Tag: Pokémon GO

Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals – A Buddy System is Coming But It’s Still Not Tamagotchi

Pokémon GO CardBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

A new gameplay element is coming sometime soon to Pokémon GO and the question of whether or not it will be enough to win me back is in question. I have slowed down in playing, and find no excitement over catching the same pocket monster again and again. Unless it’s a particular creature, I’m not catching them all. In those that I do, the pocket monster needs to be raised to combat potential.

The upcoming “Buddy” system sounds good and the features allow building that Pokémon up, but it is still not Bandai’s Tamagotchi. When I look at the concept in writing, I see the potential to severely unbalance the game.

In the official statement by Niantic Labs:

“You will be able to pick your favorite Pokémon from your collection to become your buddy, opening up unique in-game rewards and experiences. Buddy Pokémon will appear alongside your Trainer avatar on your profile screen, adding helpful bonuses such as awarding Candy for walking together. You’ll also have the ability to change your Buddy Pokémon at any time.”

If any Pokémon can be walked, then that means the best Poké Gym defenders can easily be buffed up to impossible to take down levels. I am aware that lots of sweets are required to even strengthen the select buddy, but where there is a will, some players will take advantage of the system by hopping in a car and driving at 15kmph until enough distance is covered to get the awards even faster. These power-ups are more valuable currency than the coins used to buy incense, lure and the like.

Until this feature gets fully documented in how it works, I’m sceptical if this addition will make the game any better. The best solution is to limit how many candies can be awarded in total.

Fortunately, the developers mentioned that limits to how many candies are earned per day will be put into place. I feel a fixed cap needs to be part of this game’s back-end rules.

Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals — How Can This Game Evolve? (Part Two)

Pokémon GO CardBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The big talk lately about Pokémon GO is in the millions no longer playing the game faster than me catching another Drowzee. I’m also slowing down since the gameplay is mostly about grinding for candies to power up my best fighting force. I’m close to giving up on trying to catch them all since nobody can (to do so means travelling around the world). Unless a truly interactive element is added to this game, this product will fade fast. The biggest item everyone wants is a proper tracking mechanism. If it does not turn into another type of recreational activity, like geocaching to help find the legendary pocket monsters like they are valued treasures, then I do not think this game will go far.

Augmented reality does not mean these pocket monsters simply appear at random. I’d love to see an added science element where if you study where a Pokémon appears and reappears (in theory, some die-hard players say biomes exist, but I see no rhyme or reason behind when Snorax or Onyx appears) then predicting where they might walk to next can be fun. Chasing a moving target like hide and go seek can potentially be interesting when breadcrumbs are being left behind.

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Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals — How Can This Game Evolve? (Part One)

maxresdefaultBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

As fun as this game is to catch a new Pokémon for the first time, the quest to catch them all is not easy. There’s a handful which requires travelling far and wide for, and others where the nests have not been identified yet. The latter requires exploring the entire town or city for. To be dedicated, the player has to start keeping a physical or mental journal, recording times when these pocket monsters have been spotted and hopefully returning to catch them on a regular basis. Over time, these critters can be raised and trained to fight other Pokémon.

Each Pokéstop is a landmark to admire. If this game is to evolve, I propose that the company work with museums and national parks to create new gyms and stops truly worth exploring. I do not like the fact it’s tailored for urban centres. The more mobile data being sent is indicative of which Pokémon can appear. I ask what happened to the thrill of the hunt at out-of-the-way places? The promo trailer made going out of urban centres and to large parks exciting!

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[Victoria, BC] Pokémon Go “3rd Saturday” Event To Expand Next Month

pokemon

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Approximately 130 people attended Fev Games‘ and Vancouver Island Pokémon Go Syndicate‘s “Third Saturday” event at Beacon Hill Park in the City of Victoria, British Columbia, on August 20th. This city was one of six selected to test the waters for a regular event for enthusiasts of this mobile game to engage in and players of various experience levels arrived to test their mettle. This product swept parts of the world by storm, and in who showed up, the hardcore was here trying to catch them all. Another hotspot had its casual players mulling about but for those who want to see their hometown shine, they were at this nesting zone for waterfowl and Pokémon alike.

Other cities included Chicago, Illinois; Melbourne, Australia; Ottawa, Ontario; Riverside, California and Townsville, Australia. The Press Enterprise reported online that “more than 1,200 players took to the streets near City Hall” in Riverside and numbers will no doubt vary, depending on the size of a city’s population.

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Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals — Don’t Poké Park and Drive

pokemonBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

One of the many purposes of Pokémon Go is to get players out of the house, enjoy the weather and make new friends. The release of this game could not be any better. It arrived in the dog days of summer and for the most part, fans of this game have come out of their shelters to enjoy this product. One issue that bugs me are those who behave like Kakunas — they lock themselves in their vehicle and play the game there during the evening hours. I think there’s something wrong with those folks. Chances are hit and miss to chat with those walking around (I’ve seen some wearing headphones, indicating they want to tune out the real world), but for the most part, everyone has been friendly — even during Poké Gym battles.

In the past two weeks, I’ve literally knocked at the window of those players’ vehicles (thankfully they were parked safely on the side of the street) and said hi. A few are surprised by my move — especially when they are playing beside my home next to a park, where a Poké Gym is — and at other places, it’s all about fellow gamers chillin’ and having a good time. Up on Mt. Tolmie, we tried to figure out where that Charizard appeared for one player. Either he had an incense going or that was pure luck. That group also set up the lure there, so I went to do the friendly thing and thanked them.

I’m just a player who wants to socialize and not hide behind a screen. Some gamers do enough of that at home with certain video games, and this habit should not be repeated outdoors.

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Ed’s Pokémon GO Journals — What Needs to Be Fixed and How I think It Should Be Done

maxresdefaultBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I have been playing Pokémon GO for more than two weeks now, and I really have to curb my appetite to catch them all. After filling the Pokedex with a little more than half of the known original 150 pocket monsters, the effort to find and catalogue the rest can fall into any of three options:

a) Simply evolving the set I have now by farming the locally known hotspots of specific Pokémon.
b) Wait for a working minimalist radar to at least point me in the right direction when I’m nearby and the game is running.
c) Travelling off island or venturing into territory to find the elusive types.

The latter is not likely to happen because I do not travel that much. For me, do I really want to be the next Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter or great Detective Holmes? Receiving a clue is needed to at least point me in the right direction. I like to know what I’m encountering and if its close or nearby by 15 feet or 30. Yes, I miss the feature that worked for beta testers and like everyone else, do not like how the feature works now. I feel like I’ve been bitten by an Arbok. Not everyone was enthused at the various changes in the latest update. The only good thing I thought was a change of Pokémon spawning pits.

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