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Faraci: Pokeman GO: Better than Clickbait Articles

BernardoOne said:
The actual AR on Pokémon GO is terrible and its better turned off. And geocaching games have been around for a long time. Gotta disagree with the article.
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Yeah. This guys whole schtick is that he's a major contrarian who acts like he's too cool for the room. I would say 90% of what he does is to try and piss people off.

AR could be great, right now it is so far behind what VR is doing that its impossible to say that though. 90% of the Pokemon is GO are just floating in mid air, they never look like they belong where you see them. I'm not bashing AR at all, but there are some crazy good VR experiences out there, where AR seems like it still has a long way to go.
 
jediyoshi said:
I'm pretty sure by definition, augmented reality is less transformative than virtual reality.
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Well the end goal is star trek holo rooms, which is I'm between the two things right now. I'd honestly say it's closer to what we call AR than VR because of the need for large wearable technology for VR.
 
I love both. I have little doubt in my mind that VR will remain quite niche and never be as mainstream as social context aware games like Pokemon Go. Context aware games are the future, VR games a nice diversion. Even if as a core gamer I might prefer the more immersive VR experiences.
 
To be clear, I don't think the AR itself is Go's selling point. The AR is used to go with the theme of exploring the real world via GPS, and that's the selling point, since that real-world exploration leads you to meet real-life people — not polygonal avatars of people you can fist-bump in a chatroom, but actual in-the-flesh people. And you're all in on this secret world, trying to find these secret creatures in a world-spanning scavenger hunt.

The AR just serves as a fun window into that world. It's thematically consistent, but the GPS-driven gameplay and real-life interactions that result are the appeal.
 
The AR in Pokemon go is the biggest load of bollocks ever. It makes no attempt to blend into the environment - just s 3D model with blob shadow superimposed on a camera feed. the game itself might be fun from a geocaching type standpoint, and AR tech might be interesting in general - but the AR implementation in Pokemon GO is not.

The AR in most vita games around launch is way better. And still a bit crappy

I also don't thnk AR is that comparable to VR and I don't know why they are compared so often. Yes they both used optics to put images into your eye, but that's about it. I see VR being way more suited for the fantastical worlds of gaming than AR, and I see AR being way more useful for integrating information into our day to day lives - arrows on the floor showing directions, personalised ads like minority report, Video displays on every wall of your house etc.
 
Pokemon Go is available for free on a device like 90% of the Population owns and couldn't be without on a daily basis. VR requires anywhere from a $399 - $799 (in the US at least) device that requires something also even more expensive actually powering it to work. To me the two are pretty different enough not just from availability and price.

AR still has a longer way to go tech wise IMO but I won't deny AR like the Hololens won't be super awesome. But Pokemon Go is not anywhere near that.
 
border said:
Haphazardly placing a 2D image of a Pokemon over grainy cell-phone footage is better than Virtual Reality?
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Fascinating how appealing Augmented Reality is if that is all what it needs.

Neiteio said:
To be clear, I don't think the AR itself is Go's selling point. The AR is used to go with the theme of exploring the real world via GPS, and that's the selling point, since that real-world exploration leads you to meet real-life people — not polygonal avatars of people you can fist-bump in a chatroom, but actual in-the-flesh people. And you're all in on this secret world, trying to find these secret creatures in a world-spanning scavenger hunt.

The AR just serves as a fun window into that world. It's thematically consistent, but the GPS-driven gameplay and real-life interactions that result are the appeal.
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That goes hand in hand. You certainly can't have these results with Virtual Reality.
 
Linkstrikesback said:
Well the end goal is star trek holo rooms, which is I'm between the two things right now. I'd honestly say it's closer to what we call AR than VR because of the need for large wearable technology for VR.
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What? The need for large wearable tech for VR exists now, but its certainly not going to be that way forever.
 
Focusing on the technology seems to miss the point to me. Yeah the actual pokemon overlay isn't great. That isn't stopping 50% of my Twitter feed for the last four days being nothing but Pokemon AR images.

