Unless you have zero interaction with digital technology, which is unlikely since you are reading this blog post, you’ve most likely heard about the latest Pokémon Go craze. The new GPS-based augmented reality game is drawing more attention from consumers and the media than even the upcoming Rio Olympic games or presidential election. Pokémon is an insanely popular franchise that began in Japan and quickly gained popularity in the US. There was a TV show, trading cards, and video games. And now, with this latest app, people are reconnecting with a bit of nostalgia. How do you Play? Here’s the long and short of it: the app uses the GPS and camera on your phone to track your real-world locations and augment reality so you can see the little monsters on your screen. You might see one in your fridge or sitting next to you …show more content…
But what does any of this have to do with healthcare? Well, there are those in the healthcare industry who are praising the game for its health benefits, while still others are warning of the dangers. What, if any, are the possible health benefits of the game? According to Matt Hoffman, DNP, clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Nursing, the quest to "catch 'em all" is great for public health. "Playing the game is a lot of fun, and it has been a catalyst to get people moving," said Hoffman who has been affectionately dubbed the "Pokémon Professor" by co-workers. There is something to be said for a new kind of video game that takes people off of their couch and gets them walking outside. But just how does the game get people moving? To progress in the game, players, called “trainers,” must walk around their local town or city to find and catch Pokémon. They must also do a good bit of walking to find specific locations called Pokéstops -- where Pokéballs and other useful items are
From the mind of an avid arcade game fanatic arose “one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world,” (Poke, 2014, ca.). In 1996 emerged this property and still to this day continues to live up to its name as one of the most popular children’s on Earth; not only for those of the adolescence of today, but most especially those of the mid-late eighties and nineties who grew up to love and appreciate it from the beginning. Pokémon – as it is widely known around the world as – was created Satoshi Tajiri of Japan and is precisely the game being discussed. Nintendo, the world’s largest video game company based on income, owns the rights to this game. Being present day, this game has already reached its sixth ‘generation’ of the game as they are known as. Essentially, every time a new generation of the game comes out, they are seen to always come in pairs; one game brings the player upon one path with specific quests or guidelines to play by, while the other brings them through another, much similar, path with slight changes to the storyline. For example: in one of Pokémon’s generations there are two games known as sapphire and ruby. The main distinctions between the two are the specific Pokémon that can be captured in one game that cannot be captured in the other. To clarify, the title Pokémon takes on a sort of animal kingdom in the world of the game itself. Pokémon are much similar to realistic animals except for their supernatural, abilities or powers that they possess. Within the Pokémon world, they pretty much take place of real life animals. In addition, to clarify ‘captured,’ these animals can be interacted with in game and essentially captured and sucked into these very small spherical containers known a...
Pitts’s begins his writing “Capture This” by acknowledging that Pokemon Go is being played in areas of mourning and respect and that some people didn't care that they were being disrespectful. He appeals to the emotions of the people that have to deal with these players. He uses quotes like this to exclaim that Pokemon is a problem with the public “We do not consider
It is fall 1999 and a jet from Japan has just pulled up to its berth at LAX airport in Los Angeles. Immediately a crowd of kids excitedly gathers by the window to view what appears to be a huge flying Pikachu: the yellowy cute, electrically charged mouse-type pocket monster of what was then the biggest kid’s craze of the decade, Pokemon. Even parents recognize this iconic figure, familiar as they are with the basics of the phenomenon. Starting out as a gameboy game in Japan in 1996, it grew quickly to a multi-stranded empire: comic books, cartoon, movies, trading cards, toy figures, video games, tie-in merchandise. And, starting in 1997, Pokemon got exported, hitting the U.S. in August 1998. The principle of the game, duplicated in the plotline of the movies, cartoons, and comics, is to become a pokemon master by trying to capture all 151 monsters (expanded to 251 in recent editions) inhabiting the playscapes of Poke-world. In this world, any child can become a master like Satoshi (Ash in English) who, in the story versions, is the 11 year old protagonist traveling the world with his two buddies, Misty (an 11 year old girl) and Brock (a 15 year old teenage boy).
Pew. Pow. Pew. Pew. The sounds blasted from my Nintendo Gameboy. I was sitting alone in my room in the darkness. The small screen of the Gameboy seemed to light up the room as I played. I was playing none-other than my favorite game of all time, Pokemon. More specifically I was playing my very first Pokemon game, Pokemon Silver. Ever since I had gotten it for Christmas I had been playing it whenever I could find the time. My mother had to rip the Gameboy out of my hands just to get me to do anything else but as soon as I did as she requested I went right back to playing.
