How does Pokemon Go game work and when it will be released in India?

Well, Pokemon Go has the same game play that we have always found on Pokemon games before. You need to catch the Pokemons, fight it out in the gyms, evolve your Pokemons and collect rewards. Only difference with the Pokemon Go is - you do it in the real real world!.

That means you will actually walk to find your Pokemons. Gone are the days when you used your fingers to guide your avatar on the small screen of your device to catch the Pokemon and do all those tasks, you will need to do it in actuality.

How to play it?

To begin with, you will need to sign up either with your Google account or sign up for Pokémon Trainer Club account. Once done, customise your avatar by by specifying your color, gender, hair color and what not. Now, you will enter the Pokemon Map - your playing area. The map is an animated version of the Google Maps. You will see the landmarks as Pokestops or Pokemon gyms. As you walk, your avatar walks with you. Pokemon will pop up on the screen with vibration as you walk - if there is one. You just need to tap on it to capture it.

The game has many safety hazards associated with it. The reason is simple - you will need to walk around in the real world filled with cars, bikes and what not with yiur eyes glued to the screen - anything can happen.

That is how the game works as explained in the simplest words. To know about all the features of the game, you may need to refer to a full resource on the topic as the complete explanation is beyond the scope of this response.

Official release in India

As for the official release of this game in India, there are no clear announcements made so far. The developers have been worried with server stability given the popularity of the game in Asia. India has been added to the list of servers a couple of days ago which may be an indication of an imminent release in India.

However, if you are much fond of Pokemon Go and want to play it without even the official release, you may download the APK file from the internet and get set to the adventure.

Pros and Cons

Well, it brings the video gaming to the streets. What I mean by that is video gaming can no longer be blamed to make you a couch potato. Moreover, the game is being seen as a good tool to get rid of depression. People have been quoted as saying that they have become comfortable of going out and socialising.

As with the cons, the most important is the safety factor I pointed out above. Staying glued to the screen while moving around is indeed a huge safety hazard. Children should not be allowed to play alone outside your home. Another one, though of less importance is the battery drain you would experience on your phone. As the game involves using your GPS and camera, it is bound to drain your battery too fast.

Here are answers to your questions related to Pokemon Go.

1. How Pokemon Go works?

Earlier Pokemon were flip screen overhead perspective type game on video game and PC. However Pokemon go is complete overhaul of the UI for the game. Here augmented reality is connected with location based system. This means your mobile's camera is being used for augmented reality and the internet is being used for the positioning of Pokemon. Rest of the concept for catching the Pokemon and evolving them for battle part remains the same. Apart from that you're being challenged by other gamers in this version. So you have to physically walk the distance to catch the Pokemon and also to battle with other gym leaders.

2. What are the technological aspects covered in game?

The game makes use of internet based location positioning for placement of Pokemon. And the camera is being used on phone to display the Pokemon on screen in virtual reality mode. This feature gives realistic feel to the game and keeps it interactive with real world environment. This feature doesn't require VR headset or any form of VR feature on the phone. It just replaces the camera feed with Pokemon imagery on specific locations.

3. How does it affect the current gaming scenario?

Current games were not making use of the location based positioning for play. Which is something Pokemon go used for bringing people outside their home or office for the game-play. You can't catch Pokemon from home. So this changes the current scenario of gaming being viewed as "couch potato" lifestyle. Another change that this game did is it made use of the smartphone camera for augmented reality. This type of technology can be useful for many games. For example game such as Fatal Frame if used in similar way, can prove to be the scariest game that one can play in the dark. And it may also end up having psychological and social consequences.

Not all games can make use of these two technologies but Pokemon Go demonstrated the upcoming change in the gaming industry.

4. What are the pros and cons of the Pokemon Go game?

Some of the pros of this game includes better game-play compared to earlier versions where the game was just point and click. Go version adds more interactivity and physical movement for the player in real life. This makes the game more of outdoor game than pure indoor computer game.

Cons for this game include issues such as pokemons being located in odd positions which may end up causing trouble for the gamer. Some unsafe areas if explored by gamer may end up causing issues in some cities. It has also shown to create issues on road as some gamers have walked in without noticing traffic around.

5. When it will be released in India?

Game currently is floating across some servers and places and can be downloaded and used in India. However official release with local support is yet to be released and no news has been reported on this.

I have been playing Pokemon Go from its initial release time and am presently on level 8. Coming back to your questions.

How does Pokemon Go works ?

Pokemon Go works just like Real Pokemon world. When you open the game, you will be given the option to select your name and then customize options to change your look and have your desired one and then sign in with Gmail account and then you can start your journey to Catch them all.

The main motto of the game is to "Catch Them All " , so you will be given 3 starter Pokemon to choose one of them. You can choose from Bulbasaur, Charmander or Squirtle. Then begin your journey by activating GPS and you will be presented with advanced and customized Google maps version where you can see some signs and items.

Pokestop - Usually a temple or a public place, where you can collect some free poke balls and other items.

Gyms- You will be given access only after Level 5

You can activate AR ( Augmented Reality ) also where the Pokemon will be appeared as it is in the real world. You need to walk to play in the game and catch them all.

What are the technological aspects covered in the game?

It is a much advanced and modified version of Ingress which is AR based game developed by the same company. Your physical position will be represented by a character and GPS tracks about the location and to move your character you need to physically move. AR will be accessed from your camera.

How does it affect the current gaming scenario?

I don't see any effect as of now because the game is released recently and also it's been in the news for negative effects. The games which belong to adventure genre can be affected but to pull the people out of the house is the challenging thing. Being the brand name of Pokemon this game does that but can't count on other games.

What are the pros and cons of the Pokemon Go game?

Some of the Pro's are that the real gaming experience to the users and also it will pull the gamers out of that bored PS and will make them explore their area. Also, you can connect with strangers by this medium, happened with me. I went alone to play the game and got another guy who is playing the same and then on we continue to play together.

Con's are the too much involvement in the game can cause some fatal accident and injuries if you aren't careful in the streets. Also, the location of the Pokemon and rarity will push the gamers hard to reach them where the location might not be safe.

When will it be released in India?

There is no official word from the team and they have been rolling the game from country to country. So it may take some time to get the official launch. If you want to experience the game right now, you can download apk's which are available online and install them and play.