Pokémon Go Away

( warning:  Maybe some affiliate links ahead)

(c) 2016 Dennis Hwang

I like games. Games are fun and exciting. I have my few select games that I play on Facebook, my IPad, and my phone. Pokémon is not one of them.

I play puzzle games such as Candy Crush (jelly, original, and soda), Farm Animal Saga, Jigsaw Puzzle World, and SimCity Buildit. I used to be a big fan of Cityville, Farmville, and all the ‘Ville games, but I found that I was spending way too much time trying to build my city, farm my animals, and doing all the things that should be productive in the real world.

Now, you are probably wondering what is the difference between me building my city in SimCity Buildit versus building my city in Cityville? Maturity, I guess. When I first played Cityville, I had just gotten my account with Facebook. I had heard a tip from another consultant, who was a consultant in a different direct selling company, which she started Cityville, because, she can gain customers from Cityville. How? She said it was simple. She used to look on her Cityville account to see who has gifted her things (such as houses, businesses, and anything else that was related to Cityville). Then she would try to connect with them outside of Cityville to see if they would like to continue the friendship and Facebook. Once that was established, then she would talk about herself outside of Cityville, explain that she is also a consultant for the company she was a consultant with, and ask that person if they would like to hold a party, or simply place an order. She was surprised at how many people said yes to the idea. And that is how she gained customers. I thought it was a little bazaar, at first, but I decided to try it. It did not work for me, but I got addicted to the game.

Now with SimCity Buildit, is just me and my IPad. I do not have to bother anyone by inviting them into my inner circle, trying to see who has gifted me something (extra life, coins, and anything else related to puzzle game), and I have restricted myself to play before I go to sleep. Yeah I know, it’s a little stimulating, and it takes me a little longer to go to sleep, but it relaxes me, just like a book does. (Which reminds me, I need to start reading more again.)

Pokémon Go, A Go-Go.

I have heard of Pokémon before.  We all have at one time or another. I used to watch the show with my nephew when he was between the ages of 3–8, then the appeal sort of went away. He used to collect Pokémon cards, and dream of battles that he would have with Ash helping him. I thought, still do think that the characters, especially Pikachu are cute. There are a couple of them, however, I question the drawings of them, but hey, they are supposed to be battle monsters. I saw every movie, video, and television episode with my nephew, until at the time of the airing of each show or movie, and I knew just about all of them. In fact, I started following in love with Japanese animation. I used to watch Sailor Moon, but that is another topic for another day.

What is Pokémon Go?

In case you are over the age of say 60, correction 55, you may not have a clue to what Pokémon Go is about, the concept, nor this addiction that the younger generation has on this game. I am 52, and I barely know what this game is all about. So, I will try to explain what my 52-year-old brain can comprehend.

Pokémon Go is a “location-based” augmented reality video game you play on your Android or iOS phone.  The player uses their phone’s GPS system to help locate, capture, battle and train virtual creatures (according to Wikipedia). These creatures are called Pokémon (or pocket monsters as it is translated to). In order to play, a person needs to establish an account and choose an avatar (a virtual representation of the player). The end game is to catch all the Pokémon you see around you and do battle with your opponents. Sounds simple enough, right? Here’s the catch (get it?). Instead of sitting glued to your phone all day, you are walking around your city to catch these Pokémon, put him in the ball, and prepare to do battle with the Pokémon. The game sets up virtual spots around the city, for instance, downtown Columbus, and there, what I believe are Poké spots. You need to get there before someone else to claim your Pokémon, then put him into a Poké ball. You get experience points for activities done before the battle, and these experience points determine how strong your Pokémon are at the time of a battle. Naturally, the more Pokémon you get, the more points you get for when it’s time to do a battle. Anyone with the game, at any time, can challenge you to a battle.

Pros and cons of this game.

Pros

What I like about this game, is simple. It gets you up, it gets you moving, and you are exercising. You are not glued to your chair and to your phone. Sometimes, it takes time to define your Pokémon, but when you do, there is a reward at the end of your quest. It makes you happy when you get that reward, and I heard it is fun. These are the only 2 I see going into this game.

