Just a quick opinion piece. I don't think it's me that doesn't like the game as much as it's the game that doesn't like me. I'm shocked at how terribly they implemented most of the features this game has. It's absolutely a winning concept and personally I thought it would be hard to mess up.
Let's start with the launch. First of all, it was released in different regions on different days with no indication of when specific places would be able to download the app, leading a lot of people to download the APK and end up banned. That was the first major problem. Secondly, the server was absolutely horrible. I could not log in to the game for 4 days after release and even then Trainer Club accounts were still disabled. It was extremely frustrating and possibly the worst game launch in recent history.
But forget about the launch, Pokemon mobile game hype!!! Right??
I consider myself a big Pokemon fan, which may be part of the reason I'm disappointed. Let's go over some of the basic flaws of the game:
TL;DR: Unless you live in a big city it's hard to get the experience intended due to the game's lack of optimization and its overly-competitive nature.
Now I'm not just a whiner. I have an idea to fix most of the problems involved:
And the big one:
Not only would this give casual players a chance at the gyms, it would amplify the teams system and add a focus on collecting pokemon. It seems like a completely reasonable system that would help freshen up the experience every once in a while, otherwise people are just going to quit.
And that's it.
Let's start with the launch. First of all, it was released in different regions on different days with no indication of when specific places would be able to download the app, leading a lot of people to download the APK and end up banned. That was the first major problem. Secondly, the server was absolutely horrible. I could not log in to the game for 4 days after release and even then Trainer Club accounts were still disabled. It was extremely frustrating and possibly the worst game launch in recent history.
But forget about the launch, Pokemon mobile game hype!!! Right??
I consider myself a big Pokemon fan, which may be part of the reason I'm disappointed. Let's go over some of the basic flaws of the game:
- The game is extremely boring and near impossible to play without spending on Pokeballs unless you live in an area with a lot of Pokestops;
- Egg hatching is broken and only counts about a third of the distance you actually walk, requiring you to keep your phone screen on the whole time;
- Most of the pokemon available to catch are garbage, especially in suburban or rural areas, and to progress you just have to catch the same stuff over and over and over again;
- The GPS feature is much worse than an app like Google Maps, it's extremely insensitive or overly sensitive depending on some unknown variable which changes on the day to day;
- It's extremely easy to hack the game, allowing people to dominate the gyms through cheating;
- Speaking of the gyms, the battle system makes absolutely no sense, but it's not like you have a chance unless you devote all your time and energy to PoGo;
- The footprint feature has been broken for weeks, and has since been completely removed. Not that it was helpful to begin with;
- Overall, the app is horribly unoptimized, it drains 2% battery per minute on my phone which sucks about half my battery away for a casual play session;
- It's too competitive, and much more so than it is a casual, fun experience, since all the focus seems to be on leveling up and CP.
TL;DR: Unless you live in a big city it's hard to get the experience intended due to the game's lack of optimization and its overly-competitive nature.
Now I'm not just a whiner. I have an idea to fix most of the problems involved:
- Upgrade the servers to something more reliable, considering how much revenue the game is generating I'm sure it's within Niantic's reach;
- Crack down on cheaters;
- Fix the battery drain and GPS issues;
- Add more pokemon and pokestops in rural areas, because right now, 50% of the playerbase is not getting anything near the intended experience.
And the big one:
- Every few months, have the "season" reset. Delete everyone's pokemon, but store their Pokedex progress in a national dex which is tied to the account.
- Each season, declare the winning team at the end, so there can be actual, non-arbitrary competition between them;
- At the beginning of each new season, swap out the pokemon for the next region; for example, next season would be Johto, the next would be Hoenn, and so on.
Not only would this give casual players a chance at the gyms, it would amplify the teams system and add a focus on collecting pokemon. It seems like a completely reasonable system that would help freshen up the experience every once in a while, otherwise people are just going to quit.
And that's it.
