After finishing their classes, students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) are not done scurrying around campus. Whether it\u2019s the middle of the day or late at night, onlookers may see students sprinting from building to building. What\u2019s the rush? They\u2019re using the Pok\u00e9mon Go app, on a mission to catch \u2018em all.<\/p>\n
Pokemon Go is an interactive smartphone app that lets users catch virtual creatures known as Pok\u00e9mon. The type and amount of Pok\u00e9mon that appear are determined by the player\u2019s real-world geographical location. As players move around, so does their avatar.<\/p>\n
Using augmented reality (AR) technology, the game places \u201cPok\u00e9Stops\u201d and \u201cPok\u00e9mon Gyms\u201d in real-world locations. These stops and gyms are where players can obtain items and battle amongst each other.<\/p>\n
Since its release date on July 6, 2016, Pokemon Go has turned into a global game sensation. Many praise the game for encouraging players to get active.<\/p>\n
Before the game came out, Gabriela Lara, animal science major, used to stay in her room a lot and had a hard time getting to talk with other people. However, she explains that Pokemon Go got her to \u201cgo outside,\u201d not just physically, but mentally. It helped her get out of her shell and helped her meet new people and make new friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt got me outside,\u201d Lara said. \u201cYou meet more people and get to know where you live more.\u201d Lara explains that the game is a fun way to get to know your town or city. Once a player arrives at a \u201cPok\u00e9Stop,\u201d the game gives them a brief description of the area. For example, if a \u201cPok\u00e9Stop\u201d is placed is placed in a library, the game will give a brief description about the library.<\/p>\n
Besides getting players to socialize and be active, many enjoy playing the game because of the nostalgia that comes with it. Michael Lagunes, engineering major, says he\u2019s always been a fan of Pok\u00e9mon since he was a child.<\/p>\n
Lagunes explains that the game allows him to become a real Pok\u00e9mon trainer, a life-long dream of many people who grew up with the game series. He believes Pok\u00e9mon has become more than just a children\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was once supposed to be perceived as a \u2018kid\u2019s game,\u2019 but then it became more for adults after the first-generation players started to grow up. Then the next generation grew up and so forth. So, it became more of an all-type game play,\u201d Lagunes said. \u201cNow there is a lot more detail put into the game and into the franchise itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The game has made several updates since its release two years ago. New features include Pok\u00e9mon trading, special quests, updates to Pok\u00e9mon \u00acGyms and much more. One thing that has remained constant is the competitive drive between the three main teams in Pok\u00e9mon Go: Team Valor, Instinct and Mystic.<\/p>\n
The app has players pick a team at the beginning of the game. Players can use their team status to claim a \u201cPok\u00e9mon Gym\u201d in the name of their team. This feature allows the game to be competitive and creates team building.<\/p>\n
Jose Ramirez, civil engineer major, says fighting against others team is his favorite feature in the game. With four \u201cPok\u00e9mon Gyms\u201d on campus, Ramirez explains that the competition is very stiff at TAMUK, specifically between Team Mystic and Team Valor.<\/p>\n
Another improved feature are the Pok\u00e9mon Community Day events. During that time, a rare Pok\u00e9mon will appear more frequently for three hours on a specified day. Community day occurs once a month and brings players from surrounding cities. In Kingsville alone, people come from Corpus Christi, Alice and Bishop just to play.The next Pokemon Community Go event will occur on Sept. 22.<\/p>\n
Despite being release in 2016, the game is consistently getting new players. Joseph Garza, biology major, just downloaded the game in his phone this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game is highly addicting. We\u2019re about to get a fourth generation, maybe before the year ends or during 2019,\u201d Garza said.<\/p>\n
Garza isn\u2019t the only one hoping for a new generation of Pok\u00e9mon to be added to the game. Many players are hoping a new generation will be arriving soon and expand the community that Pok\u00e9mon Go has created.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they release new Pok\u00e9mon generations, then the game will stick around a bit longer. Just as long as they keep pumping out new Pok\u00e9mon. But as soon as the designs get too ridiculous, then they might start falling,\u201d Ramirez said jokingly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After finishing their classes, students at Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK) are not done scurrying around campus. Whether it\u2019s the middle of the day or late… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[150],"class_list":["post-1309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"aioseo_notices":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"authors":[{"term_id":150,"user_id":20,"is_guest":0,"slug":"staff-reports","display_name":"Staff Reports","avatar_url":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/wp-content\/litespeed\/avatar\/0437b672851a8a9f7b27b17b33805122.jpg?ver=1778634720","0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1309"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1311,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309\/revisions\/1311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1309"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesouthtexan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}