Niantic Labs, the developer behind the wildly popular augmented reality game Ingress have been working on their follow up, Pokémon GO, for a little while now. From the very moment the game was announced, gamers were eager to find any information on the upcoming game. The reveal trailer was very impressive, suggesting some possibilities for the gameplay that would be found in the final app. Today Niantic Labs has revealed a bit more information on Pokémon GO, including a few screenshots and game details to whet the appetites of fans around the world.
Pokémon GO will build upon the lessons learned via Ingress in Niantic’s “Real World Gaming” platform. For those unfamiliar, Ingress is a game that gets players up and moving around, searching for “portals” that are tied to real world locations. Two factions clash for control of these portals, and an entire storyline has been created for hardcore fans of the game to consume. Pokémon GO will continue in that same tradition, getting gamers up and off of the couch to explore the world around them.
In their announcement today, Niantic explained a few of the game mechanics, and how they will differ from one game to the next. With Pokémon GO, players will still explore the areas around them in search of wild Pokémon. As with the popular video games, these wild Pokémon will be found in areas suitable for their normal habitat. For example, water-type Pokémon will be found by lakes, rivers, etc.
Players can gear up with Poké Balls and other necessary equipment at Poké Stops. These will be scattered around at areas of cultural significance. Places like museums, statues, monuments, and other similar locations will likely be good Poké Spots. Lest you think that Pokémon GO will be all about collecting them all, Niantic has put those fears to rest:
Yes, there will be battles. Players will be encouraged to join one of three teams in order to compete over the ownership and prestige of Gyms. They will do this by placing their captured Pokémon in a friendly Gym or by battling with an opponent’s Pokémon in another team’s Gym. Gyms – just like PokéStops – are also found at real world locations.
The screenshots provided don’t give us a full picture of the app experience just yet, but the game is still under development so features, art, etc. are obviously not final. Niantic has stated that a “field test” will occur in Japan while the game is in active development.
Are you excited about Pokémon GO? Tell us what you think in the comments below or on Google+, Facebook, or Twitter.
[button link=”http://nianticlabs.com/blog/pokemon-go-first-look/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Niantic Labs[/button]Last Updated on July 7, 2016.
