7 ms·

The Tragedy of Pokémon Go: What it takes for good ideas to attract money

37 points by oska 10y ago

russellbeattie 10y ago
Well, from what I've seen, there would have been no other way for this app to be successful without piggybacking on the success of another company's obsessive fans. No other customer would put up with a game that is so badly made. From a developer's perspective, this app is a true disaster, with an amazing level of incompetence that permeates the entire launch. First, the servers have been going up and down like a yoyo, which despite its unprecedented success should never have happened more than once. Second the app on iOS crashes every few minutes - I've never seen a more buggy app. Using Unity no less. It's not due to some weird edge case, it's constant... log the damn errors and make sure it doesn't happen again. It's Monday, I should have had an update from the App Store by now, but nope. Third, there's apparently no caching (which might explain their server problems). Every time the app starts (or more likely crashes and restarts), it hits the server to download all the local POI info again from scratch. God help you if you're in a spot with bad connectivity. Fourth, what is it doing do drain the battery so badly?? I've driven for a couple hours with maps apps running without killing my device. It must have zero logic in the app to manage power drain because it'll kill my iPhone in an hour easily. This game owes its success 100% to the popularity of Pokemon and nothing else, the app would never had any success if it had to stand on its own merits. As it is, Niantic is doing its utmost to kill the franchise with their ineptitude.
- ams6110 10y ago
  Well, sounds a lot like Twitter in the early days.
- n0us 10y ago
  Personally I can deal with the other stuff but I can't stand looking at that silly looking character walking over a featureless flat blue map of every parkbench around my building. As far as I can tell there are no "friends", "clans", or even any way to battle your pokemon. I think I've clicked through everything and after restarting the game 50 some times looking for the core features associated with pokemon and now I've given up. In what way does this constitute a game? The technical issues can be fixed but I feel like there are some more fundamental features. What was the company even doing this entire time? Those spinners in the pokecenters couldn't have taken years to build, and it also couldn't have taken years to populate the map with zubats and wevils.
  - onewaystreet 10y ago
    GO has teams (Red, Blue, Yellow). You need to get to level 5 to join a team. Once you join a team you can battle at and take over gyms.
    - n0us 10y ago
      Well that answers it. If I can get the app to work long enough to reach level 5 I'll try that. It's a good thing they decided not to include that information from the start. They wouldn't want people to think there might actually be something fun to do.
      - AznHisoka 10y ago
        Their Onboarding is horrendous. It took me awhile to figure out how to actually capture a Pokemon.
        manachar 10y ago
        The onboarding is surprisingly bad, so bad, I wonder if it was intentional. It sort of forces you to get social to compare notes on how to make things work. Most of what I've learned so far has come from either trial & error or from social sources (in meatspace and cyberspace).
        petercooper 10y ago
        Minecraft in the early days was similar, but it's also what I enjoyed about it. Having to have the Minecraft wiki open on another screen just to figure out how to actually build anything.. :-D
        jack9 10y ago
        Took me exactly 0 seconds, since I had played trash toss and basketball toss games before. The whole 3d avatar customization is wasted effort, at a glance. It will lead to vanity items later, obviously, but why have it in the game at all right now?
- danieltillett 10y ago
  Well apart from all this it sounds like a well designed app. More seriously I think as tech people we overvalue product quality and undervalue market demand. If you create something people really want then they will tolerate very poor quality.
- jonah 10y ago
  Why is it so bad? I assume its the same team that built and runs Ingress. It's been around for years. Not as popular so I can excuse the server load issues, but shouldn't the app/gameplay be more solid?
- jimmywanger 10y ago
