Augmented reality comes into play
The Pokémon Go craze, according to Superfly Insights, ended a few weeks after the game's release. True, the number of paying users grew, but more and more slowly, and statistics for many countries showed a decrease in interest. Maybe this is just the beginning of the real AR (augmented reality) revolution?
In July of this year, everyone suddenly started talking about a smartphone game that overlays a digital image on the real world. It hit the market on July 6 and quickly became a sensation. While it was originally only available in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, it quickly gained popularity around the world. In just five days, Pokémon Go for Android was officially downloaded 7,5 million times in the United States alone, which means that every twentieth cell with this system was discovered in the country.
Pokémon Go is made up of six basic elements: maps, pokemon, habitats and medals. The player is always in the center of the map. Pokémon are virtual creatures that live in specific locations called habitats. They are taken directly from the Nintendo "Pokémon" games for consoles released in 1996.
After launching Pokémon Go for the first time, the user is given the option to create their own virtual avatar - He can choose, among other things, the color of hair, skin, eyes and clothing. After character creation, the player is on the world map using GPS technology. Objects such as battle halls () (places where Pokémon can be found) are generated on this map, as well as the Pokémon themselves as soon as the player approaches them. The avatar changes its location on the map as its owner moves in the real world.
Unlike other creature games, the user doesn't have to fight the Pokémon to catch it - that's enough. Rzučič in the right place and with the right force. After capturing a Pokémon, the player receives dust and candies, which are used to increase the combat strength () of the next Pokémon - candies additionally help in the evolution to the next stage of development. Combat strength is a special indicator that determines the strength of a Pokémon; the higher the level of the player, the greater the chance of finding Pokémon with a higher combat strength value.
For activity in the game, the user receives the corresponding doświadczenie. Upon reaching experience level XNUMX, he gains the ability to battle the room leaders as well as join one of three teams, allowing him to take over rooms not owned by his team.
Pictures from the game "Pokémon go"
Leave…cemeteries alone
The app is causing a lot of controversy. From the countries where Pokémon Go first debuted (USA, Australia, New Zealand), there are reports of dangerous and sometimes dangerous outrageous situations. Trying to catch Pikachu5) or Bulbasaura (types of Pokemon), the players went out, for example, onto the road, right under the wheels of cars. Some drivers also admit to looking at their cell phone screen for Pokémon while driving, which of course doesn't improve safety. In the US, some cemeteries have a special guard who asks everyone to look for virtual creatures there. Public opinion was shocked by cases of Pokemon hunting in the Holocaust Museum in Washington or in the Auschwitz camp. The photo was taken in Washington next to a memorial plaque dedicated, in particular, to the victims of the gas chamber, depicting Pokemon poisoned by gas ...
The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina had to warn its citizens not to go into the numerous... minefields while collecting monsters. There were also attacks on players in which criminals used a rare creature as bait. They were also recorded in Poland. Pokémon are available even on the front lines of the fight against the Islamic State.
Defenders note the positive aspects of the game. "Pokemon Go" promotes physical activity - people finally got out of the house into the fresh air, and of course not only children participate in the game. "Pokémon Go" is the opposite of couch entertainment, consisting mostly of pushing buttons on controllers and eating chips. If we want to achieve something in this game, we will have to walk, run or bike a lot.
Among the items that can be found in this semi-virtual world are eggs, from which more or less rare Pokémon can hatch. Just place such an egg in a virtual incubator and go on a journey - the longer, the rarer the Pokémon you want to hatch. Sometimes even a ten-kilometer walk is necessary. In a survey conducted in the US, 750 people admitted that they gained weight and lost weight after playing Pokémon Go. Respondents admitted that they spend even a few hours more on the street than before.
Contrary to privacy
However, one of the biggest controversies surrounding the game player privacy issue. The program it works with finds users and lists Pokémon locations in real time. To do this, he needs a lot of information from the player, including but not limited to his geolocation. The very creation of an account already requires the provision of a large amount of data, such as an email address or date of birth. This worries many people for whom the privacy policy imposed by Pokémon Go is unacceptable.
It is worth recalling that a similar situation took place in the case of Google. In 2014, a working group made up of data protection authorities from across the EU produced a comprehensive list of requirements Google must follow in order for its corporate privacy policy to comply with European Union data protection regulations. data. One of the requirements was to include in the privacy policy a list of all types of personal data that will be processed.
