If you’ve not seen it, the new Pokemon Go mobile game lets you walk around town interacting with local landmarks via your phone’s screen. You’ll likely find plaques, artworks and other local facts about where you live and work that you never knew existed. And then, every once in a while, a wild Pokemon will appear on the ground next to you (it’s invisible but you can see it on your phone’s screen) and you’ve gotta catch it by flicking Pokeballs at it.
There are some exotic Pokemon and many boring ones. Perhaps I was hoping for too much when I stood beneath Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge, looking out across the water to the enormously-famous Sydney Opera House only to be notified that the wild Pokemon that had appeared was this...
Come on guys. I walked down a steep hill after a spin class to get that. I’m not looking for pity but Sydney deserves better.
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Meanwhile, a walk around the North Sydney shore – as with many places – is really quite eye-opening. This game really is a great entry into orienteering and discovering information that you simply didn’t know about.
The game is pretty rough in terms of accuracy though. Here it said I was in the middle of the Harbour while I was actually standing here...
Still, Pokemon Go is a great glimpse into the future of location-based, augmented reality gaming and applications. It shouldn’t be long before people are shooting lasers at real-life opposing team members; at which point, one suspects, the Pay Attention to your Surroundings warnings probably will come into their own.
Addendum
I confess, after a bit more pacing (away from the Harbour Bridge) this happened. I almost got run over catching it but at least it’s better than that bat thing.