  This is a reskinned Ingress, with simpler game mechanics. Log the damn errors and make sure it doesn't happen again? Have you written software? That is the most simplistic advice in the world. By your thoughts, all software should have been updated in a few days to be bug free. Had an update from the App Store? You realize that is gated by Apple and that you have to submit the update and wait an indeterminate amount of time for the update to be approved before appearing on the App Store? No caching? How would you cache game state when at any time the board state can change without warning, due to the actions of another player? And cached game state would invalidate your game actions, which would cause inconsistencies. With draining battery, it needs location services as well as constant internet connectivity. If you're looking for directions, you can make educated guesses when you're going to have to pull location again. Whereas now, you have to constantly be polling, because you yourself don't know where you're headed. And re: Nianitic's "ineptitude", you don't have any ideas what problems they're trying to solve.
  - randartie 10y ago
    > By your thoughts, all software should have been updated in a few days to be bug free. Anyone who has used this app knows it is extremely crashy. It's not supposed to be bug-free, but releasing an app this crashy is fairly sloppy.
    - jimmywanger 10y ago
      Not arguing with the bugginess or not bugginess. But arguing with "just log it and fix it" is like saying to a plumber "just find the leak and fix it". It's insulting to both the developer and the plumber.
      - jessaustin 10y ago
        I think most plumbers wouldn't have much problem with that request, either hearing it or complying with it. After all plumbing is what they do. Hell I'm not even a plumber and I've found and fixed several plumbing leaks already this year.
  - 10y ago
- forthefuture 10y ago
  Something I'd add is that many people who actually play (buy) the real Pokemon games realize the state of this game as well. Most of my friends who play Go are people who know Pokemon from the 90s, not people who have contributed to the franchise economically for the past 20 years. Also, I don't think people are as invested in Pokemon Go as the numbers seem to suggest. It's something fun for a few days, but because of how legitimately boring the game is, normal people won't be able to keep playing once their friends stop posting about it.
- paulsutter 10y ago
  For such an awful app, you certainly seem to use it a lot.
  - russellbeattie 10y ago
    As I said, that's 100% due to Pokemon (and a couple relatives who are rabid fans). Any other app would have been deleted after the third crash.
- jack9 10y ago
  > Second the app on iOS crashes every few minutes - I've never seen a more buggy app Then I'll posit you haven't played many mobile games, much less the top 10 for the past few years. Blood Brothers 1 (as with most DeNA titles) was notoriously this unstable, for example.
pascal1usa 10y ago
The poster uses the word traffic a lot but doesn't explain enough why he thinks it's tragic.
Joof 10y ago
It's effectively a way to meet other people and explore new places. Being pokemon themed gives people something to bond over and connect with each other. Items like the 'attractor' that brings pokemon to an area for everyone attracts people as well as pokemon. I hope there are more ways to be social with it in the future, because that's it's strength.
cogware 10y ago
TLDR for the article: The nascent field of AR games has not, heretofore, produced compelling experiences. There now is one wildly successful AR game, but it is successful because it taps into a massive, well-loved cultural phenomenon. This is "tragic". My thoughts: I've met dozens of people while playing Pokemon Go in the past few days. Seen many clumps of strangers trading tips about where different Pokemon are and comparing the ones they caught. The gameplay is not particularly polished or deep, and the servers are constantly being overwhelmed by the game's success-disaster, but overall, I see a lot of promise. If they add more mechanics that encourage people to form groups and play together, it can drive a lot more positive, serendipitous connections in the world - a rebuttal to those who think that smartphones will necessarily make us more introverted and asocial. I don't fault Niantic at all for the bugs, crashes, or capacity issues. Most apps have bugs and issues on their first release. Almost never do they surpass Twitter's DAU within their first week of launch. They should be lauded for such a great success and for keeping the lights on with so much usage.
