Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
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Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#2I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks.
But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent.
Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and then be willing to trade/give you pokemon. Or be extroverted enough to make online friends in those other places who will trade with you.
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#3There are devices that you can buy that you can connect to your phone and will auto catch pokemon for you. Between auto catchers and changing map data, what is the point of "playing" the game?
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#4Previous discussion 5 days ago (on the OSM forum thread that indirectly spawned this Ars article): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40219472
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#5I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…
Should the game be inherently fair? Part of the fun is rewarding exploration over time as a life-long pokemon trainer trying to catch them all. You gotta go to all the regions to accomplish that. Maybe it'll take a long time!
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#6I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…
I know people who meet up on discord groups and mail their phones to each other to catch rares and the like.
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#7I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…
Is it "unfair" or is this just the nature of a geofenced game? I think it's part of the fun.
Is it unfair that if you live in Arizona you're not getting to enjoy polar bears in the wild or even in the zoo?
And before globalism part of the romance of travel was things being exotic/rare and therefore harder to obtain.
If the game had other means to trade or obtain Pokémon outside of wild catches then it still offers players a chance.
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#8I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…
Should the game be inherently fair? Part of the fun is rewarding exploration over time as a life-long pokemon trainer trying to catch them all. You gotta go to all the regions to accomplish that. Maybe it'll take a long time!
> Should the game be inherently fair?
No, but the fairness should be based on skills and engagement, not the size of your wallet.
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#9There are devices that you can buy that you can connect to your phone and will auto catch pokemon for you. Between auto catchers and changing map data, what is the point of "playing" the game?
It's very nakedly a skinner box game. The participants are not gamers, they are addicts and victims.
Re: Pokémon Go players are altering public map data to catch rare Pokémon
#10I gotta give props to the players for their clever hacks. But also this brings up a good point -- the game is inherently unfair to people who don't have the means to travel. Someone in the middle of the country can't legitimately travel to a beach area. And there are some Pokemon that are restricted to a particular continent. Which means you either have to be rich or have a rich friend who can go to those places and…
I know people who meet up on discord groups and mail their phones to each other to catch rares and the like.
That's wild. Also, I don't think this solves the "I can win cause I'm rich" problem. I don't think many people can reasonably be expected to want to willingly mail their phone to another person.
Especially, considering that likely means you need to have two phone plans plus two phones. It's pretty hard to say to your friends, family, or boss, "sorry, I can't take calls right now, my phone is in Vermont so my buddy can catch me a Gengar."