There is no stopping Pokemon GO despite all the odds and turnovers that it is facing today. The renowned Augmented Reality (AR) game that became a worldwide phenomenon since its launch halfway this year is set to lay out and accomplish its plans in "painting an optimistic future" in both technology and the gaming scene.
Pokemon GO Game Designer Plans Strengthening Social Network Function
Known as "the most famous unknown artist in the world," Dennis Hwang is the director of visual design for Niantic Labs. After being spun off from Google a year ago, Niantic went on to develop and release the location-mapped game, Pokemon GO, in July.
Does Hwang consider Pokemon GO as a social network? "I think we would like for it to be. That's kind of part of the way we envision our platform, is really bringing people together." The ex-Google game designer said. "It's not really about the specific game title or mobile phone app, it's how do you create a shared experience that brings people together," he said in an interview with The Verge.
Ingress, a predecessor game from Niantic, showed Hwang and the Niantic crew how they can birth social networking using a game as a medium. By connecting relationships after meeting each other through the game, Hwang said to the publication that it was "super satisfying" to see.
Pokemon GO To Be Incorporated Into Wearable Tech In The Future
Pokemon GO proved itself capable of being a social network during its prime. The game has been a gold mine for social events, generating events like public park crawls and pub crawls. Fusing the Pokemon name with AR and an already-enormous audience, Pokemon GO showcases, in the words of NyMag, how mass adoption of AR looks like in practice.
Hwang admitted in the interview that the Pokemon idea of the AR game was just a "shoo-in." But according to him, Pokemon GO has a place in the near future with AR in the form of wearable tech such as HoloLens, Project Tango and Magic Leap. "It's only a matter of time," according to the game designer.
Hwang stated in his interview that he and Niantic set their goals in finding a better way to do things without relying on a "dystopian" method of interacting with people through a camera, a computer or a network. He also stated that their optimistic envisioning of the future will be realized using Pokemon GO as their primary medium.
In present, players have speculated on how Pokemon GO will be having its first anniversary.