AndrewKemendo 10y ago
The saddest part to me is that the AR experience is still sub-optimal, which given the state of monocular SLAM isn't necessary. Niantic, with the funding they have and google connections, could have given the AR function 6DOF had they tried a little harder. Our little team have been able to do monocular SLAM 6DOF with 1/50th of the funding, so it's confusing why they didn't go that route. Even still, it appears that the users really don't care, which is even more interesting to me actually - especially given the complaints that people have leveled at mobile based AR technologies to date.
- therobot24 10y ago
  >> Our little team have been able to do monocular SLAM 6DOF with 1/50th of the funding, so it's confusing why they didn't go that route. Cause they don't have the experience? I usually turn off the AR so i don't have to wave my phone around like an idiot.
  - AndrewKemendo 10y ago
    Cause they don't have the experience? I'd be surprised if this was true - being a part of Google and all for quite some time. I'd be really interested to know what percentage of users have AR turned off.
laretluval 10y ago
Looks like this is the core argument for why Pokemon Go is a tragedy: """Even Google couldn’t make Ingress work without reskinning it as Pokémon. And while Pokémon is popular and basically harmless, the alternating reality it offers is still that of a branded, licensed, kiddie cock-fighting fantasy.""" I think the real tragedy is that the author of this thing can't lighten up and enjoy something that is making all kinds of people happy. Edit: He even links to this example of why it is a wonderful thing! https://imgur.com/KAwwxFp https://imgur.com/KAwwxFp But no, it's a tragedy because it's corporate-branded and juvenile. OK.
- andyjdavis 10y ago
  Personally I have no problem with stuff being corporate branded and/or juvenile but I am surprised that the cock-fighting element isn't mentioned more often in relation to Pokemon. Maybe it is because I have seen a little real life cock-fighting (and its horrifying) but I find that aspect quite repellent.
  - jfoutz 10y ago
    As far as i can tell, you're not required to fight. you can just run around and collect everything. I haven't played ingress in a while, but the only way i remember it was possible to advance was by blowing stuff up.
  - alexmaras 10y ago
    Possibly because they actually cover this topic as one of the main quest lines in at least one of the games. They're pretty self-aware about it these days and the shows are big on morality and battling only when the Pokémon want to. People definitely bring it up, but what are they meant to do? Collapse a media franchise worth many millions of dollars?
  - NamTaf 10y ago
    So is gunning down other people. Fortunately, many people can separate games from reality and this lets all types of games, from Counter-Strike to Pokemon to the Total War series, to succeed. I'm utterly convinced the average 13 year old can separate the concepts of fake monsters that disappear back inside their little round homes from the reality of two animals trapped in a small area fighting to the death.
manachar 10y ago
I'm not sure this a fair analysis. Yes, Pokémon certainly added a nice built in fanbase, but I don't think that alone would have made it the social phenomenon it currently is. As the article mentions, the gameplay is significantly easier than Ingress. Also, the theme is much more family friendly and less paranoid. It's got cute pocket monsters you can collect throughout the day. Additionally, the camera aspect makes it built-in social sharing material, especially since it's a palatable theme. I'm not going to share Ingress photos with anyone else, but a humorous picture of Magickarp flopped on the beach is fun to share. I'm seeing a lot of people who are completely ignorant of Pokémon playing this game. I see parents downloading it to go on walks with their kids. It's fun, easy, and fits in nicely with people's aspirations (more exercise). None of that was really in place with any of the previous iterations. They were all too "serious", dark, and/or niche audience. I suspected Niantic expected this to be a moderate hit with Ingress players and Pokémon fans - both were a niche audience. It's the gameplay and family-friendly theme that has made this as popular as it is.
- erroneousfunk 10y ago
