A Pokémon GO player has discovered a glitch that allowed them to view the game map in first-person, which is believed to be due to a problem with the AR mode. Bugs and glitches in Pokémon GO are quite rare but can happen, though this might just be one of the trippiest.
Pokémon GO blurs the lines of reality and gaming by making characters seem to appear in the real world thanks to its AR functionality. When trainers aren't catching Pokémon, player characters are shown traversing a simple map that outlines the real-world location of the trainer, lacking immense detail but showing off local roads as well as nearby PokéStops. The newly-discovered glitch turns both the AR concept and the map on their heads, and it could be one of the most immersive map glitches ever seen in Pokémon GO.
Pokémon GO fan bigboicarrots- shared a clip of their first-person map glitch to Reddit, where the video received a lot of love from trainers due to the new level of immersion it brings to the game. As shown in the video, the bug placed the player directly into the map of Pokémon GO, giving them the chance to look around the world with their mobile device's gyroscope. While it's not clear just how the glitch happened, the player believes AR mode simply used the game map instead of the device's camera. The result is a cool and trippy look at the usually top-down map for an all-new immersive experience.
Watch the Pokémon GO AR map glitch on Reddit here.
Players quickly flocked to the Reddit post to share stories of similar bug encounters, with multiple players reporting a similar problem though not when in AR mode. Others praised the bug, asking developer Niantic to make it an intentional and permanent feature of the game to improve player immersion. At the time of writing, Niantic has yet to respond to the bug, though with the many updates Pokémon GO receives, it's likely to be patched out before too long.
Pokémon GO is one of the most successful free-to-play mobile games on the market, and Niantic is always working to improve the game for its many players. Thanks to its constant development, any new glitches introduced with game updates are usually patched out quickly, whether trainers want them gone or if they want them to become a permanent feature. A fix could already be on the way, as the map glitch isn't the only new bug players have found in Pokémon GO recently. Some trainers have discovered an issue with Staryu that changes the color of the Water-type Pokémon's gem, and with two problems to now solve, it could mean Niantic's fix is already in the works.
Source: bigboicarrots-/Reddit