It was drizzly Monday night, yet two dozen gamers went to Beacon Hill Park to capture creatures and score points with their mobile devices.
Dozens more roamed the Bay Centre, the Ogden Point breakwater, the Gorge Waterway and other hotspots around the city over the weekend.
> Win tickets to Sunfest music festival by dropping by the Times Colonist PokéStop!
Since the video game app Pokémon Go was released last week, it has lured millions of gamers into parks and streets around the world, including Victoria.
“This is major PokéStop,” said Samuel Simons, a biology student at the University of Victoria, while playing at Beacon Hill Park’s sundial garden.
Pokémon Go is based on Nintendo games, cards and a television series from the 1990s.
“There’s a lot of nostalgia for a whole generation of 20- and 30-somethings who loved this as kids,” said Simons, wearing a yellow Pikachu cap.
He held out his smartphone, attached to a battery pack in his pocket, to show how Pokémon characters appear real-life through the camera lens and display screen.
“Hold on a sec. I’m just gonna catch this magikarp,” Simons said. With a swipe on the screen, he caught a cartoon fish hovering over a bush. A few minutes later, he chased the crowd to find a cluster of egg critters and burst into a sing-a-long of the theme song.
The game uses Google Maps and information from the lesser-known augmented-reality game Ingress. Many Pokémon Go players in Victoria also play Ingress.
“There are a few hundred players here at least,” said Chris Eubank, a server administrator who came to play with his three kids, ages nine to 13. He started the VanIsl Pokémon Go Syndicate Facebook page, which posts news and how-tos about the game, including how to access it in Canada before it is officially released.
Hotspots in Pokémon Go were drawn from interesting places submitted by Ingress players, including landmarks, businesses and public art. Some, such as Ross Bay Cemetery and schoolgrounds, are a bit controversial, and private property is not allowed.
“This is the greatest fitness app I’ve found,” said Kate Stark, a gamer who wears a FitBit electronic step tracker. “I usually log eight to nine kilometres in a day, but I’ve walked about 20 each day [since playing Pokémon Go].”
Joseph Williams, a freelance illustrator who plays Pokémon Go with daughter Saffron, 6, and son Escher, 16, said it’s important to teach children restraint in gaming.
“The problem is there’s no pause button, so you have to limit yourself,” said Williams, a longtime Ingress player. “There are also real-life dangers. So don’t do things you wouldn’t do in real life, like play in the road or go somewhere late at night by yourself.”
Williams said he’s most excited about the future of major franchises being made into similar interactive games.
“I’d really like to see a Harry Potter version and be wandering around with a Marauder’s map,” he said.
Contest!
The Times Colonist building at 2621 Douglas St. is a hotly contested PokéStop, and could help you to win tickets to the Sunfest music festival. Send a screenshot of your Times Colonist capture, with your name and phone number, to [email protected]. Not a Pokémon Go player? No problem — just drop in to fill out a paper ballot. Contest ends at 5 p.m. Friday.
