Pokemon Go: the experience of augmented urban space

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37230/CyTET.2021.209.01

Keywords:

Pokémon, Video game, Virtual space, Spatial design, Urban space

Abstract

The first Pokémon video game was published in 1996. 20 years later Pokémon Go was released, and it was a huge success and a social phenomenon because -thanks to augmented reality- Pokémon Go modified the use of urban space in an unprecedented way so far. This work analyses how Pokémon could make the leap from a Japanese role-playing game to a mobile application with more than 11 million users daily, and how that change is based on the importance that Pokémon gives to space and the interaction with it. In turn, this spatiality is supported by three characteristics of the game: giving players the role of space explorer, dissolving the fine line between the virtual world and the material world and developing the game for mobile devices gradually more integrated into the reality of the player. This evolution of Pokémon, linked to space, exemplifies and anticipates a nascent virtual game-urban space relationship.

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Published

2021-06-03

How to Cite

Navarro-Redón, A. (2021). Pokemon Go: the experience of augmented urban space. Ciudad Y Territorio Estudios Territoriales, 53(209). https://doi.org/10.37230/CyTET.2021.209.01

Issue

Vol. 53 No. 209 (2021): CyTET otoño 2021

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2021 Aida Navarro Redón

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