Our friends go crazy. Adults, quite conscious people go crazy: they download a mobile application, the game Pokemon Go, which has not yet officially released, and spend more time in it than on Twitter. Using the application, players track and "catch" virtual Pokémon, which appear in the world around. The application does not disperse with problems: people try to prohibit it, people break into museums and private territories, the application itself has access to the functions of Google accounts - from the history of search to e-mail. Of course, with all you have to cope with Nintendo and Niantic, and there is why: the company's capitalization has more than doubled since the release of the game.
What is the secret of attractiveness of Pokemon Go? Was it possible to predict its success?
Psychologist Andrew Přibylski of the Oxford Institute of the Internet is studying what attributes must be inherent in games to make them successful. Among them, and a true division of complexity for players, and the cost, and social interaction with others. One of the most important, in his opinion, aspects of successful games lies in the "access barrier" to a pleasant pastime.
An important feature of Pokemon Go, for example, is that it relies on technology that many people have and that they are familiar with: a smartphone and GPS. This is not geocaching, for example, which requires advanced knowledge of GPS and even special equipment.
Many games that were surprisingly popular in the past - from "snake" to Angry Birds - also combined quite accessible gameplay with technologies that were relatively new, but easy to use.
"People have already learned how to use their phones - and how to use their bodies for Wii Tennis," he explains. "This work has already been done."
Another factor is nostalgia. Although many of us have never played previous Pokemon games, many Pokemon Go fans have had pleasant memories since 1996, when the series first appeared. Even the fact that people began to talk about Pokemon more than usual, aroused memories among the old fans.
But for Pribilsky, if the game tries to use nostalgia as part of its attractiveness, it also must guarantee novelty and fun. Pokemon Go, apparently, coped with this.
"The only way to give pleasure is to give the player confidence, give him a sense of exploration and connect them socially with each other. If these three very important aspects are met, the game must succeed, "he says.
In wandering around the city, by the way, there is a definite plus. All the so-called "pokestopy" (where players collect in-game items) are associated with certain art objects, as a rule. Many players are surprised to discover new "masterpieces".
Obviously, people were ready to give up everything and late in the night to go in search of the elusive Pokemon - or even do it in the most unexpected places, like a reception at a gynecologist or at meetings in the State Duma. Pokemon Go became an amazing phenomenon, which unexpectedly revealed another secret of its success: it perfectly fits into social media.
In 2013, British writer and TV presenter Charlie Brooker called Twitter one of 25 video games that changed the world. But is Twitter a video game? According to Brooker's logic, he has a graphical interface and a system of rivalry (according to the number of followers, for example). The idea that social media is a game or that you can play in them is provocative. But look at Pokemon Go and everything will fall into place. Part of the attractiveness of this game, whether intentional or not, is the possibility of creating memes and sharing experiences on various sites, like Reddit or the same VKontakte.
Thus, Pokemon Go is played out not only in the official application, but also in social networks.
Psychologists are already beginning to understand why using social media is so fun, and one aspect, in particular, is the possibilities for experimenting with one's own feelings. We do this in real life, but in the online world, this process will be different - rewards will be different, friends or an increased level of involvement in the process.
The game encourages social interaction not only through the Internet, but also in real life: many players collide on the street during a hunt.
It turns out that Pokemon Go can be an ideal game for the age of social media, Přibilski believes. The use of social media prepared us for this kind of experience.
"The modern era has taught people to play in the Pokemon Go," he says.
And in fact, the process of playing and talking about it online reflects the essence of Mark Zuckerberg's mantra that social media should activate "contactless exchange" - activity that proceeds naturally and derives directly from the desires and needs of users.
It's unclear how long the players will be delighted with this game. She's still very young. But we already roughly imagine what kind of games are waiting for us in the future and why Pokemon Go is a harbinger of a beautiful era.
The article is based on materials .
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