In Pokémon Go, the Halloween event has started with plenty of content. However, with one change, Niantic has inadvertently helped one group of players.
What kind of event is this? Halloween 2022 has started in Pokémon GO a few days ago and brings purchasable and free research, new Mega Raids with Banette, and changed encounters with pocket monsters. Additionally, there is special music and strong candy bonuses.
The event is worthwhile for all players who play Pokémon GO. A few users on reddit have explained that with the event, a new feature has come into the game that most might not have noticed. This particularly helps an underestimated group within the active players.
You can find all event contents for Halloween in this article:
Pokéstops look different, helping colorblind players
What exactly has changed? Due to Halloween, Niantic has made some strong adjustments to the map’s design. The grass is now less green, there are piles of leaves on the ground, and orange leaves are flying through the air. Additionally, a new variant of a Pokémon is supposed to come into the game.
Moreover, the Poké-stops have changed. The normally blue points on the map have now taken on an orange tint, and the gyms are marked with pumpkins. But this exactly helps colorblind players, as some are now explaining on reddit.
What is so good about the change? A poster on reddit writes: “I can see the stops! An unexpected benefit of the Halloween event.”
Here he explains in a lengthy post that Pokémon Go has always been very exhausting for him. He could never tell if he had already completed a stop or not. He writes on reddit.com:
I have been playing Pokemon Go since its release, on and off. From day one, I had to check each stop twice to see if I had already spun it or not. The normal blue (?)/ purple (?) color change makes it almost impossible for me to recognize at first glance.
Now there are orange Poké-stops. Holy Toledo-Batman! I can see the difference clearly! I hope other colorblind players enjoy the easy identification as much as I do!
For the thread starter, this small change has a big impact, as he can now easily pass the Poké-stops and directly know whether he has been there before.
Some players wonder why Pokémon Go offers so little accessibility
What do other players mean? Other people with color blindness also responded to the post, explaining that the current Halloween design helps them see such stops. One person writes (via reddit.com):
A colorblind person here, the color change helps with the stops, I even thought a colorblind mode would be cool, but since I like shinies (even if I can’t tell them apart), I’m not sure if that would be such a great idea.
Other players, however, are puzzled. Some are surprised that such an essential feature, a help for colorblind people, has not made it into the official game yet and that the game has not been accessible for colorblind players from the start. One writes on reddit:
One of the fundamental game mechanics is not suitable for colorblind people??! Why is Niantic not doing anything about it?
What do you think? Do you consider this a meaningful “innovation” and help, or are you glad when Niantic returns the game world to its old color pattern? Let us know in the comments!
All important information about the current Halloween event can be found in our overview here on MeinMMO:
