{"id":2157,"date":"2016-07-15T16:43:06","date_gmt":"2016-07-15T21:43:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/?p=2157"},"modified":"2019-01-24T13:40:07","modified_gmt":"2019-01-24T19:40:07","slug":"pokemon-go-maryville-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maryville.edu\/mpress\/pokemon-go-maryville-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP Embraces ‘Pok\u00e9mon Go’ Craze"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reading time: 2 minutes<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

In this\u00a0Pok\u00e9mon Go moment, you might need to suspend disbelief.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0new augmented reality video game, played on mobile devices and based on a \u201890s Japanese cartoon franchise, has garnered more daily usage in one week than Twitter, and has caused Americans to leave their air-conditioned homes and walk great distances in the humid outdoors in search of small mythical electronic creatures named Pikachu and Charmander.<\/p>\n

\"Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP<\/a><\/p>\n

Such is the world of Pok\u00e9mon Go, the\u00a0sensation sweeping the nation for which there is little to no historical precedent. If you look closely enough while driving to work, visiting the zoo, or sitting on your front porch, you\u2019ll witness roving bands of players, smartphones in the air, getting unplanned exercise and actually enjoying it. Just days after the game\u2019s release, Maryville\u2019s Esports team, (one of 10 club sports<\/a>\u00a0offered on campus), joined the legion of Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPstudents, high schoolers, and nearby office workers traversing campus on the hunt for Pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n

Pok\u00e9mon Go is the most successful example of an augmented reality video game in history.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMaryville\u2019s campus is lit for this game,\u201d says Dan Clerke, Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPstudent and director of Esports. \u201cWith 15 Pok\u00e9 Stops and Donius University Center as the gym, this is a great place to play Pok\u00e9mon Go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP<\/a>Creation of the game required nothing more than location tracking, Google Maps, and a smartphone camera. Simplicity aside, it is the most successful example of an augmented reality video game in history.<\/p>\n

“Pok\u00e9mon Go combines great hardware, software, and creative content to make something truly revolutionary,” says\u00a0Matt Raithel, associate instructor of game design in the Art & Design Program. “Our new game design concentration<\/a> coming this fall seeks to help students understand how these three principles can come together to make engaging and entertaining interactive experiences that the world can enjoy.”<\/p>\n

One week into the craze, Mario Morgan, assistant director of admissions, suggested Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPdrop a \u201clure\u201d at all 15 campus Pok\u00e9 Stops. As a result, campus was abuzz with Pok\u00e9mon creatures and players.<\/p>\n

Clerke has announced the formation of a Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPPPok\u00e9mon Go Club<\/a>, with details to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they continue to release updates and keep it interesting, people will keep playing,\u201d Clerke says of the game\u2019s popularity. \u201cThe new club will hold big gameplay events on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pokemon<\/a>Clerke has spent his gaming career playing complex video games, like League of Legends and Counterstrike. Why Pok\u00e9mon Go? \u201cI love it. The game is fun. And video games are the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/i>Love<\/span>0<\/span><\/span><\/a> <\/i> <\/i>