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| Colin Burns |
Catch 'em all, right?
03.25.16 - 10:57 PM
Developer Niantic may have cancelled their planned GDC talk but lucky for us, the official website for Pokémon GO has been updated with new screenshots and a thorough explanation of the gameplay.
The original trailer made it clear that, at its essence, Pokémon GO will involve walking around outside in the real world (scary), feeling your smartphone vibrate, taking out your phone to see you've discovered a Pokémon and ultimately, catching that Pokémon. We now have some concrete details about how all of this works.
The player will level up their Trainer by finding and catching Pokémon; Leveling up your Trainer will allow you to find and catch more powerful Pokémon and use better items like Great Balls, Ultra Balls etc. Like most Pokémon games, your ultimate objective is to complete your Pokédex. Catching a lot of one particular monster will give you the chance to let one of them evolve so you can continue to grow your roster.
You will find these Pokémon literally all over the world and some have been placed in their natural habitats. Don't expect to find a Goldeen in the middle of New York City, you will have to search around lakes and oceans. Pokémon GO will also implement something called PokéStops which will be permanent way-points located at places like historical markers, art installations and other places of interest. PokéStops will house rare Pokémon and you may even stumble across some Pokémon Eggs that you will hatch by, you guessed it, walking around.
At a certain point in the game, likely when your Trainer hits a specific level, you will be asked to join one of three teams that span the globe. The point of these teams is to set up Pokémon Gyms for other people to challenge. You will assign one of your Pokémon to an empty Gym and then someone else from your team will assign one and so on. You will be encouraged to create powerful teams to ensure that an opposing team doesn't defeat and claim your Gym. Players will also be rewarded for catching certain Pokémon and fulfilling other requirements with in game trophies; think of them as badges.
One of the coolest things about Pokémon GO comes in the form of a portable device called the Pokémon GO Plus. This wearable device connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth and notifies you of nearby Pokémon with vibration and LED lights. You can click the button to throw a Ball at the Pokémon without even touching your smartphone. This will be the hottest fashion accessory among nerds in 2016.
Pokémon GO is scheduled for testing in Japan very soon and it will release for smartphones worldwide later in 2016.