  Agreed. Ingress had gameplay that was not only niche, but it was abstract and difficult to explain -- and THEN explain why it was fun. Pokemon is, not only a completely different game with different rules and objectives, but the gameplay is super accessible. I enjoyed Ingress, but I completely disagree that it's a "tragedy" that it (or other, often similarly convoluted games) didn't take off with a broader community like Pokemon has. While I appreciate that the article exists, and think that its message (the apparent necessity of corporate branding to drive VR) is a good one to consider, their logic may have some holes. Pokemon is not just re-skinned Ingress.
Animats 10y ago
Majestic was a great concept, but unfortunately, it launched a few weeks before 9/11. Here's the trailer[1] and press kit[2]. You can see why this was a problem after 9/11. It's still a problem - before 9/11, there was no government department looking for vaguely suspicious activity, and the police were not as militarized. Majestic's slogan was "it plays you". It played on its schedule, not yours. The pressure made it more compelling, but limited the potential audience. It was like having to be on line for a raid in WoW, or LARPing. Pokémon Go is a casual augmented reality game. It's not even multiplayer. Simple wins in casual gaming. (Angry Birds, anyone?) [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcTDMYq3xCw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcTDMYq3xCw [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG0oY8obuGU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG0oY8obuGU
gthtjtkt 10y ago
The real tragedy of Pokemon Go is that it's essentially a glorified Cow Clicker. The core gameplay (battling and leveling to strengthen your team, then using them to collect ever-stronger Pokemon) has been replaced with mindless swiping. Toss Pokeballs until one works, then move to a new spot and repeat ad infinitum. This "game" had so much potential, but they removed all the gameplay!
- flycaliguy 10y ago
  Isn't the core game walking around? It's great, I did it before it was part of a game just to feel good.
doctorpangloss 10y ago
Ian Bogost is a professional critic, so I think he'll exaggerate how he actually feels. He probably really likes the game and still thinks it's super cool. Frank Lantz is a really positive guy overall, so again, I think his negativity overstates how he actually feels. His company Area/Code was not acquired for its location based games, and Area/Code never made a game where you look through a camera and see a thing superimposed in it. Suggesting Area/Code 'got there first,' as Ian does, is a bit of a stretch. Honestly, it's doubtful anyone at Niantic has actually played a single thing Area/Code has made, not even Drop7. Nobody would put a screenshot of Plundr in their pitch deck and say, "We're going to make the next big version of this." Besides, Plundr was never released as a public game anyway, so it would be absurd to compare this actual thing Pokemon Go to what is basically a design fiction. But even if you allow that all these advertisement game footnotes are genuinely cited/used in Pokemon Go, you're forgetting that none of that really matters in gaming as an art form. The only person's opinion that really matters is the consumer's (and to a limited extend the Google Play Store editors and App Store editors). Players are less interested in who invented what concept. If you're going to reference the past, reference familiar control schemes (like nearly every console shooter references Halo) or properties (like, well, Pokemon). It's surprising that professors of games-as-art like Ian and Frank would seem to get this wrong. People on this forum are probably most critical of the bugs, but again, none of that really matters. Other commenters have said it more succinctly: if you have something great, people will deal with its problems. Forget DeNA games (like one commenter noted); have you ever tried to play Minecraft on an iPhone? You're moving around your FPS head with your finger and using a virtual joystick, which is literally the most horrible control scheme for touch possible. Kids still deal with it, they really don't care. Why are there people looking to assassinate Pokémon? I think the Niantic team was given multiple opportunities to do something unconventional, which basically never happens, especially never in any of the jobs of people on these forums. They're kind of rubbing in all your faces that you really don't have to be making elegant hierarchies and making the world a better place all day, if only someone trusted you to do something weird.