I think when we talk about AR in this context we have to discuss every way it interacts with reality. Its not just the Pokemon overlay, the geocaching is part of the AR, it literally is the mechanical foundation of the "augment" to reality
 
Cartman86 said:
I can't imagine anyone caring about the AR aspect of Go. It's not good and the appeal of Pokemon is never going to be that. It's about collecting shit and in Go's case it's about walking around with real people which is very cool.
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More or less how I'm seeing it. Even if you categorize the geolocation stuff as "AR", it seems insignificant outside of the fact that it helps encourage meeting people at the gyms (and games driving real-world social connections is pretty old news).

Not that this takes away from Pokemon Go's success, of course. It just seems like Faraci's putting an awful lot of weight on the basic Pokemon-in-the-camera stuff.
 
zackmorris said:
Yeah. This guys whole schtick is that he's a major contrarian who acts like he's too cool for the room. I would say 90% of what he does is to try and piss people off.

AR could be great, right now it is so far behind what VR is doing that its impossible to say that though. 90% of the Pokemon is GO are just floating in mid air, they never look like they belong where you see them. I'm not bashing AR at all, but there are some crazy good VR experiences out there, where AR seems like it still has a long way to go.
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What the fuck? Hahaha.

Faraci is a great writer and film critic. Dude thinks Civil War is one of the best films of the year, he's so far from a contrarian I'd doubt you ever have engaged with his work.

This article does feel a little bit like an older dude getting really excited by the young kids's tech, but whatever. He's in his mid 40s and he's not into this stuff like we are. it's fine.
 
Imo it's not the AR that makes the game for me.
Neiteio said:
To be clear, I don't think the AR itself is Go's selling point. The AR is used to go with the theme of exploring the real world via GPS, and that's the selling point, since that real-world exploration leads you to meet real-life people — not polygonal avatars of people you can fist-bump in a chatroom, but actual in-the-flesh people. And you're all in on this secret world, trying to find these secret creatures in a world-spanning scavenger hunt.

The AR just serves as a fun window into that world. It's thematically consistent, but the GPS-driven gameplay and real-life interactions that result are the appeal.
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Exactly
 
I mean, maybe AR is better and is the future. I don't really know how tech is moving in either direction.

I do know that outside of some fun screenshots, I have no reason to use GO's AR and just turned it off.
 
spekkeh said:
I love both. I have little doubt in my mind that VR will remain quite niche and never be as mainstream as social context aware games like Pokemon Go. Context aware games are the future, VR games a nice diversion. Even if as a core gamer I might prefer the more immersive VR experiences.
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I totally disagree and I can't even use VR but I think in the future VR will be the more widespread accepted thing. AR will have it's place and be really cool but I would be shocked if VR isn't more popular just with the type of experiences that can be had with it.
 
Oersted said:
That goes hand in hand. You certainly can't have these results with Virtual Reality.
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For sure. That's what I'm trying to say. You won't see people going on geocaching-style scavenger hunts with VR helmets. AR is far more conducive to a large-scale real-world social experience with real people. And that's just innately more appealing to the average person, since most people would rather connect with others in the real world.
 
Feep said:
The game just isn't very good. It's novelty that is exciting, but it's generally unique to the fervor of the Pokemon franchise.

I was *very* enthused about Ingress, and Pokemon GO just didn't have the same kind of instant "whoa" effect on me.

They are different things, and will satisfy different niches, and this article is badly looking for clicks.
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The world would be a better place if people like you stopped calling every article you don't agree with clickbait. Stop being salty and go outside and play some Pokemon Go.
 
jaxapollo said:
Eh. Hololens isn't that impressive. The Vive is definitely a better investment.
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I mean, with it's front facing cameras, the Viva can DO AR. Problem is no one can really walk around with it yet.

Think less hololens and more google glass. Real life HUDs that can be so sophisticated, you can have games super imposed on life in real time. That's the real dream, but we are a LOOOOOOOOOONG ways off from it having any sort of real practicality.
 
funny i've mentioned AR as being the potential "hook" for NX, and the reason everything is all over the place. I believe firmly though that AR will eventually be the future. Imagine gaming in truly immersive AR. Playing something like Yugioh in real life, where AR entities look like they truly are part of our environment. Imagine real virtual clothing. Your "outfit" everyday may be some bland white or gray outfit, but turn on the AR contact/glasses and suddenly your clothing/hair whatever is something so out of this world its crazy. I imagine a future where anime like Dennou Coil is a reality, where every square centimeter of a city is "wired" and able to interact with you.

