Improving Pokemon Go
By K. WHITE Sep. 1, 2016
Pokemon Go is a great mobile game and has retained its popularity among mobile gaming, but it’s far from perfect. Just a month after release, the app lost a few million players. Fans have cited constant glitches and crashes, as well as no Windows phones support, as reasons why they have quit the game. While some folks have chosen to call it quits, Niantic might be able to draw them back with some minor adjustments to their gameplay. Let’s talk about five things I think Niantic could improve on its quest to be the very best… like no one ever was.
Copyright: Pokemon/Nintendo/Niantic
1. A STORY
The core gameplay is simple and addictive. You walk around until a Pokemon pops onto your map, catch the Pokemon (or not), grab supplies at Pokestops, and take over gyms to afford upgrades or supply boosts while gradually levelling up. But one thing it’s critically lacking is a story. Now, in the past the Pokemon franchise wasn’t known for having an intense and enthralling story; you start as an adolescent leaving the safety of home for
the dangers of wild untamed monsters… Oh, and Team Rocket. But with additional narrative added to old games, like the Delta Episode in Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, and the more interesting stories in X and Y, game freak and the Pokemon company beefed up their storytelling chops. I’m just curious as to the utter lack of story at all, besides Professor Willow asking you to catch things for his Pokedex. Even a general motivation to explain the division of teams would be nice. Tiny story arcs and plot points could also be delivered after every five levels or so. This would not only add to the repetitive task of catching 50,000 Magikarp to evolve it into Gyarados, it would also be much appreciated.
2. LOG-IN BONUSES
While not essential by any means, log-in bonuses have been a staple in mobile gaming for years and Pokemon Go should not be an exception. With Pokemon capture rates increasing per level, and not everyone having many Pokestops nearby (I’m looking at you, rural town Pokemon trainers!), a log in bonus that gives the player a mild incentive to consecutively log in, log in more frequently, or to log in at all would be a good move. These bonuses could work on an accruement system, where consecutive log-ins can give you increasingly better items (potions versus ultra balls). A log in bonus you can claim after a certain cool down period would be amazing as well. This kind of gameplay mechanic downplays the idea of buying items in shop, but increases user incentive to open the app in the first place.
3. WEEKLY POKEMON NEST SHIFTS
The crisis is everywhere. Whether you live in a metropolitan area or a small farming village, we only really get two or three kinds of Pokemon. The problem is augmented by having little or no access to hot spots like New York’s Central Park, or New York’s Time Square, or New York’s China Town, or New York’s SoHo… seriously New York, you guys get all the good Pokemon! My whining aside, this means that clearing your Pokedex
becomes a challenge that seems neigh but impossible. If the nests which exist in most high traffic areas rotated a bit or the Pokemon typically available (Rattata and Pidgey) rotated out and some other unloved but logical inclusion to the formula was added (Snorlax), it could provide a long awaited source of variety in trainers’ capture quests. While these proposed nest shifts should still stick to geographical design and where certain types of Pokemon would most logically live, I think my city would provide the world with more than just Rattata and Pidgey.
4. A PURPOSE TO BEING PART OF A TEAM
“What team are you?” is a question you’ve definitely heard if you ran into another trainer while out exploring your area. But really, outside of gym bonuses, what good does the team option do? If we read the stances of leaders of each team you would think that they would offer some kind of trainer bonuses. Team Instinct’s Sparky seems to lean towards egg hatching. An Instinct trainer, for example, would maybe require less steps per egg or benefit from the possibility of hatching better Pokemon more often for rolling with Sparky. Team Valor spotlights the strength Pokemon gain with regular battling, so a minor attack boost for Valor members might be a nice little draw to join Candela. Team Mystic's Blanche values the analytics of battling and researching why Pokemon evolve. The Mystic "boost" could be something along the lines of requiring a few less candies for Pokemon to evolve and an even stat boost in Pokemon's attack and defense.
There are many ways niantic could make choosing Zapdos, Articuno or Moltres besides just which color you like most or what team your friends are on. If they included story elements with the decision of joining a team, some kind of team bonus when many of your team are in one area, or maybe higher capture rates for some kinds of Pokemon, maybe a rock-paper-scissors type effect in battles where one has an edge over the other but is weak against the last could really add some meat onto the concept of teams.
5. WINDOWS VERSION AND LISTENING TO THE CONSUMER
I know a lot of you will roll your eyes and dislike that I’m even suggesting this, but Po-Go needs a Windows version. With it being that “other” platform that tends to get ignored by apps such as YouTube, Snapchat, and even a non-beta Instagram, it is sad to see another big app drift past this humble hoard of hungry Pokemon fans. Niantic thus far has proven to be a less than responsive company, seeming to largely ignore complaints, criticism, and suggestions from everyone this game has transfixed. This can best be summarized by their comment sections on their Facebook page.
Users have been banned for desperately using a third-party version of the game to get in on the catching action. We have players in rural areas feeling ostracized for their lackluster roster of collectable critters, and we have loads upon loads of angry fans who just want some kind of confirmation that integral improvements are being made and new content is on the horizon.
Now that you’ve read my list of suggestions, are there things you wish would come to Pokemon Go? What are your favorite first-generation Pokemon? My favorite of all time is Magikarp. I even joined a role-playing group on Deviant Art where I made a trainer who strictly used Magikarp.
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