If you have seen a sudden surge of people walking around pointing their phones at an angle that would suggest they are trying to take a picture, chances are they are playing Pokémon Go. Pokémon Go is a brand new app for Android and IOS devices that uses GPS and camera functions to virtually insert players into the Pokémon universe.
Ben Coffey, a freshman studying psychology from New Zealand, described the game as being “addicting,” and a great motivator for “exploring the island.”
On screen, players will see a simplified, colorized version of the map location where they are standing. As players walk around their neighborhood, the beach, or college campus, a Pokémon will often appear on screen. The player then can tap the digital creature to activate the phone’s camera and do battle with the Pokémon, which will be integrated into whatever setting the player’s camera is facing.
The player then has a chance to catch the Pokémon in a Pokéball, run away, or even take a picture of their adversary in action. In game, most buildings are no more than shallow 3D outlines of their real-life counterparts.
More notable landmarks are utilized as checkpoints known as “Pokéstops,” which serve as a free source of Pokéballs, Pokémon eggs, and more. BYU–Hawaii has a few Pokéstops scattered around campus, including the sundial in front of the Aloha Center and the mural on the McKay Foyer. Larger, more distinct locations like the Laie Hawaii Temple or the edge of Laie Point are often marked as “gyms,” where players battle their Pokémon against others to gain control of the spot. Once taken, the gym belongs to and is guarded by whichever of the three in-game factions the victor is a member.
Because Pokémon Go has a tendency to lead its players to wander while constantly chasing Pokémon or waiting for their Pokémon eggs to hatch, several unpleasant incidents have happened around the nation. A 19 year-old woman in Wyoming stumbled upon a dead body floating in a local river while searching for water type Pokémon, according to www.county10.com.
The news site, www.cartelpress.com, reported about a Massachusetts man who stopped his car on a busy interstate to catch a Pikachu, while causing a massive pileup in the process. Teenagers in Missouri used the app to rob players, luring them with a Pokémon lure placed on Pokéstops, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Arthur Chiona, a BYUH grad from Zimbabwe, urges players to “stay safe while playing,” and make sure you are always aware of your surroundings.
Despite a few glitches that initially prevented the game from being downloadable in certain regions of the world, it still saw over 50,000 downloads within the first 24 hours after launch on July 6 and has maintained the No. 1 spot on both app stores since, according to www.ign.com.
Many players had trouble accessing the online servers due to there being a far greater amount of players than the game developers had anticipated, www.forbes.com reported. Engadget mentioned in an article that improving the server quality and reliability are two of the publisher’s top priorities and they hope to have the issue sorted out soon. Eight days later, there seems to be fewer failed login attempts among players, so either traffic has lessened, or the servers have been upgraded.