Pokémon GO was created to encourage players to explore the world while coordinating impromptu large group meetings - activities we've all been encouraged to avoid since the start of the pandemic.
Still, analysts estimate that 2020 was Pokémon GO's most profitable year.
By turning a few knobs and tweaking the variables, Pokémon GO just got a lot easier to play without leaving the house.
Niantic's the approach to 2020 has been full of carefully considered changes and I have highlighted many of their key decisions below.
Consider this a kind of addendum to the Niantic EC-1 I wrote last year, where I outlined things like the company's beginnings as a side project within Google, how Pokémon Go started out as a fish joke. April and the company's goal to build the platform that powers the AR headphones of the future.
Hit the brakes
During a press call describing a Niantic update Shipped in November, reps said the company threw away the product roadmap, which included a handful of new features that have yet to see the light of day. They declined to say what features were removed, pointing out that it simply didn't make sense to release them right now.
Instead, as any potential pandemic end date slipped further on the horizon, the team refocused in Q1 2020 on finding ways to adapt what already worked and adjust existing gameplay to allow players to do more. going out less.
Turning the knobs
As its name indicates, GO was never meant to be played while sitting at home. John Hanke's Niantic's initial vision was focused on finding ways to get people out and play together; since its first prototype, Niantic had players running around a city to get hold of its virtual equivalent block by block. They had spent nearly a decade building a database of real-world locations that would act as play points intended to encourage exploration and wandering. Years of development efforts have been required to transform Pokémon GO into an increasingly social game, requiring teamwork and sometimes even flash mob-like encounters for its bigger challenges.
Now everything had to work from the player's couch.
The first changes were the ones that were easier for Niantic to make on the fly, but they had a dramatic impact on how the game actually works.
Some of the changes:- By doubling the "range" of the players to interact with the game gyms, points of reference that the players can temporarily take for their game team, earning some in-game currency based on how long they maintain control. This change has allowed more gym battles to happen from the couch.
- By increasing spawn points, generally dramatically increasing the number of Pokémon you might find at home.
- Increasing the effectiveness of the "incense", which allowed players to use a premium item to encourage too More Pokémon to spawn at home. Niantic phased out this change in October, then quietly reintroduced it in late November. The incense would also last twice as long, making it cheaper for players to use.
- Allow indoor steps (read: on treadmills) to count for in-game remote challenges.
- Players would no longer need to travel long distances to gain access to the online player versus player battle system.
- Your "friend" Pokémon (a specially designated Pokémon that you can level up Tamagotchi-style for bonus perks) would now bring you more gift items than you should play. Before the pandemic, obtaining these items meant wandering around the nearby "Pokéstop" landmarks.
By twisting a few knobs and tweaking the variables, Pokémon GO became a lot easier to play without leaving the house, but importantly, these tweaks avoided anything that could interrupt the game while still being just as easy to reverse once it became safe. to do it.
GO Fest becomes virtual
Launched by Niantic every year since 2017, GO Fest aims to be an ultra-focused version of the Pokémon GO experience. Thousands of players flock to a single park, gathering to face challenges and capture new Pokémon.