37 points by oska 10y ago

Well, from what I've seen, there would have been no other way for this app to be successful without piggybacking on the success of another company's obsessive fans. No other customer would put up with a game that is so badly made. From a developer's perspective, this app is a true disaster, with an amazing level of incompetence that permeates the entire launch. First, the servers have been going up and down like a yoyo, which despite its unprecedented success should never have happened more than once. Second the app on iOS crashes every few minutes - I've never seen a more buggy app. Using Unity no less. It's not due to some weird edge case, it's constant... log the damn errors and make sure it doesn't happen again. It's Monday, I should have had an update from the App Store by now, but nope. Third, there's apparently no caching (which might explain their server problems). Every time the app starts (or more likely crashes and restarts), it hits the server to download all the local POI info again from scratch. God help you if you're in a spot with bad connectivity. Fourth, what is it doing do drain the battery so badly?? I've driven for a couple hours with maps apps running without killing my device. It must have zero logic in the app to manage power drain because it'll kill my iPhone in an hour easily. This game owes its success 100% to the popularity of Pokemon and nothing else, the app would never had any success if it had to stand on its own merits. As it is, Niantic is doing its utmost to kill the franchise with their ineptitude.

ams6110 10y ago
Well, sounds a lot like Twitter in the early days.
n0us 10y ago
Personally I can deal with the other stuff but I can't stand looking at that silly looking character walking over a featureless flat blue map of every parkbench around my building. As far as I can tell there are no "friends", "clans", or even any way to battle your pokemon. I think I've clicked through everything and after restarting the game 50 some times looking for the core features associated with pokemon and now I've given up. In what way does this constitute a game? The technical issues can be fixed but I feel like there are some more fundamental features. What was the company even doing this entire time? Those spinners in the pokecenters couldn't have taken years to build, and it also couldn't have taken years to populate the map with zubats and wevils.
- onewaystreet 10y ago
  GO has teams (Red, Blue, Yellow). You need to get to level 5 to join a team. Once you join a team you can battle at and take over gyms.
  - n0us 10y ago
    Well that answers it. If I can get the app to work long enough to reach level 5 I'll try that. It's a good thing they decided not to include that information from the start. They wouldn't want people to think there might actually be something fun to do.
    - AznHisoka 10y ago
      Their Onboarding is horrendous. It took me awhile to figure out how to actually capture a Pokemon.
      - manachar 10y ago
        The onboarding is surprisingly bad, so bad, I wonder if it was intentional. It sort of forces you to get social to compare notes on how to make things work. Most of what I've learned so far has come from either trial & error or from social sources (in meatspace and cyberspace).
        petercooper 10y ago
        Minecraft in the early days was similar, but it's also what I enjoyed about it. Having to have the Minecraft wiki open on another screen just to figure out how to actually build anything.. :-D
      - jack9 10y ago
        Took me exactly 0 seconds, since I had played trash toss and basketball toss games before. The whole 3d avatar customization is wasted effort, at a glance. It will lead to vanity items later, obviously, but why have it in the game at all right now?
danieltillett 10y ago
Well apart from all this it sounds like a well designed app. More seriously I think as tech people we overvalue product quality and undervalue market demand. If you create something people really want then they will tolerate very poor quality.
jonah 10y ago
Why is it so bad? I assume its the same team that built and runs Ingress. It's been around for years. Not as popular so I can excuse the server load issues, but shouldn't the app/gameplay be more solid?
jimmywanger 10y ago
This is a reskinned Ingress, with simpler game mechanics. Log the damn errors and make sure it doesn't happen again? Have you written software? That is the most simplistic advice in the world. By your thoughts, all software should have been updated in a few days to be bug free. Had an update from the App Store? You realize that is gated by Apple and that you have to submit the update and wait an indeterminate amount of time for the update to be approved before appearing on the App Store? No caching? How would you cache game state when at any time the board state can change without warning, due to the actions of another player? And cached game state would invalidate your game actions, which would cause inconsistencies. With draining battery, it needs location services as well as constant internet connectivity. If you're looking for directions, you can make educated guesses when you're going to have to pull location again. Whereas now, you have to constantly be polling, because you yourself don't know where you're headed. And re: Nianitic's "ineptitude", you don't have any ideas what problems they're trying to solve.
- randartie 10y ago
  > By your thoughts, all software should have been updated in a few days to be bug free. Anyone who has used this app knows it is extremely crashy. It's not supposed to be bug-free, but releasing an app this crashy is fairly sloppy.
  - jimmywanger 10y ago
    Not arguing with the bugginess or not bugginess. But arguing with "just log it and fix it" is like saying to a plumber "just find the leak and fix it". It's insulting to both the developer and the plumber.
    - jessaustin 10y ago
      I think most plumbers wouldn't have much problem with that request, either hearing it or complying with it. After all plumbing is what they do. Hell I'm not even a plumber and I've found and fixed several plumbing leaks already this year.
- 10y ago
forthefuture 10y ago
Something I'd add is that many people who actually play (buy) the real Pokemon games realize the state of this game as well. Most of my friends who play Go are people who know Pokemon from the 90s, not people who have contributed to the franchise economically for the past 20 years. Also, I don't think people are as invested in Pokemon Go as the numbers seem to suggest. It's something fun for a few days, but because of how legitimately boring the game is, normal people won't be able to keep playing once their friends stop posting about it.
paulsutter 10y ago
For such an awful app, you certainly seem to use it a lot.
- russellbeattie 10y ago
  As I said, that's 100% due to Pokemon (and a couple relatives who are rabid fans). Any other app would have been deleted after the third crash.
jack9 10y ago
> Second the app on iOS crashes every few minutes - I've never seen a more buggy app Then I'll posit you haven't played many mobile games, much less the top 10 for the past few years. Blood Brothers 1 (as with most DeNA titles) was notoriously this unstable, for example.

pascal1usa 10y ago

The poster uses the word traffic a lot but doesn't explain enough why he thinks it's tragic.