The data entered by Pokémon players can be used to display their sponsored locations. Unofficially, this is one of the main elements of the game's business model. These are places where, among other things, there are or other additional elements added at the request of specific individuals. One such organization is, for example, McDonald's...
If players accept the privacy policy, they agree that their personal data may be transferred to third parties who have been hired to support various activities and are providers of gaming or other business data.
Also, players should make sure they are downloading Pokémon Go from trusted sources. It exists on the web. many malicious applicationsthat pretend to be popular programs. An example is this. This application locks the screen of the device on which it is installed. The victim has no other choice but to remove the battery and reboot the hardware, after which the application attacks again...
Pokemon smells like money
Game first business and in different senses of the word. For example, the Russian Sberbank decided to take advantage of the popularity of Pokemon and in an official post on the page on the social network said that it has items that attract Pokemon located in its branches. And for those who prefer to look for pocket creatures, they offer a free accident insurance package when traveling around the city. However, bank registration is required.
CenterState Bank in Florida has also been experimenting with a solution to attract players to bank branches. However, the Russian bank decided to involve users of the application even more and plans to introduce bonuses for catching Pokemon on the territory of the establishment.
The success of Pokémon Go had a strong impact on Nintendo share price is the aforementioned Japanese console and game maker that owns a 30% stake in the Pokémon brand. In just a few days, the company's share price on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose by more than 50%. which means an increase in its capitalization by about 10 billion US dollars. All of this came at a time when the company was facing falling revenue, trouble adapting to current market trends, and trouble selling new gaming devices.
New era?
The game is the first app to use augmented reality () which has gained so much popularity. This may affect the spread of AR technology and the emergence of special glasses that allow you to use augmented reality (and, for example, play without grabbing your phone). Three years ago, Google experimented with them, but due to the lack of applications that stimulate the use of Google Glass, its project was discontinued in early 2015.
The idea for a Pokemon game came about quite by accident and was taken from a Google April Fool's joke two years ago. Then, Pokemon began to appear on the maps of virtual cities, which Internet users could catch. This gameplay accidentally gained a lot of popularity. At the same time, Niantic was looking for an idea to develop their game. "Entrance"using augmented reality. Its representatives contacted The Pokémon Company and asked if they could introduce 151 Pokémon into their game and make them the main characters of the game. The two companies quickly reached an agreement and began work on the project, which was released in July 2016.
Ingress is over three years old. We can safely say that the mechanics of Pokemon Go are 100% based on it. Ingress also connects via GPS and allows the player, playing the role of a secret agent, to roam the streets in search of mysterious portals. There are no colorful creatures in it, but there is even more excitement, because players take away the portals located on the map.
For several years, in addition to fairly serious applications in medicine or aviation, users of mobile devices, smartphones, tablets or game consoles have most often dealt with augmented reality. Games are a natural ally of augmented reality technology as they involve people from different backgrounds on many levels at the same time.
For example, the game has been available for several years. "ShootAR", by the way, Polish production. This is a classic "shooter" (FPS), but at the same time an off-road game that is played through a smartphone, incl. on the streets of a real city. Its authors note that it requires the players to be in good physical shape, because they have to really race, run and hide. Among many other similar games, even an AR version of the popular "Battlefield" was being prepared, which was supposed to be available in Google Glass.
So Pokémon Go is neither completely new nor one of a kind. However, it turned out to be successful, which means that its creators are already planning more games using augmented reality technology. Their head of marketing recently told the media that he dreams of one of these products being based on the famous Game of Thrones.
Promotional image of Harry Potter Go, a game based on an idea similar to Pokémon Go.
Another candidate for a license for this type of game could be Harry Potter. A group of fans of this character (film, story) created an online petition for this purpose, which has already been signed by many thousands of people. The organizers of the action dream of the opportunity to conjure in augmented reality and fights between wizards, in which the phone in hand would replace a magic wand.
It seems that the explosion of popularity of virtual creatures opens a new chapter not only in the world of games. Ideas are pouring out of the sleeve, and smart manufacturers do not cover the pears with ashes, counting on big profits from the suddenly begun fashion for augmented reality.
