Now that the craze is a little more lax, perhaps it's time to see whether/how it benefitted zoos. Just from their popularity, zoos seem to have a high density of points of interest for Pokemon Go players. A number of zoos have had pokemon-themed events, like out-of-hours sessions with a higher density of Pokemon on site than usual (which sell out quickly), and I've seen maps for certain zoos which have been specifically developed for Pokemon Go players, such as Singapore's WRS parks and San Diego. Have any zoos gone beyond this in their attempts to take advantage of this craze?
I've seen a number of zoos advertise how many Pokestops and gyms they have. Some zoos also advertise that they set up lure modules (which attract Pokemon to a Pokestop) at certain times. But I personally haven't seen much beyond that. A number of zoos and museums took the opportunity to talk about real life animals that inspired Pokemon. I thought that was really cool, a lot of Pokemon are based off of obscure animals and I think a lot of people are surprised to find that so many Pokemon designs have a bit more basis in reality than they expected.
Pokemon game begs to be turned into something useful for the wide world. Would it not be good to make a game with 'catching' real animal and plant species on a photo? For example, who photographs most native plants or insects? Or who photographs most species of zoo animals? Besides, there should be some lessons for children and adults how to resist the addictive or compulsory effect of such games. Much like how to avoid marketers, advertisements or smoking tobacco.
With how successful the game got, I'm certain that there are going to be lots of imitators. I won't be surprised to see some educational ones. Though if it's done as you said, they'd have to come up with some way to make it a game. Pokemon Go doesn't have much in terms of gameplay, but you do collect Pokemon, level them up, and take over gyms. Trading is supposed to be implemented at some point. I was actually thinking about this when I was at the zoo yesterday and was messing with Pokemon Go, it would be really awesome if someone could come up with an app or a game that encourages people to explore a zoo the way PG encourages exploration. Maybe you go to a zoo and you get points by visiting certain exhibits, a map would direct you which way to go. But, again, there needs to be more in terms of gameplay. Maybe you unlock items and animals to create your own zoo or something? And the locations wouldn't have to be limited to zoos, maybe education centers and museums and parks could offer opportunities to unlock new animals. I dunno. Personally I'd go for a prehistoric life game. You choose a time period, and with the phone camera, you see prehistoric animals that lived in your location during the time period you selected.
I think the concern is more about people spending a lot of money on these kinds of games. (not exclusive to Pokemon Go) You may have seen articles or news reports where some kid manages to rack up a ridiculous bill paying for items in a free(mium) game without his/her parents knowing until they see their bank statement, or even adults spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Kids racking up huge bills is just a parenting mistake. Given that not everyone is very tech-literate it might be a reasonable mistake, but still. I think that people spending thousands of pounds on gaming is not a problem, IF they can afford it. I'm sure many if not most adult members of this site spend many hundreds a year on zoo visits, and many will spend much more than that with foreign trips. Hobbies are often expensive. With regards to how Pokemon Go has affected zoos, those that have seized the opportunity will have undoubtedly benefitted. Increased ticket sales will generate income and getting people through the gate who don't usually visit will have created some new regular visitors I hope.
I would think, that if you collect 10 pics of leaves of different trees, you can summon an Ent. If you collect photos of 10 insects, you can summon a Swarm. If you collect 10 songs of birds, you summon a Thunderbird. Then you play: the ent beats the thunderbird, the swarm beats the ent, but the thunderbird eats the swarm. Then you can take over gems. If you photo extra plants/animals, you can boost the life force of your character. And if you photo 30 types of plants, you can summon a Giant Sandworm, which is the only one which can dig more out gems. Or maybe they are Fern Fairy, butterfly-winged fairy, angel and a kobold. I am not good in inventing games. It would make people notice wildlife, and understand which places have more biodiversity. Such a game I would like my child to play, not just bumping on parked cars. It is also about losing effort and time, not just tangible thing like money. When somebody regularly notices that he wanted to do something better, but started playing a game and the time just flew by, then there is a problem. Everybody likes to play, the concern is losing the control on how much time one plays.
Ah, but it's not just about catching a Pokemon. To catch Pokemon, you need Pokeballs. To get Pokeballs, you have to go to Pokestops. Pokestops are placed at things like landmarks, statues, and monuments. Zoos have plenty of Pokestops, one of the reasons they're great places to play the game. There are other reasons too, like, Pokemon spawn rate is based off of cell phone activity. The more people are in an area, the more Pokemon appear. The game also requires walking, and if you're gonna walk around a lot, you might as well do it at a fun place where there are things to do.
Pokémon Go made it into Conservation Letters! Pokémon Go: Benefits, Costs, and Lessons for the Conservation Movement - Dorward - 2016 - Conservation Letters - Wiley Online Library
