I am surprised there hasn't been much mention of this phenomenon that has overtaken the smart phone users of this planet.
I haven't been playing for very long, but today I went on a lovely walk for a couple of hours with my very own mother and we caught some interesting new water-type Pokemon around the creek we walked along which we hadn't encountered before. It was really nice spending time outdoors rather than locked up inside in front of a computer and barely moving.
Are there any other players of the game on GMG?
I sure hope not.
You can actually go outdoors without a smartphone. Depending where you live you can spot real animals or at least flowers or beautiful trees or landscape features.
(I am not surprised that in a Classical music forum with an average age of around 40 or so, nobody before mentioned Pokémon Go. The resident Manga freak took a break about a year ago - maybe because noone else here cared about beady-eyed cartoon girls with huge bosoms.)
Interesting, although most people I know above the age of 40 have been playing pokemon go for longer and much more obsessively than I have. I usually don't care so much for computer or phone games, but this one has created rather odd adult behaviour so I decided to see what the fuss was about.
Mystery to me.
I am reminded of a Star Trek episdoe - anyone guess which one? :)
Ever since it came out my only updates from my partner have been "caught a [pokémon] in [place]" and what level they are and which places have been turned into gyms and invective against teams valor and instinct and so on. My pleas to eat, drink or sleep seem to have gone unheard. Very concerned.
<.<
To be fair I never played pokemon as a child and was convinced everyone else would outgrow these annoying trading cards by, like, 2000, tops. Apparently not though.
Quote from: amw on July 18, 2016, 02:46:11 AM
Ever since it came out my only updates from my partner have been "caught a [pokémon] in [place]" and what level they are and which places have been turned into gyms and invective against teams valor and instinct and so on. My pleas to eat, drink or sleep seem to have gone unheard. Very concerned.
<.<
To be fair I never played pokemon as a child and was convinced everyone else would outgrow these annoying trading cards by, like, 2000, tops. Apparently not though.
Well, and there is the tendency for things you did as a child, to have a nostalgic tug afterwards.
Also never played it as a kid, so I'm not playing it now.
But another friend of mine, who again never played it as a kid and had no interest, downloaded the game just to see what everyone was talking about. Unfortunately, this friend has a personality quirk where she obsessively needs to collect things, and if she has 2 things from a set, she needs to complete the set no matter what. Mirror Image would like her. So she quickly got into the game. Her husband is 20 years older than she is, so he was really contemptuous at first, but then he started catching Pokemon "for her" to be nice, and within 24 hours it became clear that he had totally gotten sucked into the game, was having a total blast, and cared about it a whole helluva lot more than she did.
So anyway, Saturday night they took me walking around their neighborhood, with glasses of wine in little plastic cups*, while they caught various critters. To my delight, they refuse to use the actual names of the Pokemon, instead saying things like "caught another bat," "caught a goldfish," "it's that weird bird with two heads," etc.
They refuse to play the part of the game where you fight other players because, quote, "We don't actually want to interact with other people." They just like the collecting cute animals part.
*a gloriously silky-smooth small-production 2008 Barossa shiraz; gotta stay classy with those plastic cups!
Well, who doesn't love cuteness? :D
As someone who is playing in the short term to understand and learn what pokemon go is all about, i can certainly see that appeal in it. The fighting part of it is something I haven't partaken in...however I do find that this game, same as any other game, takes away time from things I enjoy much more. Perhaps it is also the utter simplicity in simply collecting things as well that has sucked people in. Including myself. I hate to waste my brain on computer games!!!!
Quote from: mc ukrneal on July 18, 2016, 02:04:10 AM
I am reminded of a Star Trek episdoe - anyone guess which one? :)
(http://i.onionstatic.com/avclub/3618/68/16x9/960.jpg)
Quote from: karlhenning on July 18, 2016, 03:19:18 AM
Well, and there is the tendency for things you did as a child, to have a nostalgic tug afterwards.
Yeah, if I was a multi-millionaire I would probably try to get most of the contents of the 1970s and early 1980s Lego and Playmobil catalogues in like new condition and collect it in display cabinets or build huge cities, wargame scenarios or whatever.
But I have no interest in virtual online Lego city building although I love to look once in while at what guys like the one with the "Brick testament" do, but these are just photos of really built models. (This might be TMI but when I was about 11 or 12 my brother and I did several photo series on old testament stories with two older teenagers for a christian children/youth group. We did a very colorful Belshazzar's Feast and Daniel in the Lion's Den with playmobil and the other guys apparently also somehow managed the story of the fiery furnace. At least I do not remember burning (or not) any playmobil figures...)
