keep a high incentive and desire between players. Just yesterday, I walked into 6 grown men playing Pokémon Go. Lesson learnt: the game seriously has hit on the right amount of challenge/skill ratio. It’s easy enough for us to play at work/ after work, difficult enough where you don’t win the first round..and full of cute magical creatures.
This is seriously one of the few iPhone apps I’m excited to use and study as a model for technology driven movement games. I’m pretty movement practice agnostic; anything that gets people to move more, in my book, is a good thing. I’d like for it to not be an iPhone app but as far as games go, I have to admit this is a pretty great one, with few negative repercussions.
Thoughts?
** We should talk if you have an interest in VR/AR and health/movement/fitness. I’m always looking to learn and make stuff happen.