North American society is one that exploits people’s fears. When people are afraid, there is a desire to place blame on someone or something; to project our problems on to a issue so that we feel less responsibility. Modern media has found an easy scapegoat for this in the form of video games. Being a billion dollar industry that targets young people, video games naturally became the target of many news stories promoting fear and hostility to the gaming industry. News organizations, looking to capitalize on fear, realize that fear brings viewers, and may be too hasty in their reports against gaming. Because these for-profit companies often focus on violence, crude language and the impression that this will have on the children, it is easy to forget the good things that video games have to offer. I am by no means suggesting that parents should start exposing their children to sources of entertainment that they don’t see fit consumption, but rather to a closer look at the positives that gaming and technology has brought to medical fields such as
Pokemon Go is a game loved by fans of all ages. Since its release, people have be out trying to “Catch ‘em All”; however, it does have its flaws. Since I love pokemon (and handheld games), I knew Pokemon Go was going to be great -- and it was. At least for a while. Once Pokemon Go had a certain bug fixed, It was impossible to search for a specific pokemon. Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’re walking around playing Pokemon Go when suddenly a pokemon pops up on the radar. Not having that pokemon you start walking. After minutes of searching you still haven’t found it. So you run around some more. And when you finally find that pokemon, you’re out of pokeballs. Then you are forced to run away and leave that pokemon you spent your precious
Have you ever wished that one of your fantasy childhood toys could be real? This question was answered when the iPhone app, Pokémon GO, was first announced. The core mechanic of the original Pokémon games was the same for over twenty years: collect all the adorable Pokémon (short for “pocket monsters”) around a virtual world. However, Pokémon GO sought to take this mechanic and make it more interactive than ever. Using the iPhone’s GPS, Pokémon GO required players to physically explore the real world in order to collect Pokémon. When the free-to-play game was launched on July 6, 2016, it took the world by storm. Suddenly, I watched as my friends zipped around street corners, entered random stores, and walked for miles in order to catch virtual
"Today, in the United States, 91% of children between the ages of 2 and 17 play videogames, and a nationally representative study of U.S. teenagers found that up to 99% of boys and 94% of girls play these games" (Granic, Label and Engels 1). Video games have become virtually ubiquitous, belonging to almost every single modern day family. The market’s popularity, as well as its disapproval, has increased dramatically ever since they were invented. Many critics have been arguing for the past couple decades or so that these electronic games have destroyed the lives of children by making them sedentary and obese. However, recent studies support that video games are not harming children, but in fact are providing them with several benefits that they can incorporate in their everyday lives. Improvements have been found in cognition, social behaviors, emotional well-being, and many other areas that are necessary for a child’s growth and success. All children should use video games as an essential tool to make their worlds easier and more understandable.
Being detrimental for the health of someone is not solely caused by video games; it may have to do with an already unbalanced lifestyle, or an addictive behavior.
"Tech Talk: The Indie Video Game Movement." Tech Talk. N.p., 10 Mar. 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. .
Confucius once said, "he who does not do well is less guilty than he who pushes too hard." People found that competitive sports are often physically straining and it is detrimental to proper emotional development. This blows away the misconception that competitive sports create a healthy and engaging atmosphere for kids. This and an overly strong obsession with winning create a toxic mix for the child’s wellbeing. People have begun to realize the world of competitive may be doing more harm than good for their children. Parents have also begun to notice that competitive sports often injure their children severely and also make the child feel left out, which in turn is detrimental to the child 's emotional health. Therefore, competitive sports
The experience of using your smartphone as a bridge between the real and digital world is augmented reality’s prime value proposition. The “bridge” could be used to enhance a regular task to make it more exciting and intuitive; for example, in 2009, Yelp! released it’s ‘Monocle’ feature, which allowed users to use their camera to “find” new places to explore around them[1]. This feature made Yelp! the first ever application on the iPhone to have an augmented reality component. The monocle feature aimed at giving users an easier and more exciting way to explore the Yelp! map using geolocation, i.e., through the lenses of their phones but without having to crouch over their screens to do so. The other important use of augmented reality in practice could to allow the user to perform tasks that would normally be impossible given the current environment; for example in
This is significant because of the long-term effects that these games and other entertainment forms could possibly have on at-risk individuals and modern culture and society. Short term studies have been done but we can’t quite fathom the long-term effects that will be felt in the future.
To conclude, video games occupy a noticeable part of today’s society. While it offers many social, academic and also professional benefits, the controversial drawbacks are certain.
Video games are used to improve physical health. Playing video games does not mean being inactive. New and improved video games involve and incorporate different types of movement in the actual game. Certain video games can reduce fat causing global weight loss (Recio 143). By turning game systems into exercise, new generation games draw people into activities and get heart rates pumping. Schools have incorporated video games into part of their physical education program. Children’s waists lines have gone down by inches due to playing video games in gym class. In gym, the machines teach things like balance, timing, and coordina...