Quote from: mc ukrneal on July 18, 2016, 02:04:10 AM
I am reminded of a Star Trek episdoe - anyone guess which one? :)
Ha! I do know, nice analogy.
Though I was never into the original Pokemon (no interest in collecting cards, nor in the little creatures), but part of me finds this 21st-century reincarnation fascinating. I suspect this may be the first in a wave of new games that make use of smartphones and GPS tracking technology. (Anyone remember Myst? A new version of that, using similar principles, could also be wildly successful.)
In the minus category, people don't exactly need more reasons to stare at their phones. ::) But in the plus category, as Brian and jessop noted, there is a lot to be said for a game that gets you outside, even if it's "more smartphone time."
--Bruce
Started playing Pokemon Go as a joke with a few of my friends that live in other states. Tried to take the best screenshot with the creature. It's now actually turned into a contest of catching the best Pokemon! Which I'm guessing is the point. I never played/watched Pokemon before but my son likes it, and we've had fun searching for creatures around where we live and other public places.
Was in Columbus, GA the other day right near Columbus State U. Walking up and down their main streets and every time my son caught one (who's almost 7) there would be college students who would cheer him on! He loved it, so naturally I loved it. :)
Greg, is your av a Pokémon who realizes he's been caught? 8)
Quote from: karlhenning on July 18, 2016, 05:47:09 AM
Greg, is your av a Pokémon who realizes he's been caught? 8)
Yes! It's name is Freder. His power is rebelling. :D
The end is nigh..
https://www.youtube.com/v/QWLRXJMO7JY
Quote from: Brewski on July 18, 2016, 05:09:30 AM
In the minus category, people don't exactly need more reasons to stare at their phones. ::) But in the plus category, as Brian and jessop noted, there is a lot to be said for a game that gets you outside, even if it's "more smartphone time."
--Bruce
Kudos to the game for getting me to explore some beautiful places nearby that I have not been to, but gosh I hate having my phone on and with me constantly.
Just visited Deep Ellum, a trendy Dallas neighborhood. I think I was the only pedestrian not playing Pokemon. One mom was playing with her teenagers. Even a parking lot attendant was telling passers-by where to find more critters.
Quote from: Brian on July 18, 2016, 04:17:18 AM
Also never played it as a kid, so I'm not playing it now.
But another friend of mine, who again never played it as a kid and had no interest, downloaded the game just to see what everyone was talking about. Unfortunately, this friend has a personality quirk where she obsessively needs to collect things, and if she has 2 things from a set, she needs to complete the set no matter what. Mirror Image would like her. So she quickly got into the game. Her husband is 20 years older than she is, so he was really contemptuous at first, but then he started catching Pokemon "for her" to be nice, and within 24 hours it became clear that he had totally gotten sucked into the game, was having a total blast, and cared about it a whole helluva lot more than she did.
So anyway, Saturday night they took me walking around their neighborhood, with glasses of wine in little plastic cups*, while they caught various critters. To my delight, they refuse to use the actual names of the Pokemon, instead saying things like "caught another bat," "caught a goldfish," "it's that weird bird with two heads," etc.
They refuse to play the part of the game where you fight other players because, quote, "We don't actually want to interact with other people." They just like the collecting cute animals part.
*a gloriously silky-smooth small-production 2008 Barossa shiraz; gotta stay classy with those plastic cups!
You had me until I read the part where this woman was married. That's too bad. We would have been a good couple. ;D As for this Pokemon Go phenomenon, I really could care less. I prefer to walk outside, breathe in the air, and be one with nature. I don't need a game interfering with these kinds of moments.
Quote from: Mirror Image on July 18, 2016, 06:53:21 PM
You had me until I read the part where this woman was married. That's too bad. We would have been a good couple. ;D
Careful...she's read the entire GMG "Girl Problems" thread... ;D ;D
Quote from: Brian on July 18, 2016, 06:37:53 PM
Even a parking lot attendant was telling passers-by where to find more critters.
Bouillabaisse?
Quote from: Brian on July 18, 2016, 07:24:13 PM
Careful...she's read the entire GMG "Girl Problems" thread... ;D ;D
Man! I'm doomed! :P
So that's what it probably was... This morning I was stretching my legs via a hard run casual trundle in the park. A young man engrossed in his phone cut across the trail path and stopped halfway down a slope. Then on my second lap he again came walking in my direction, head still bowed in reverence to the screen...and all of a sudden I appeared to be running even slower than usual. But all that happened is that without looking up he had almost instantly gone from walking forward to walking backwards. Ah, as long as he's happy. ;D