Niantic Labs Archives | Otaku No Culture

Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals: The Legendaries are Here & Hopes for Year Two

As for what I hope going forward with the game is to see Niantic sponsor local events so people do not have to travel far for these festivals.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Yes, I admit it: I’ve returned to playing Pokémon GO. All the various arguments on how monotonous this game is are heard before and I do not need to repeat. The fact the Legendary Bird Pokémons are here is enough to get me back and look for groups of people who are there for that Luiga or Articuno (at present) appearing at the gyms. The real life game is to hunt for people to play with than to continue on my own. Otherwise, I could not be bothered to turn the game on.

A report from Cnet makes a compelling argument to turn on any casual game for at least 10 to 15 minutes a day. The way my life has been lately could do with less stress.

I have tried the new gym system, and I have kept up with the rumblings about this game. I do not see Niantic as being the blame for the Pokémon GO Fest “disaster” at Chicago. Not all of the mobile companies listened, and they are more at fault for not installing the necessary equipment to make the connectivity issues go away. My guess for why the events in Europe is not happening is because Niantic can not reach the appropriate folks from the service providers to develop the infrastructure needed to make make the party work.

Continue reading “Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals: The Legendaries are Here & Hopes for Year Two”

Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals: Crack Me an Egg, Where’s the Bacon?

holiday-pikachu By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

If Pokémon GO is going to keep its hold as a popular game, perhaps Niantic Inc. needs to stop making baby steps when adding new features to the program. The news from Monday is hardly exciting. I was hoping to hear of a feature that will get me stepping to the frigid outside. I have caught all that I can in North America (by evolving after doing a lot of buddy walking) and until there are other methods to earn coin/candy, I’m not constantly duking it out for control of a gym.

Not a lot of people north of the 45th parallel and perhaps a few States down, will be venturing out much — if at all — during the Winter season. I could be taking advantage of this fact to find really out of the way gyms nobody wants to venture out to because of the weather, but I’m sure those hardcore players are doing the same. I’m not prepared to deal with those die-hards.

The company is thinking small if they assume everyone around the world are still playing. The USA only promotions, namely tie-ins with Sprint and Starbucks, will only have a percentage of the declining player base and only a specific portion of the user base interested. The Santa hat Pikachu variation will definitely have the Collector type trainers seeking him out, and thankfully players worldwide have access to it. The decoration remains after evolving. For the most part, this sugar coat deal is nothing big to be excited over.

Continue reading “Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals: Crack Me an Egg, Where’s the Bacon?”

Ed’s Pokemon GO Journals — The Cost of Gas vs Free Coins Debate

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

There is one aspect of the mentality of how Pokémon GO gamers (those who insist they do not want to spend money to buy coins in the game) play that I do not fully understand. While I get the idea behind driving to a new part of town to see what’s there to capture / find nesting grounds of other pocket monsters, when return trips are needed, that’s because the pickings are very good. Both are good reasons for investment in fuel (and less about time) well spent.

As for heading out to find out-of-the-way Poké Gyms to take down and power up for their respective teams is just odd. To drive around half the city to find such places costs more money in gas than money invested in the game just for a paltry 100 coin limit per day — especially if those gyms get taken down within 20 hours instead of sit for a few days. When the odds of those places being able to last for weeks, if not days, are variable for each location, is the time spent searching for them in a medium-sized town even worth it?

Continue reading “Ed’s Pokemon GO Journals — The Cost of Gas vs Free Coins Debate”

Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals — How to Truly Fix Gym Stagnation

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Niantic‘s latest update to curb Pokémon GO gym stagnation is a step in the right direction but I feel more can be done. Players can now lower more prestige points from rival gyms and levelling up will be a touch more difficult. Trying to get more players to fight at gyms is still a problem and for myself, I will not tackle a level 6 or higher gym alone. If I have to feed this company’s coffers with real world money just for those egg incubators, lures and incense I will. And I have racked up enough survey points from different programs to get iTunes/Google Play gift cards without spending. This trick is one some players know about, and It beats spending money on gas to find gyms where a defender can be placed only to have an uncertain future of how long it will last.

Continue reading “Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals — How to Truly Fix Gym Stagnation”

An Autumn / Winter Survival Kit for Pokémon GO

Not everyone will be truly outdoors playing Pokémon GO. Only the hardcore will be and they’ll be ready for anything the elements (not the digital monsters) can throw at them! This list offers common sense items along with other ideas.

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

When the days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder, not everyone will be truly outdoors playing Pokémon GO. Only the hardcore will be and it’s a safe bet some will be playing in the comfort of their warm vehicle. There’s nothing wrong with that even though it defeats the spirit of what the developers intended with the game — but what else can they do? Nobody wants to get sick while playing the game. Freezing to death to catch an Ice type (fortunately there’s only a few, like the Jynx, in generation one) is not worth the effort. The myth of pocket monsters appearing during certain extreme types of weather is debunked over on The Silph Road.

Some areas can become vehicular disaster zones as a result of everyone wanting to stay cozy. I have talked about this problem in an earlier entry. In summary, these folks need to be considerate so the parks can be enjoyed by all.

For those willing to brave the elements, the following is just common sense:

Continue reading “An Autumn / Winter Survival Kit for Pokémon GO”

Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals – The Upcoming Halloween Treat is Not all that Sweet

The latest two updates for Pokémon GO has been lacklustre. Either Niantic is simply releasing simple tweaks of the game in hopes players will remain interested or they are struggling to think of creative ways to maintain its user base.

pokemon-go-halloween-169-en By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

The October 10th release made the life of a trainer a touch easier with catch bonuses — which is much needed — and a better method to train up a gym from the same team as the player, but that hardly felt like enough to maintain my interest. I still play, but not as much. I’m nearly completing my Pokédex in terms of pocket monsters fought or caught in North America, and I’m still pining for a proper tracker.

The latest fix released this week is merely cosmetic and adds functionality for Pokémon GO Plus users (to which I do not have). I see no reason to upgrade the game because I assume the bonuses offered are being handled server side than local. Beginning Oct 26th and lasting for a week players can continue catching, grinding and walking any Pokémon to net extra candy. More ghostly Pokemon will appear (and Cubones). When there’s only three in the generation one set, why? There’s no Mega Gengar I can evolve. This game is not Pokémon Shuffle — where this spirit’s special ability is useful. Generation two does not add to this category save for one: a Misdreavus. Certain Psychic types will appear more, which means swarms of Drowzees (the city I live in is overpopulated with them and they deserve to be washed away with the torrential rains my hometown often gets). Based on the lists I’ve been seeing, other creatures from this category, namely Abras, are not included. Shame! I do not mind the Zubats. They make sense for the season of the witch. Their evolved forms are said to make appearances too.

Continue reading “Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals – The Upcoming Halloween Treat is Not all that Sweet”