I’ve never felt so conflicted about a videogame in my life.
I still remember the first video game I’ve ever owned, it was the original black and white Super Mario Bros Gameboy game, a few years later the Gameboy colour was released, and with it, a little game called Pokémon Red.
It was amazing as a kid in 1998 (too young to travel or commit to serious adventures beyond the backyard or forest near my house on my own), to have an outlet for exploration and adventure beyond my wildest dreams. And it all happened inside a small box with mono sound and washed out colour.
Now fast forward 18 years, the release of the new Pokémon Go game brought back those old feelings, only this time I don’t have to ask my mom if I can go outside and play. The game gives you the freedom to adventure, to move around, and in fact this game isn’t for couch potato’s.
I downloaded the game while on a road trip with my best friend, from Calgary to Trail BC, to Vancouver Island and back, and experienced so many sides of what should be a fun and passively enjoyed game.
The good side of the game is that it gets you out of the house, gets you active, gets you meeting people and discovering landmarks, parks, and spaces you didn’t know existed until playing a virtual game. For me, personally, I’ve been to places around Cochrane and seen kids stopping at the Legion Cenotaph to read the names etched in memorial after catching a Pokémon or two.
But, there is a far darker side than I think anyone playing the game would like to openly admit and which the major news networks have shown daily.
I’ve been walked into, hit in the back of the head with a phone as someone turned around trying to catch a Pokémon. I’ve been nearly trampled as hordes of morons ran aimlessly across bridges, screamed in my ear as I sat trying to enjoy a moment of quiet at Prince’s Island Park in Eau Claire, and all for this game.
I’ve never been a typical “fan-boy.” I don’t freak out when I see my favourite hockey player or movie star (of which I have seen a few), and I certainly don’t find myself lost in the delusional, moronic, spatially unaware universe many of these Pokémon Go players find themselves in.
Now, I’m not saying that all players are knuckle dragging, mouth breathing, zombies, no. But what I am saying is that as a society we need to look inside and find the joy in our favourite games and in the nostalgia, but base it in reality. Base our lives around what’s real.
The best experiences I’ve had with Pokémon Go include hanging out with friends, meeting new ones, observing the next generation of explorers catching “the adventure bug (no pun intended),”and learning more about the geographical region they live in.
The worst, well, head down to a large horde of Pokémon crazed sheep wandering aimlessly onto train tracks or across the Canadian border into Montana and you’ll experience it for yourself.
Stay safe, have fun, and for goodness sake, have some common sense while enjoying what’s meant to be a really fun game enjoyed in moderation.