Joof 10y ago

It's effectively a way to meet other people and explore new places. Being pokemon themed gives people something to bond over and connect with each other. Items like the 'attractor' that brings pokemon to an area for everyone attracts people as well as pokemon. I hope there are more ways to be social with it in the future, because that's it's strength.

cogware 10y ago

TLDR for the article: The nascent field of AR games has not, heretofore, produced compelling experiences. There now is one wildly successful AR game, but it is successful because it taps into a massive, well-loved cultural phenomenon. This is "tragic". My thoughts: I've met dozens of people while playing Pokemon Go in the past few days. Seen many clumps of strangers trading tips about where different Pokemon are and comparing the ones they caught. The gameplay is not particularly polished or deep, and the servers are constantly being overwhelmed by the game's success-disaster, but overall, I see a lot of promise. If they add more mechanics that encourage people to form groups and play together, it can drive a lot more positive, serendipitous connections in the world - a rebuttal to those who think that smartphones will necessarily make us more introverted and asocial. I don't fault Niantic at all for the bugs, crashes, or capacity issues. Most apps have bugs and issues on their first release. Almost never do they surpass Twitter's DAU within their first week of launch. They should be lauded for such a great success and for keeping the lights on with so much usage.

AndrewKemendo 10y ago

The saddest part to me is that the AR experience is still sub-optimal, which given the state of monocular SLAM isn't necessary. Niantic, with the funding they have and google connections, could have given the AR function 6DOF had they tried a little harder. Our little team have been able to do monocular SLAM 6DOF with 1/50th of the funding, so it's confusing why they didn't go that route. Even still, it appears that the users really don't care, which is even more interesting to me actually - especially given the complaints that people have leveled at mobile based AR technologies to date.

therobot24 10y ago
>> Our little team have been able to do monocular SLAM 6DOF with 1/50th of the funding, so it's confusing why they didn't go that route. Cause they don't have the experience? I usually turn off the AR so i don't have to wave my phone around like an idiot.
- AndrewKemendo 10y ago
  Cause they don't have the experience? I'd be surprised if this was true - being a part of Google and all for quite some time. I'd be really interested to know what percentage of users have AR turned off.

laretluval 10y ago

Looks like this is the core argument for why Pokemon Go is a tragedy: """Even Google couldn’t make Ingress work without reskinning it as Pokémon. And while Pokémon is popular and basically harmless, the alternating reality it offers is still that of a branded, licensed, kiddie cock-fighting fantasy.""" I think the real tragedy is that the author of this thing can't lighten up and enjoy something that is making all kinds of people happy. Edit: He even links to this example of why it is a wonderful thing! https://imgur.com/KAwwxFp https://imgur.com/KAwwxFp But no, it's a tragedy because it's corporate-branded and juvenile. OK.

andyjdavis 10y ago
Personally I have no problem with stuff being corporate branded and/or juvenile but I am surprised that the cock-fighting element isn't mentioned more often in relation to Pokemon. Maybe it is because I have seen a little real life cock-fighting (and its horrifying) but I find that aspect quite repellent.
- jfoutz 10y ago
  As far as i can tell, you're not required to fight. you can just run around and collect everything. I haven't played ingress in a while, but the only way i remember it was possible to advance was by blowing stuff up.
- alexmaras 10y ago
  Possibly because they actually cover this topic as one of the main quest lines in at least one of the games. They're pretty self-aware about it these days and the shows are big on morality and battling only when the Pokémon want to. People definitely bring it up, but what are they meant to do? Collapse a media franchise worth many millions of dollars?
- NamTaf 10y ago
  So is gunning down other people. Fortunately, many people can separate games from reality and this lets all types of games, from Counter-Strike to Pokemon to the Total War series, to succeed. I'm utterly convinced the average 13 year old can separate the concepts of fake monsters that disappear back inside their little round homes from the reality of two animals trapped in a small area fighting to the death.

manachar 10y ago

I'm not sure this a fair analysis. Yes, Pokémon certainly added a nice built in fanbase, but I don't think that alone would have made it the social phenomenon it currently is. As the article mentions, the gameplay is significantly easier than Ingress. Also, the theme is much more family friendly and less paranoid. It's got cute pocket monsters you can collect throughout the day. Additionally, the camera aspect makes it built-in social sharing material, especially since it's a palatable theme. I'm not going to share Ingress photos with anyone else, but a humorous picture of Magickarp flopped on the beach is fun to share. I'm seeing a lot of people who are completely ignorant of Pokémon playing this game. I see parents downloading it to go on walks with their kids. It's fun, easy, and fits in nicely with people's aspirations (more exercise). None of that was really in place with any of the previous iterations. They were all too "serious", dark, and/or niche audience. I suspected Niantic expected this to be a moderate hit with Ingress players and Pokémon fans - both were a niche audience. It's the gameplay and family-friendly theme that has made this as popular as it is.

