Pokémon Go is not just a fun little mobile game, but the augmented reality game is a real MMO. At least that’s what Raph Koster, the former Creative Director of Star Wars Galaxies, claims. Read here how he arrives at this and other conclusions, and what we think about the topic.
The real world is supposed to be an MMO like World of Warcraft? At least according to an article on the Gamasutra site by Raph Koster – the developer veteran behind games like Star Wars Galaxies, Crowfall, and Ultima Online – thinks so, because both the entirely virtual World of Warcraft and the augmented reality game Pokémon GO use very similar parameters to create a game world.
- Both games use a server that provides a simulated space. The only difference is that WoW creates a completely fictional world, while Pokémon GO uses the real world as its basis.
- Both games track and locate the game client in this simulated space.
- Both games generate AI spawn points that players can interact with.
The player is the avatar
In World of Warcraft, the player creates a virtual representation of themselves, the so-called avatar. In Pokémon GO, there is also a virtual alter ego, but in reality, the player is both client and avatar. This is because the Pokémon GO app requires access to virtually all the functions and contents of the smartphone, which for many modern people is essentially their entire lives: friends list, Facebook account, contacts, location, and so on.
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Moreover, the virtual avatar only moves from the spot when you also move in the real world. And other players see their own body rather than the virtual representation. The boundary between the virtual and real world is significantly blurred, and the body becomes the avatar – with all the consequences that follow.
Economic factors
Another interesting aspect of Raph Koster’s argument is the economic factors that can arise from games like Pokémon GO. In the game, there are so-called “Poke Stops” where players can collect power-ups and deposit them for other players. Logically, such places are highly frequented, and those who are lucky enough to have a café, bar, or gym at such locations will likely have significantly more customers than the store around the corner that doesn’t have a Poke Stop.
Already, an article has appeared on the business portal Forbes that gives entrepreneurs tips on how to attract even more customers via Pokémon GO. Because someone hunting a rare Pokémon in the store might just buy themselves a new pair of shoes or treat themselves to a particularly large ice cream sundae in a moment of joy. The downside, of course, is that the decision over a Poke Spot becomes an important economic factor, and the people in charge at Nintendo and Co. can exert significant influence over local businesses. According to Forbes, many requests from shop owners and businesses wanting to make their store a Poké Stop are already coming in to the Pokémon GO authorities. However, there has been no official statement on the matter so far.
PvP in real life?
When in World of Warcraft our avatar gets beaten up, it usually doesn’t hurt us. But in augmented reality, it looks entirely different. So what to do if the hunt for rare creatures takes me right into the worst ghetto in town and I stroll past all sorts of shady characters with my expensive smartphone? There have already been incidents where a gang of robbers targeted unsuspecting players at a popular Poke Stop and robbed them.
Furthermore, one should not forget that the real world is also dangerous. If someone stares only at their phone screen and completely ignores their surroundings, they quickly get hit by a car, fall from bridges, or stumble into construction sites. And especially in the United States, with the laws protecting homeowners, a short trip onto someone else’s property, from which a particularly valuable Pokémon smiles at us, can quickly become deadly if the homeowner feels threatened and pulls out a gun. By the way, there is a very disturbing article by a Black author who is quitting Pokémon GO because he fears he might soon get shot.
MMO with all the consequences
If Pokémon GO is an MMO like WoW, according to Raph Koster, all sorts of things can happen that occur in an MMO. Both nice and fun things such as forming groups, interaction, emotes, and role-playing, as well as bad things like trolling, cheating, and bullying. Therefore, companies like Nintendo have a huge responsibility because they are essentially the government in relation to the game world.
So it is no longer just about marketing a game and raking in the money. When a game creates such a large and active community, a regulatory body must necessarily emerge to prevent everything from descending into anarchy and chaos.
Mein-MMO says: I was previously familiar with augmented reality mainly from cyberpunk and science fiction literature, but I always found the concept extremely fascinating. Other than a few precursors like Ingress, AR has suddenly become an overnight global phenomenon thanks to Pokémon GO that almost everyone must know, regardless of whether they even play the game or not.
This has opened a tremendous door, and in no time the world is adapting to augmented reality, with all its pros and cons. While data protection advocates criticize the glassy users and it is certain that there will soon be serious accidents, violent acts, and fraud cases related to AR, the development is unstoppable and simply represents too much potential for particularly cool games and other applications to be ignored.
So much for my opinion on the subject. But what do you think about augmented reality and the resulting opportunities and dangers? Is it a brave new world or just a silly gimmick that ultimately won’t hold up once the big Pokémon hype is over? Write it in the comments and let us know!
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