What is Pokémon Go and Why Everyone is Talking About It?

Pokémon GO is probably the biggest thing in ‘augmented reality’ (AR) gaming going on right now. But if you don’t know what Pokémon are, it’s not too difficult to learn. The smartphone game is and players need to move around in the real world and capture Pokémon. When you’re near a Pokémon, your phone will vibrate, and you have to take a picture of it to capture it.

A global rollout of the game has been kept on hold due to the huge load the game is putting on its servers. CEO John Hanke said, “Thank you for your patience. We have been working to fix the server issues. We will continue rolling out #PokemonGo to new countries soon.”
Interestingly, people are using the game to physically rob others. Reports are in that robbers have used the games features to draw in Pokémon players into unsuspecting places and rob them. Wow! This AR game has some serious dangers!

(Also Read: How to Download, Install and Play Pokemon Go On Android Right Now)

(Also Read: How to Download and Install Pokemon Go for iPhone, iPad)

What is Pokémon?

Pokémon (Pocket Monsters) is a media franchise owned by The Pokémon Company, and created by Satoshi Tajiri in 1995. It is centered on fictional creatures called “Pokémon”, which humans known as Pokémon Trainers catch and train to battle each other for sport.

The franchise began as a pair of video games for the original Game Boy, developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo. The franchise now spans video games, trading card games, animated television shows and movies, comic books, and toys. Pokémon is the second-most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo’s Mario franchise.

When someone is catching Pokémon in Pokémon GO, the general aim is to get as many different kinds as possible. The most well-known Pokémon is Pikachu, who you will surely recognize regardless of how out-of-the-loop you are.

(Also Read: How to Catch Pikachu in Pokemon Go)

What is Pokémon Go?

In simple terms, Pokémon Go is a free-to-play, GPS based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices. Pokémon Go uses your phone’s GPS and clock to detect where and when you are in the game and make Pokémon “appear” around you (on your phone screen) so you can go and catch them. As you move around, different and more types of Pokémon will appear depending on where you are and what time it is. The idea is to encourage you to travel around the real world to catch Pokémon in the game. (This combination of a game and the real world interacting is known as “augmented reality.”)

(Also Read: Pokemon Go Tips and Tricks)

The Pokémon games take place in a world populated by exotic, powerful monsters — they can look like rats, snakes, dragons, dinosaurs, birds, eggs, trees, and even swords. In this world, people called “trainers” travel around the globe to tame these creatures and, in an ethically questionable manner, use them to fight against each other.

Simple Pokémon Go Game Terms:

• Pokémon: Little creatures you can capture
• Pokéball: The things you throw to catch the Pokémon. They are available at Pokéstops and more will be provided to you as your character gets more powerful.
• Pokéstop: Geotagged locations, i.e. a landmark or destination, where you can get Pokéballs and other treats.
• Pokémon gyms: Where you can battle your Pokémon with other Pokémon to earn control over different gyms, as well as other prizes. These are geotagged like Pokéstops.
• Eggs: Unhatched Pokémon, which you can incubate by walking.
• Evolve: Through some hard work, your Pokémon can become even more powerful Pokémon.
• Candies, stardust, potions: Extras you can earn in the game that can evolve Pokémon or be used during battles
• Pokémon trainer: That’s you!

More About Pokémon Trainer, Pokéstops, Eggs:

You are Pokémon Trainer, your avatar is a boy or girl who gets experience points when you do stuff, which makes them a more powerful Pokémon trainer and allows them to “level up.”

Pokéstops are usually at interesting places around your city or community. Let’s say you were walking down Main Street in your city. You might find a Pokéstop at a popular store, landmark, work of art or other point of interest. There are several near Hazratganj, Lucknow, UP, India, where we use to play.

There are several incentives in the game that prove this, and the most blatant are “eggs,” which are unhatched Pokémon you can acquire at Pokéstops. In order to hatch the eggs, you have to walk to “incubate” them; 5 kilometers, 10 kilometers, etc. It works, though.

Get Started?

Pokémon Go is actually easy to play. You just need an iPhone or Android phone, and have a strong internet connectivity via cellular or Wi-Fi connection. The game has been reported to take up between 15 MB to 20 MB of data per hour, depending on what you’re doing.

(Also Read: Are You Playing Pokemon Go Game In India? Here’s Everything You Need To Know)

Additionally, Pokémon Go can really suck your phone battery. While the game has its own “battery saver” mode, you should take other battery-saving measures into your own hands. For one thing, you can lower the brightness of your phone’s screen. If you have bluetooth turned on, turn that off. If you know you’re going to run your battery juice dry regardless, consider having an external battery pack (power banks). You can visit kotaku website to read in-depth guide to play this game.

Stories? Dangerous?

While response to the game has been overwhelmingly positive with people trading stories of friendships and discoveries made, Pokémon Go has had its share of literal pitfalls. Major highway accident after man stops in middle of highway to catch Pikachu, A girl found a dead body while playing, a group of teenagers used the app’s in-game features to lure people close and rob them, and police departments have even issued mildly bemused warnings to players reminding them to do basic things like look both ways before crossing the street.

So, No doubt the game is a awesome. Nintendo’s stock are touching sky. The game is getting more downloads than the dating app Tinder, and is on pace to outperform Twitter in daily active users. Pokémon Go gives you the opportunity to for once forget about all the terrible shit happening out there, explore the beauty of the world, and catch some Pokémon along the way.