海角大神

Q: What is Pok茅mon Go?

The popular app is an augmented reality game that users play on mobile devices. Pok茅mon video games became popular in聽the 1990s, as did Pok茅mon trading cards. These pursuits, now including Pok茅mon Go, challenge players to catch Pok茅mon,聽small creatures that each have specific abilities. Once a player has brought together various Pok茅mon, he or she can fight other聽users鈥� Pok茅mon.

Unlike some other mobile games, Pok茅mon Go incorporates a player鈥檚 environment, says Simon Tarr, associate professor of聽media arts at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. 鈥淚nstead of playing a video game where you have a little avatar that聽walks around a fake world, you are the avatar; you walk around the real world,鈥� he says. When the game is played, users will聽see a Pok茅mon by the real tree that鈥檚 next to them or hopping in front of them on the sidewalk.

There are spots called Pok茅Stops that Professor Tarr describes as 鈥渓ike convenience stores to pick up extra supplies鈥� for聽catching Pok茅mon. Then there are 鈥済yms,鈥� where players can join one of three teams. A player can also attempt to take over a聽gym.

Businesses are trying to bring in customers using the game, Tarr says: 鈥淭hey鈥檒l place a 鈥榣ure鈥� down so it will attract more聽Pok茅mon to that location and people will come and maybe have pizza.鈥澛�

The game probably became popular because so many people remember the original Pok茅mon, says Alenda Chang,聽assistant professor in the department of film and media studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 鈥淧eople in their聽20s, 30s, 40s 鈥� actually of all ages, really 鈥� a lot of them have a deep nostalgic attachment to this franchise,鈥� she says.

Q: What are the benefits of playing Pok茅mon Go?

The game forces players to walk around outside, since one can find only so many Pok茅mon by sitting at home. 鈥淚n order to聽actually 鈥榗atch them all,鈥� which is what the game wants you to do, you actually do have to be fairly well traveled,鈥� Professor聽Chang says.

Players may also learn more about historical landmarks near their homes, as a Pok茅Stop, for example, could be located聽there. And there are often plenty of other players with whom to interact. 鈥淭hese aren鈥檛 just kids playing,鈥� Tarr says. 鈥淚 saw聽bankers and lawyers on their lunch break playing this.... There鈥檚 this strange kind of fellowship that I notice. I would walk around聽and people would look at me ... and they would give me this knowing look, like 鈥極K, you鈥檙e catching them, too?鈥� 鈥澛�

Tarr says others will give him tips on where to find Pok茅mon. 鈥淚t feels kind of like trick-or- treating,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou feel like you聽can chat with people who are doing it because you鈥檙e all doing the same thing.鈥�

Q: What are the drawbacks?

A game that encourages wandering around can create problems. Chang says a woman was not happy when Chang stopped聽near the woman鈥檚 car while playing the game. 鈥淪he thought I was behaving unusually or erratically,鈥� she says. 鈥淪he actually got聽out of her car and told me to move on in no uncertain terms.鈥� In that sense, Pok茅mon Go may be drawing attention to larger聽topics: 鈥淥ne of the most fascinating aspects of the game is the way that it鈥檚 kind of pointing out or revealing these tensions that聽we have about public and private space,鈥� Chang says.

Issues have also arisen when, for example, visitors at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York and the聽United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington noticed Pok茅mon Go players seeking creatures there. 鈥淭here have聽been people behaving inappropriately in solemn places since solemn places existed,鈥� Tarr notes.

Q: What about privacy issues?

Soon after Pok茅mon Go was released, concerns arose over the fact that when players used their Google accounts to sign in聽to the game, they appeared to be allowing Niantic, the company that developed Pok茅mon Go, to access information associated聽with their Google accounts. Soon after, Niantic said that the company was not viewing users鈥� Google account information other聽than their email addresses and usernames and that it was working with Google to change the settings. 鈥淎nytime you鈥檙e going to聽use a smartphone, you have to realize that with all the power and all the kind of freedom that it gives you, you鈥檙e also going to聽get surveillance and monitoring, and ... I guess you have to enter [into] it with your eyes wide open and have a sense of what聽applications are able to access,鈥� Chang says.

Tarr agrees. 鈥淲ith any application, you have to be careful and you have to be aware of what it鈥檚 revealing and what you鈥檙e聽putting into it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 any more of a security breach now that it鈥檚 repaired than other applications that people聽use all the time.鈥�

Q: Will the game stay popular?

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see it becoming less popular anytime soon,鈥� Chang says.