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If you haven’t caught any Pokémon yet, it’s most likely because you are the Pokémon. No, perhaps this is too categorical. Pokémon can’t be found. But it is absolutely impossible to resist the temptation to find out why this hobby has seized the whole world and what consequences it will lead to. We at Psychologies decided to satisfy our curiosity by turning to our experts.
Adam Barkworth from Stockport, UK has autism. Now he is seventeen, and for the past five years he has not left the house and very rarely joined the family at the common table. Unexpected sounds, abrupt movements, and in general everything that violated the unchanging order that he had established in his room, provoked anxiety attacks and even panic attacks in him.
But in early August, Adam picked up a smartphone and went to a nearby park to catch Pokemon. And on the way, he also exchanged a few words (almost for the first time in his life!) With a stranger — a girl who also went “hunting”. Adam’s mother, Jen, can’t hold back her tears as she talks about it: “This game gave me my son back. Brought Adam back to life.»
Story about Adam shown on BBC TV, delighted the whole world, and, quite likely, became an additional advertisement for the game Pokemon Go. Which, however, does not need any advertising: more than 100 million people already play it. There are, of course, many stories with the opposite sign. A young man, fascinated by the pursuit of Pokemon, got hit by a car, a girl, whom the game brought to a deserted river bank, stumbled upon a drowned man … The benefits and harms undoubtedly deserve discussion. But first I would like to understand what kind of game it is, which brings you back to life and pushes you to the brink of death.
Nothing new?
Oddly enough, there is nothing fundamentally new in Pokemon Go. Yes, it, unlike other computer games, does not encourage numbness in front of the monitor, but physical activity: to catch Pokemon, you have to run through the streets, and to “hatch” them from eggs (there is such a possibility) — to overcome several kilometers. But there is no opening here. “Nintendo, the “parent” of Pokemon, released a Wii console 10 years ago, designed for active games: the player’s movements in real space are coordinated with virtual events on the screen,” says Yerbol Ismailov, a psychologist who studies the popularity of Pokemon Go.
It’s hard to stay away when everyone you know, just turn on your computer or phone, vying to brag about their success in catching Pokemon
For example, playing tennis on the Wii, you need to swing the joystick like a racket and follow the movements of the opponent and the ball on the screen. “Augmented reality”, which in relation to the game Pokemon Go means placing virtual Pokemon among objects of physical reality, also did not appear yesterday. Back in 2012, Niantic (the lead technical developer of Pokemon Go) released the game Ingress. “It already used the combination of two images – virtual objects and data from the phone’s camera – to create a game space,” says psychologist Natalia Bogacheva, a specialist in computer games. “In terms of moving around the city, the game mechanics of these two games are almost identical.”
And the content of the game is not new at all. Computer games and cartoons featuring «pocket monsters» (as the word pokemon stands for — from the English pocket monster) have been released since 1996. But perhaps this is one of the secrets of success. “The main target audience of the game is young people under 30 years old. That is, just those who experienced the first wave of Pokemon craze fifteen years ago, — Yerbol Ismailov notes, — and are well acquainted with the history and universe of Pokemon. In essence, the game appeals to their childhood nostalgia.»
Let’s not forget social mediawhich today serve as a natural habitat for us as the real world. Firstly, it’s hard to stay away when all your friends, one has only to turn on the computer or phone, vying to brag about their success in catching Pokemon. And secondly, our own success in the game immediately increases our authority in social networks. In addition, shots taken with a smartphone camera of cartoon Pokemon in a completely real environment look extremely funny and collect a lot of “likes”. Serious, by the way, stimulus.
Optimal Experience
Another explanation for the popularity of the game, according to Natalia Bogacheva, is the found balance of simplicity and complexity: “The game practically does not need to be learned. The only thing that may seem difficult at first is «throwing» trap balls («Pokeballs»). But on the other hand, in the subsequent stages you will have to master a lot of tricks and tricks.
A balance is struck between growing skills and tasks that need to be addressed. Thanks to this, the player is immersed in a state of «flow» — complete absorption, when we lose the sense of time, dissolve in what we are doing, while experiencing a feeling of pleasure and satisfaction.
The concept of «flow» as an optimal psychological experience was introduced by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi1, and many researchers have noted that the desire to experience this state again and again is one of the main motivations for fans of computer games. Yerbol Ismailov agrees with this: “When catching Pokemon, the player experiences an emotional upsurge, almost euphoria.” This euphoria is enhanced by the physical activity required in the game: the load stimulates the production of endorphins — the hormone of joy.
One response for three requests
So, there are many reasons for the general fascination with Pokemon. That’s just almost all of them work for any game when it comes to adults. “Now we spend an unprecedented amount of time on games compared to other historical eras,” says psychologist Yevgeny Osin. – How to explain it? If we recall Maslow’s «pyramid of needs», then it is based on biological needs: hunger, thirst … Previously, people spent most of their time and energy on satisfying them. Now these needs in developed countries are quite easy to satisfy, and psychological needs are becoming increasingly important. The game can be a response to a psychological request.”
