‘Pokemon Go’ craze finally gets to Nairobians
A mobile phone app game, Pokemon Go, has excited a section of gamers in Nairobi who have downloaded it.
Though only available in five countries; United States of America, New Zealand, Australia, Germany and Britain, Kenyan gamers who’ve managed to download it on APK Mirror have discovered several gyms.
According to an explanation on Asia One website, Pokemon Go is a mobile phone game that lets you catch over “150 Pokemon, colorful and cute cartoon monsters that are found everywhere around you, from your breakfast nook to the local chemist to abandoned bridge underpasses”.
When you stumble upon one of these critters, they appear in your phone’s camera app, as though they were really sitting atop your office desk.
AUGMENTED REALITY
It’s a technique called augmented reality (AR), which overlays the visual elements of a virtual world over the real world.
To catch them all, players must physically venture far and wide, making walking treks and riding buses and driving across town with the dream of becoming a Pokemon master.
According to Kenyan users who were seeking tips from colleagues on reddit.com, some of the Pokestops in Kenya include; The Junction Mall on Ngong Road, World Conference Churches along Waiyaki Way, Lavington Mall and Karen Blixen Museum.
Another aspect of the game includes gyms where captured Pokemon’s seek control.
Some of the gyms in the game locally include Nation Center, Kenya National Archives, Kempinski, Prestige Plaza and the Junction mall.
According to a guide on Yahoo, once a user downloads the app, they need to go to a Pokestop and tap on the Pokestop icon to reveal photos of the real-world location they are standing in front of.
The user is then expected to spin image to obtain supplies such as balls for capturing monsters then progress to the next level by visiting Pokestops and capturing Pokemon.
SMARTPHONE MAP
To capture the Pokemons, a user looks at the smartphone map for what appear to be bursts of leaves or grass.
You then move closer and when a Pokemon image appears on the screen you tap it then switch to camera mode and scan surroundings through smartphone camera to see Pokemon.
Next, the user holds their finger on Pokeball at bottom of smartphone screen and swipes finger to toss Pokeball at Pokemon where if you hit the target, you have captured Pokemon. The captured Pokemon can be trained on the game until a user reaches the next level that involves entering a gym.
If the gym is dominated by a rival team, the user challenges the ruling Pokemon and on defeating them takes charge.
The game allows users to capture as many Pokemons as they find in different Pokestops spread across different cities.
The Pokeman craze has made users to travel more in search of spots where they can capture Pokemons or even rule a gym.
