One game I really love is Pokemon Go. One set of game mechanics is the existence of scattered landmarks in the Pokemon world that offer rewards and challenges to Pokemon trainers and that map onto physical locations in the real world. These include gyms, where trainers can send their Pokemon into battle and fight for their team, and Pokestops, where trainers receive items to catch and support Pokemon. A dynamic that emerges from these mechanics being restricted to physical locations is that players have to get out into the world, often converging on the same locations and paths between them; further, because these in-game attractions are assigned to notable locations in the real world, trainers flock to historical or popular or beautiful areas of their local environment. By making real world landmarks virtually interactable, this dynamic stimulates discovery of one’s community; bringing players together physically and, at times in the case of gyms, requiring them to work together creates fellowship between players; lastly, the association of familiar tangible pieces of the players’ world with Pokemon artifacts and behaviors immerses players in a world of fantasy.