Cons

I have a bunch of cons for this game. Let’s start with the first one, usage of memory on your phone. Let’s just say it takes a lot of memory to play this game.

Privacy is another issue, and in my opinion, is a major issue. This is the privacy of others, of businesses, and other things involving privacy. In news reports since this game was introduced in July, I have heard of people being shot at, arrested, and told by cast members at Disney World, for example, to not go in restricted areas only to find on authorize persons in areas that they do not belong. There have been house invasions because someone was told that a Pokémon has been spotted in a person’s house. There have been false spottings of Pokémon to the point where people have been robbed of their phones because someone placed a false Pokémon in an area where there wasn’t one there.

People have stopped in the middle of freeways, roadways, and gotten killed over Pokémon. Children have been ignored by parents who played the game instead of taking care of their child. The same can be said about parents being ignored by their children. It is bad enough that people do not talk to each other anymore. They rather text each other than opening their mouth speak. Now we can add Pokémon Go to the list of items that allow a person be antisocial, non-talkative, and isolated from members of their own family.

Safety First.

In order to not have a ban on all things Pokémon Go, these are some rules that I feel must be abided in order to prevent any further problems:

·        Respect all private property. Unless the Pokémon is on your friends, family, or your own private property, please do not go onto that property, PERIOD. People do not take kindly to all random stranger showing up on their front or back yard, destroying property, and waking them up at 3 AM trying to find Pokémon. This just does not happen in our world.

·        Not all public property or common areas are proper Pokémon finding areas. I used Disney World as a perfect example of this earlier. Finding Pikachu on It’s a Small World ride is fine, but going where Mickey changes his outfit is not. Stay clear of any area where only cast members (Disney’s phrase for employee), employees, construction workers (there is a lot of construction going on at Disney these days), and even public safety personnel (police, security, fire person, sewage personnel, or the hired help) need to go in order to prepare for your arrival at the destination.

·        Please obey the rules of texting on your phone and driving. The same rules in your city and state apply here with Pokémon Go. I may be driving next to you, and the last thing I need to be is in an accident because you cannot find Squirtle. It is bad enough people have to put up with others talking on the phone, at times, to the point of arguing, and now putting up with Pokémon. Just be mindful and attentive when driving. That’s all I have to say about that subject.

·        This goes out to, dare I say it, those people who like to put out false advertising for their gain. No, not talking about that, although that is a future subject. I am talking about those who profit from robbing and stealing from others. You know who you are and you probably not reading this, but in case you are, STOP IT NOW. You know you’re wrong, God does not like ugly, and you need to turn yourself in. Stop profiting off of others, and get a real job. If this is your real job, you need to find a new career. I’m just saying.

So What Have We Learned from This Boys and Girls?

1.      It is good to play this game if you want a bit of exercise. It gets your heart pumping and you are not glued to your chair and staring aimlessly into your phone for no reason. You can now walk and stare aimlessly into your phone for no reason. Look up every once in a while, and look around. The place you may find your Pokémon at may be a place of historical value. It may also be a place where you might find peace. But, if you don’t look up from your phone every once in a while, you may find yourself in a place you don’t want to be. So be mindful of that while you are searching for Pokémon. This also teaches you to be more observant of the world around you. You may find yourself helping someone, consoling someone, and finding out that the world does not revolve around you.

2.      Take heed of the safety measures I talked about. Respect private property and respect the common areas you can and cannot go into. If you find yourself on private property, properly excuse yourself, apologize, and give a warning to others not to go in the same place you just visited. If the person you encounter is not reasonable, immediately call 911. Do not take matters into your own hands. This also applies if you find yourself being robbed.

3.      Lastly, have fun. Although this is a competition and preparing for virtual battle (I have to chuckle on that), no one has to be killed over a bunch of little Pokémon.

If you would like more articles like this, or would like to see me write about a topic, please let me know in the comments below, or leave a comment on my Facebook page, My Ambience Life. You may also leave an email at plogan721@att.net (subject: My Ambience Life Topics)