Hunting in the city
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on July 14, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Zach Zacharzek, 17, and Keaton Winkler, 17, play Pokémon Go in the parking lot of The Goldsboro News-Argus Tuesday night after a player had dropped a lure that draws in Pokémon. The Current Events Pig at the front door is a Pokéstop where players can collect extra Pokéballs and items.
If you've been to downtown Goldsboro lately and witnessed throngs of people frantically traversing the sidewalks with their friends while looking down at their smartphones, don't be alarmed.
No, they aren't posting status updates to Facebook.
No, they aren't tweeting their thoughts out in 140 characters or less.
And, no, they aren't even posting a photo to Instagram.
They're playing Pokémon Go -- a new augmented reality game for smart phones that takes one of the 1990's most successful video games, removes it from the screen and plants it firmly in the real world.
Since the game's release on July 6, it has seen a wild amount of success, both locally and across the nation -- it has only been released in the United States, Australia and New Zealand so far.
"I downloaded it right as it came out," said 26-year-old Jesse Wheeler, who was playing the game downtown Tuesday night with several friends. "We've been huge Pokémon fans since we were 10. We've been waiting for something like this forever. I played it growing up, and have continued playing it right up until now."
Pokémon itself is a Nintendo franchise that launched in the 1990s, meaning it is prime time for Pokémon Go to induce lots of nostalgic feelings for people that grew up in the 1990s.
In the Pokémon world, "trainers" -- characters in the hand held video games, and now whoever uses the app -- travel around to catch creatures called Pokémon. Pokémon once captured with an in-game device called a Pokéball, can be used to fight other players' Pokémon.
Pokémon Go is the first Pokémon game to be developed for smart phones and not for a hand held Nintendo device.
It is also the first Pokémon game to virtually blend video game elements into the real world -- when you catch a Pokémon, you must physically point your phone camera toward it and throw a Pokéball at the creature, which is digitally superimposed onto whatever your camera is focused on.
To catch Pokémon on the app, the person using it must physically walk or drive or bike to the location of Pokémon, Pokéstops or Pokégyms. Pokéstops are landmarks around the city where players can travel, check in and receive various supplies to fuel their quest to catch Pokémon. Pokégyms are where players can travel to do battle with other players using the Pokémon they have caught, and only one team can control the gym at a time.
Downtown Goldsboro has more than a dozen Pokéstops, which is why it has become a hotspot for people using the app -- Historic Goldsboro City Hall is a Pokégym.
Ms. Wheeler said she noticed the game was bringing people together who might never have otherwise met.
"It's a great generational gap, because it's bringing people together that would never talk to each other otherwise," Ms. Wheeler said.
When players begin the game, they must pick a Pokémon to start with, and they must also pick a team -- Mystic, Instinct or Valor. Mystic has blue as its color, Instinct is yellow and Valor is red.
And the teams are not something players take lightly.
Teams have become such an identifying factor for players of the game that Darwin Screen Printing and Embroidery, located at 129 E. Walnut St. in downtown Goldsboro, is making shirts for the three different teams.
"We've got the three options for team T-shirts -- Mystic, Instinct and Valor," said employee Allison Taylor. "They're black T-shirts with the color, design and name of the team players choose when they start playing Pokémon Go," Ms. Taylor said.
Ms. Taylor said the T-shirts are $10 a piece -- cash only -- and an initial order of 20 shirts has been placed, though the initial order is already reserved for specific people.
But, that won't stop the shop from making more.
"We screen print everything in house here, so if there is enough demand then we will definitely make more," Ms. Taylor said. "We could have 20 Mystic, 20 Valor and 20 Instinct -- downtown is definitely a hotspot for it, so if there's a big enough demand we might even display them in the store windows."
There's a hidden benefit to the game, also -- it is forcing people to exercise.
"If there is one thing this thing is doing, it's that I'm getting more exercise than I ever have by having to travel to all the locations of the Pokéstops and Pokémon," said 27-year-old Andrew Hyczko said.
Twenty-five-year-old Dane Magee said the game is bringing people downtown that might not have ventured to the area otherwise.
"It's great for downtown because it's getting people down here, Magee said. "It's a great spot and I'm glad we have a community that plays the game downtown."
Ms. Wheeler said it is the first video game that is forcing people to get out from behind their screens and get to know each other -- literally.
"A sense of community -- that's what it's building," Ms. Wheeler said. "I never thought a video game could do that. They usually separate people and make you stay at home, but now it's like, 'Get out and meet your fellow gamers.'"
And people are certainly getting out -- in more places than downtown Goldsboro, too.
The "Current Events Pig" sculpture in front of the Goldsboro News-Argus is a Pokéstop in the game, and people can drop items at Pokéstops to attract Pokémon to come to them -- but it attracts other players, also.
One such item is called a "lure module," and 19-year-old Collin Allison dropped one at the News-Argus Tuesday night. Almost immediately, cars began flocking to the area.
"Lure modules lure Pokémon to you for about 30 minutes," Allison said. "This game makes me feel like I'm an actual Pokémon trainer running around and chasing Pokemon."
Seventeen-year-old Lee Solomon, who was playing Pokémon in the News-Argus parking lot Tuesday night with Allison, said Wayne Community College is another hotspot in the city to catch Pokémon.
"There are so many people playing this game," Solomon said. "I actually am getting to know Goldsboro better because the game is helping me explore it. It's interactive and gets me to get out and do stuff."