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Edison Student Feature
Katie Roseberry
on Pokémon Go
By Julie Roseberry
On July 6th, 2016 the virtual world became even more like reality. For
twenty years, Pokémon has been a virtual game where you collect special
animalistic aliens in spheres to later battle with them against other
players. This was originally done with pocket-edition games. The
developers decided to take this virtual world to another step. They
took it to the mobile phone through the App Stores. While many games
can be played on phones where you sit and watch the screen and keep
track of the virtual cows on the virtual farm to sell milk to computer
generated intelligence, this game demands for the player to be active.
This game does not want a player to stand with a remote in their hand
and sway it to the music. This app makes the player walk to find the
points to win the game. This game makes them interact with people. This
game changed the way developers will make products. Now people are
interacting in a truly nonviolent way while still having fun. Katie
Roseberry, a player from the very beginning, defends the game against
the judgments of today`s society.
Older generations have always said they do not understand today`s young
people. They are always on their phones, they are lazy, they never do
anything to benefit anyone but themselves. It is not their fault; every
generation says these things. Even people within the younger
generations do not understand themselves. Broadway in Greenville,
Ohio has been swarmed with people since the 6th of July. The street is
a hot spot for this game. Many stops in the gameplay are here. The
historical places in Greenville are marked as “Poké-stops”. These stops
give you a background to the location as well as provide the player
with resources for the game. Memorials like the Annie Oakley Statue can
be set with lures and incents to attract the creatures. People gather
at these places to benefit from the amount of Pokémon coming to the
area. When asked about what she thinks about the way people who are not
in the Pokémon community are handling this, Katie responded, “These
people are gathering to enjoy each other’s company. They are filling
the street with laughter and smiles. We aren`t crowding your streets.
We are decorating them.”
In response to many people saying, “Go get a job!” to the people who
are enjoying themselves in the game, Katie answers, “I work 60 hours a
week and I play it. When playing I`ve only met two people over the age
of 18 who didn’t have a job. These were a stay at home mom and a
retired man. There are people who bring their dogs after work, even
their kids when they pick them up from daycare! I have seen people with
strollers and people with skateboards, kids in groups of twenty and a
couple running to the next stop to grab some loot! People with full
time jobs still have time to enjoy themselves just like everyone else!”
Many complaints are that our society is already too involved with their
electronics, so why promote this game? This could cause even more
damage. There are people running across streets and not watching where
they are going because of this app. Still, there are positives. Many
different types of people are brought together. Katie says, “I`ve met
people ranging from four to 65, male, female, college students,
parents, company owners, retired gentlemen, guys who still live at home
who would never have gone out and walked around in the sun otherwise,
preppy clicky teens, the super nerds, working class folk.” This app
does not demote our society, it helps it. Many people have social
anxiety issues or setbacks to where they cannot function properly.
These people would shut down in another situation, “It promotes social
interaction in people who otherwise would not. It gets people up and
moving.” She explains, ”I know someone with PTSD who the game helps get
out of the house without having an anxiety attack and retreat. Plus, I
have a friend with a mildly autistic kid. The game had got him out
playing with other kids which is a huge step forward for him.”
It is also a good addition to the gaming standards we have now. Many
popular games revolve around violence and limited motion. Pokémon Go
promotes exercise to go and catch the Pokémon; when hunting for the
Pokémon you have to follow the map and compass to track down the ones
they want; they try to gain others’ territory while virtually throwing
different elements, not bombs. This game encourages its audience to
move and participate safely.
The game is for everyone, no matter what age. Although, if parents are
worried about their child`s safety, they shouldn`t worry- there is a
police force for this. This is a group of older folks who call
themselves “The Officer Jenny`s”. This is based off of the Pokémon show
where Jenny is a cop. Her twin cousins were cops in all other towns.
These individuals watch over the people in the main bubbles of activity
in the area. Katie describes how she has witnessed this, “I met one of
the men in front of the fire department. He explained to me what it was
and I thought it was wonderful. He even plays the game as well!” These
men and women are very good at their jobs.
This game is a fun pastime to release stress while getting up and
moving. One suggestion Katie makes is if you play make sure you have
more than one gigabyte of data. “You`ll be running out of your shoes,
out of battery life, and out of storage!”
Editor’s Note:
Julie Roseberry was a Composition I student at Edison State Community
College, Darke County Campus. This feature is being published with
permission, and was chosen for CNO readers due to the quality of the
assignment submission and relevance of the topic.
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