It'll be an amazing future.

Pokemon is a very early 1/2 step. Imagine if Pokemon looked more like the original promo video? And you didn't need a phone, if you wanted, you could see that level of detail in your glasses, or contacts.

Imagine playing a card game in a room with real people, and your table transforms into a DnD playfield with your entire game board looking like a real life window into another world.

People need to expand their minds on what is truly popular and possible with AR.

Hell imagine you having a real life personal assistant which is PURELY AR and she/he/it is there to wake you up, keep your notes etc.
 
Meh.

Both AR and VR are sorely lacking. HR (holographic Reality*)is where it is at.

*Yes, I just made this up.
 
I don't think comparing the addictiveness of something like Pokemon Go to the incredible immersion that great VR games can offer is really fair for either. Pokemon Go is really cool for what it is, but a huge part of its success is due to the Pokemon IP. Ingress, which is made by the same team that did Go, didn't become a cultural phenomenon despite being similar. Seeing a floating Koffing while walking my dog is neat, especially as somebody who played Pokemon for years, but that's a fleeting and shallow distraction compared to being scared out of my mind playing a Horror game in VR or the thrill of flying around in EVE Valkyrie.

So no, I don't think the "technology" of AR is better than VR - I think it's worse.
 
Daft Punk said:
Not even comparable.
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No, it's not.
I wouldn't compare something that gets mass acceptance this quick to VR.

No Demo, no concept work, no needing to convince anyone to use it, no visor and hand toys.

You get this tiny feeling that you are inside a game and that's all it needs.

This feels like the exact level of immersion that people at large want. More is not what people want.
 
Of course AR is better, this isn't news. AR ia the next step after VR we are not ready for real AR yet that is why the VR push is so big.

To call what's happening with pokemon go AR is a disservice to AR.
 
Inferno313 said:
What the fuck? Hahaha.

Faraci is a great writer and film critic. Dude thinks Civil War is one of the best films of the year, he's so far from a contrarian I'd doubt you ever have engaged with his work.

This article does feel a little bit like an older dude getting really excited by the young kids's tech, but whatever. He's in his mid 40s and he's not into this stuff like we are. it's fine.
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Guys twitter from yesterday "FINDING DORY’s huge success is so strange to me. Is it because the summer is so weak?"
"I mean, FINDING DORY is incredibly mediocre. And yet it’s a huge huge hit."

The movie is 95% postive critics reviews, and 89% audience. Yet here he is bashing it out of the blue to drum up clicks. This was yesterday but this has been what he's done since I heard of him years and years ago. Also his personal vendetta against Kevin Smith is embarrassing.

Anyway, this is getting off topic.
 
Man Im just mad this type of technology wasn't ready around my childhood when shows like Yu-GiOh, Pokemon, digimon and Megaman NT Warrior were popular. I used to wish for this type of stuff so badly.
 
One of the first things I did was turn AR mode off. The biggest draw of this game is the geocaching treasure hunt, basically.

Now when AR matures into glasses, and its paired with enjoyable game mechanics and geocaching, id be so in. We're not there yet.
 
zackmorris said:
Guys twitter from yesterday "FINDING DORY’s huge success is so strange to me. Is it because the summer is so weak?"
"I mean, FINDING DORY is incredibly mediocre. And yet it’s a huge huge hit."

The movie is 95% postive critics reviews, and 89% audience. Yet here he is bashing it out of the blue to drum up clicks. This was yesterday but this has been what he's done since I heard of him years and years ago. Also his personal vendetta against Kevin Smith is embarrassing.

Anyway, this is getting off topic.
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Are we not allowed to like shows or movies that are popular? Are we all peons for not getting behind reality TV?
 
Feep said:
The game just isn't very good. It's novelty that is exciting, but it's generally unique to the fervor of the Pokemon franchise.

I was *very* enthused about Ingress, and Pokemon GO just didn't have the same kind of instant "whoa" effect on me.

They are different things, and will satisfy different niches, and this article is badly looking for clicks.
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Exactly my thoughts. The core game is terrible.
 
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