Games
Pokémon Go is the biggest hit of the season. What if other games jumped on the bandwagon?
Pokémon Go has given rise to an explosion of Pokémon trainers around the globe – whether you’re hungry for nostalgia or if you just think the little critters are cute, you’re probably playing Pokémon Go (or at least know someone close to you who does). Thanks to Pokémon Go, we have seen amazing new forms of social interaction.
But why should Pokémon have all the fun? There are thousands and millions of video game properties out there that are just waiting to have their very own augmented reality game. It’s only a matter of time before games mimicking the Pokémon Go formula start popping up, so here are six games that could work.
1. Digimon
Anyone who’s ever been a fan has probably dreamed of raising their own squad of Digimon. With a Digimon AR game, you can be a Digimon tamer just as easily as you could a Pokémon trainer. Plus, Digimon already live in the digital world, so augmented reality would feel like you’re taking a peek into the world of Digimon yourself.
To fan the nostalgia flames even more, teams in the game could take a page from Digimon World 2 and incorporate the Black Sword team, the Gold Hawks team, and the Blue Falcon team.
Considering Digimon was influenced in part by Tamagotchi, raising them properly would play a big part too instead of just collecting them all. Make sure your Agumon isn’t leaving feces in the middle of shopping malls!
2. Fatal Frame
Fatal Frame sees players document and combat ghosts by taking photos of them with an antique camera, the Camera Obscura, that can capture ghosts. Given this premise, the Fatal Frame series would be perfect to take advantage of the Pokémon Go formula. With your smartphone acting as your new spirit-capturing camera, you can wander around various locations to hunt down ghostly apparitions.
This will also add a whole new layer of spooky than simply finding a Gastly at a haunted site. Though, maybe you won’t feel so scared when you see a hundred other players hanging out at the same place. There’s comfort in numbers after all.
3. Viva Piñata
It’s been almost a decade since a new Viva Piñata game, but those cutesy candy-filled creatures still have a place in my heart. Not only can you search for piñatas out in the wild, you can build a garden as your base a la Pokéstop and get them to come to you! Imagine the joy of caring for and managing your very own virtual garden as you try to grow the piñata population. You could even visit other people’s gardens and admire their handiwork, and leave gifts or traps behind.
4. Yōkai Watch
Yōkai Watch is another one of those hugely popular monster collecting games that would be right at home in the Pokémon Go mold. After all, the series is built around the very idea of finding fantastic creatures hidden in seemingly mundane objects and situations. Point your phone at a battered umbrella and you might find a Pallysol in it. You might even discover that the reason your friend is so hungry all the time is because she has a Hungramps on her.
5. Watch_Dogs
Pokémon Go’s predecessor Ingress took place in a science fiction premise where players were mostly placing traps and taking part in turf wars. Ground that setting in reality and you might find yourself with a Watch_Dogs game, where opposing syndicates try to sabotage one another and claim locales by “hacking” them.
An added plus would be to include some sort of guide to coding in the hacking puzzles like Quadrilateral Cowboy or Hack ‘n’ Slash so that players would actually learn something from the game too!
6. The Last of Us
The world never tires of zombies, and what better world of zombies is there than the one in The Last of Us? Instead of walking to find Pokémon, this game can have you walk (or run) to get away from hordes of clickers (as a mutant spawn between Pokémon Go and Zombie Run). Landmarks can furnish with you with supplies, but you need to be able to fend them off from AI zombies or other cutthroat survivors.
Check out these stories too:
BONUS: Pokémon Snap
Since people are already taking snapshots of their Pokémon Go adventures and sharing them with the world, it would be really cool if a feature was included in the game emulating Pokémon Snap. As you take photos of the Pokémon you encounter, Professor Willow – or even better, good ol’ smarmy Professor Oak – can evaluate and criticise your photography skills.
Include an option to share these photos to social media too for bragging rights. You can have this idea for free, Niantic, Inc.!
For more games content, be sure to like us on Facebook.
