How Pokemon GO Became a Global Sensation [GAME DESIGN]

Aug 8, 2016
4 min read

It’s no secret that Pokemon GO isn’t a great game. The gameplay is shallow and extremely repetitive, high-level players dominate the multiplayer scene, and several key features are missing. It barely resembles what fans were promised in the initial trailer. The game’s developer, Niantic Labs, has done a poor job engaging with the GO community and has left the game in a broken state without any helpful updates to improve it.

And yet Pokemon GO has been a huge success, with thousands of users playing on a daily basis. News outlets who would never cover major releases like Overwatch, No Man's Sky, or Dark Souls are featuring this semi-decent mobile game on a regular basis. For a time, GO boasted more daily mobile users than Twitter. It seems like everyone is playing (or at least talking) about it. What makes Pokemon GO so popular, and what can game designers learn from its widespread popularity?

1. The Pokemon Franchise

One factor that really helped Pokemon GO was that it had thousands of fans before it even released. Pokemon GO rests on the shoulders of the entire Pokemon franchise, a franchise packed with nostalgia and better games than Pokemon GO. Every game needs its early adopters, those who are willing to give the game a chance and play it before it becomes popular. Pokemon GO had these from the very beginning. Everyone who loved Pokemon games as a kid (or an adult) was excited to try Pokemon GO, especially when the trailer showed a game very similar to those in the core Pokemon series.

There's not a lot for aspiring designers to learn here, as only those working in established companies will have anything close to a franchise to work with. However, it's important to have memorable, well designed, and well developed characters in whatever game you're working on (unless your game doesn't have characters, which is a different matter entirely). As you create these characters, your audience will remember them and might be more willing to play another game featuring those (now beloved) characters.

2. Accessibility

The one positive aspect of Pokemon GO's gameplay is its simplicity. While most gamers may remember and replay more complicated, deeper games, mobile audiences are especially drawn to simple, easy to learn games. Flappy Bird is a prime example. There's only one objective and one button to press, and this minimalist design is what made it the top free iOS app when it was released. Five Nights at Freddy's featured a simple point-and-click design and enjoyed even greater success and infamy.

Although simple games may not be cherished and remembered like their more complicated counterparts, they tend to enjoy massive initial success. They don't require a huge time investment by players, yet are addicting if executed well. A game doesn't have to be full of features, in fact, having less may attract a greater audience.

Pokemon GO's low cost of $0 also increases its accessibility and creates no risk for the consumer. And since many people have a smartphone, there's no need to buy extra hardware. GO's simplistic design (compared to other Pokemon games like Sun & Moon) and low entry cost is probably a huge reason why so many new players tried the game and became new Pokemon fans.

3. Social Interaction

However, Pokemon GO differs itself from other free mobile games like Angry Birds because it forces players to go out from their homes and into the world. You can't sit down in your living room and play. It must be played on the go, in public places where you're bound to meet another Pokemon GO player. The social experience is where Pokemon GO really shines, and the community must stay large and strong for this game to continue to be fun. When you see another Pokemon GO player, you instantly have a connection and something to talk about. It's a a good excuse to talk to a stranger (if that's something you like to do) and an activity to do with friends. Pokemon GO’s team feature helps facilitate this. In the game, players join one of three teams and can conquer various gym locations for their team. This spirit of competition and yet a unified community drives player interaction and keeps players engaged. It connects friends and strangers alike.

Team Leaders

The whole augmented reality, location-based system really works well with the theme of Pokemon GO, but shouldn't be included in every game. However, every game can benefit from a healthy, friendly community of players, and features like the teams in GO can expedite and nurture the community-building process.

We'll see if Pokemon GO will stand the test of time, as this type of game design tends to result in popular, yet short-lived games. It's certainly been a huge success for augmented reality games, and for mobile spinoff games. After years of neglecting the mobile market, Nintendo and Niantic have proven that an established franchise can adapt and utilize the strengths of the mobile platform. It will definitely be remembered as the game (and greatest social experiment) of 2016.

Go Team Mystic,

Daniel H.