erroneousfunk 10y ago
Agreed. Ingress had gameplay that was not only niche, but it was abstract and difficult to explain -- and THEN explain why it was fun. Pokemon is, not only a completely different game with different rules and objectives, but the gameplay is super accessible. I enjoyed Ingress, but I completely disagree that it's a "tragedy" that it (or other, often similarly convoluted games) didn't take off with a broader community like Pokemon has. While I appreciate that the article exists, and think that its message (the apparent necessity of corporate branding to drive VR) is a good one to consider, their logic may have some holes. Pokemon is not just re-skinned Ingress.

Animats 10y ago

Majestic was a great concept, but unfortunately, it launched a few weeks before 9/11. Here's the trailer[1] and press kit[2]. You can see why this was a problem after 9/11. It's still a problem - before 9/11, there was no government department looking for vaguely suspicious activity, and the police were not as militarized. Majestic's slogan was "it plays you". It played on its schedule, not yours. The pressure made it more compelling, but limited the potential audience. It was like having to be on line for a raid in WoW, or LARPing. Pokémon Go is a casual augmented reality game. It's not even multiplayer. Simple wins in casual gaming. (Angry Birds, anyone?) [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcTDMYq3xCw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcTDMYq3xCw [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG0oY8obuGU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG0oY8obuGU

gthtjtkt 10y ago

The real tragedy of Pokemon Go is that it's essentially a glorified Cow Clicker. The core gameplay (battling and leveling to strengthen your team, then using them to collect ever-stronger Pokemon) has been replaced with mindless swiping. Toss Pokeballs until one works, then move to a new spot and repeat ad infinitum. This "game" had so much potential, but they removed all the gameplay!

flycaliguy 10y ago
Isn't the core game walking around? It's great, I did it before it was part of a game just to feel good.

doctorpangloss 10y ago

Ian Bogost is a professional critic, so I think he'll exaggerate how he actually feels. He probably really likes the game and still thinks it's super cool. Frank Lantz is a really positive guy overall, so again, I think his negativity overstates how he actually feels. His company Area/Code was not acquired for its location based games, and Area/Code never made a game where you look through a camera and see a thing superimposed in it. Suggesting Area/Code 'got there first,' as Ian does, is a bit of a stretch. Honestly, it's doubtful anyone at Niantic has actually played a single thing Area/Code has made, not even Drop7. Nobody would put a screenshot of Plundr in their pitch deck and say, "We're going to make the next big version of this." Besides, Plundr was never released as a public game anyway, so it would be absurd to compare this actual thing Pokemon Go to what is basically a design fiction. But even if you allow that all these advertisement game footnotes are genuinely cited/used in Pokemon Go, you're forgetting that none of that really matters in gaming as an art form. The only person's opinion that really matters is the consumer's (and to a limited extend the Google Play Store editors and App Store editors). Players are less interested in who invented what concept. If you're going to reference the past, reference familiar control schemes (like nearly every console shooter references Halo) or properties (like, well, Pokemon). It's surprising that professors of games-as-art like Ian and Frank would seem to get this wrong. People on this forum are probably most critical of the bugs, but again, none of that really matters. Other commenters have said it more succinctly: if you have something great, people will deal with its problems. Forget DeNA games (like one commenter noted); have you ever tried to play Minecraft on an iPhone? You're moving around your FPS head with your finger and using a virtual joystick, which is literally the most horrible control scheme for touch possible. Kids still deal with it, they really don't care. Why are there people looking to assassinate Pokémon? I think the Niantic team was given multiple opportunities to do something unconventional, which basically never happens, especially never in any of the jobs of people on these forums. They're kind of rubbing in all your faces that you really don't have to be making elegant hierarchies and making the world a better place all day, if only someone trusted you to do something weird.