One of the theories of motivation identifies three main psychological needs, Evgeny Osin continues. “In the theory of self-determination, the first need is for autonomy, for making one’s choice. The second need is competence, to be successful in something, to achieve something. And the third is the need for social connections, in contacts with other people.
It may take years of self-improvement to become competent, to be more successful than others. The game has enough weeks, or even days
Not everyone can meet these needs. In reality, for example, we do not always do what we really want, because we are subject to necessity or a sense of duty. And in the game, we can create our own world and act in it as we like. It may take years of self-improvement to become competent, to be more successful than others in something. The game has enough weeks, or even days. “The game is deliberately built in such a way that the need for achievement is constantly satisfied: if the tasks turn out to be too difficult or too simple, it will not be interesting to play,” notes Evgeny Osin, returning us to the idea of flow: just such a complexity of tasks is at the limit of our capabilities, but by no means outside of them — and generates a state of flow.
Equality of opportunity
Someone may notice that video games do not contribute to communication in any way — and thereby reveal their backwardness. Yes, games used to involve focused loneliness. But that’s in the past. Today, online multiplayer games are impossible without communication. Chasing virtual enemies (or running away from them), players are constantly in contact to develop the optimal strategy. Often this communication turns into real, and not only friendly.
For example, players who have become businessmen are more willing to hire their “colleagues” from game teams2. A joint game gives a chance to evaluate not only gaming skills, but also the reliability, responsibility, ingenuity of partners. There are other positive aspects to the passion for games. For example, the game erases gender and age restrictions. “A fragile girl or a ten-year-old child in reality cannot fight strong men,” Yerbol Ismailov notes. “But in the virtual world they can, and this is an additional incentive to play.” Natalia Bogacheva agrees with this: “Studies show that spatial abilities, such as orientation on a map or mental rotation of three-dimensional objects, are more developed in men than in women. But the game bridges or bridges that gap.”
Players who have become businessmen are more willing to hire their “colleagues” from gaming teams
Finally, we all need to take a break from reality sometimes. “This need is the stronger, the greater the load on the psyche in everyday life,” points out Natalia Bogacheva. “Young people live in conditions of high uncertainty (when it is impossible to predict the course of events or the consequences of their decisions) and a huge information load, and the world of Pokemon is simple and clear, it has clear criteria for success and ways to achieve it, so immersion in it can be a way of mental unloading.” .
Not only advantages
It turns out that we have an urgent need for a game, and it is in such as Pokemon Go. What good and bad things do psychologists see in the Pokemon invasion?
With the pluses, everything seems to be clear. The game responds to our desire to choose, to be competent and to communicate. Moreover, Pokemon Go is good for our body, many nutritionists recommend this game as an effective method of burning calories. And what are the cons?
Risk of injury (which, let’s be objective, there is, even if you cross the road without chasing Pokémon). Addiction Risk (which can also be formed in relation to any games, and not only to them). “If the game becomes an outlet for someone, which allows you to restore mental well-being and gain strength for life, then this even has a therapeutic effect,” says Evgeny Osin. “But when this is the only way to satisfy needs, which pushes out all other areas of life, then this, of course, is bad. Then the collision with reality increasingly causes frustration and depression. It’s already addictive.»
However, as Natalia Bogacheva notes, computer game addiction occurs only in 5-7% of players and even according to the most pessimistic estimates does not exceed 10%, and is most often observed in those who are initially prone to addictive behavior.
Computer gaming addiction occurs only in 5–7% of players, and most often in those who are initially prone to addictive behavior
Secret weapon of manipulators?
But there is one specific risk that is associated exclusively with Pokemon Go. This game controls the actions of people in the real world. And where is the guarantee that it cannot be used by manipulators, say, to organize riots?
However, Natalia Bogacheva considers this risk not too serious. “Pokemon Go is no more dangerous than a dozen other programs that are available in every smartphone,” she is sure. — The game does not allow using only in-game means to send a lot of people to one specific place without notifying them in advance in some other way. Neither spreading baits nor rare Pokemon will help — they simply cannot be seen from afar, because the radius of view provided in the game is about a kilometer from the point where the player is located. At the same time, the area where you can catch Pokemon and activate game objects is large enough so that (at least in the center of Moscow, where I managed to «hunt» a little) you do not endanger yourself. In its current form, the game does not provoke risks, but, on the contrary, warns about them.”
border area
A few years ago the world went crazy over Angry Birds.. And then they almost forgot about it. Most likely, the same fate awaits the Pokémon. But there is still one important difference. Pokemon Go is a step towards combining physical and virtual reality. What will be the next, no one can predict today, but they will definitely be. There are already virtual helmets that allow us to be in the middle of an empty room in full confidence that we are on the seashore or in the depths of the forest. And the day when such devices will become mass is not far off. As well as the reluctance to take them off to return to an empty room. And, probably, it is time for psychologists to think about this today.
1 M. Csikszentmihalyi “Flow. Psychology of optimal experience” (Alpina non-fiction, 2016).
2 J. Beck, M. Wade How a generation of gamers is forever changing the business environment” (Pretext, 2008).