Niantic’s Pokémon Go is adding reality blending to the mobile “gotta catch ‘em all” phenomenon. This development comes soon after the announcement that the game’s servers will go offline for seven hours on June 1, 2020. This future maintenance couples with fans’ frustration predicated by a broken Shiny drop rate to create an environment that definitely could use a new feature or two.
Aside from bugs and maintenance, the game continues to implement more legendary Pokémon and other content. These additions combine with Community Day events that focus on select Pokémon and keep fans invested. What started as a novel idea themed by a popular anime, card collection hobby, and a video game franchise has evolved into a massive undertaking worldwide.
According to The Verge, Pokémon Go is adding reality blending- a new feature enhancing augmented reality - with the goal to make Pokémon appear more realistic. Niantic bases reality blending on occlusion, a feature that allows smartphones to blueprint an environment and contextualize real-world objects. Pokémon Go’s reality blending will first appear on Samsung Galaxy S9 and S10, and Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 4. It is presumed that more mobile devices will be added to the list later. Niantic first teased occlusion roughly two years ago in demo showcasing a true-to-life sized Pikachu. No specific release date for the new feature has been announced.
Moreover, Pokemon Go will soon be able to contribute to the company’s crowdsourced 3D mapping project. The feature will be called “PokéStop Scanning” and players will be able to “contribute to building 3D maps of their favorite PokéStops and Gyms by walking around their favorite public places and recording a stream of images with their phone.” This feature will automatically blur people’s faces or other recognizable objects, such as license plates.
The mobile Pokémon experience has captivated participants around the world, allowing them to get as close as possible to living out their dreams of being a Pokémon collector and trainer. Adding reality blending to the mix only enhances the authenticity and immersion players experience. As with all new features in any game, bugs are inevitable, and gamers will likely take it upon themselves to complain about such an inevitability when it occurs. Regardless, the feature is an interesting one and will likely enhance the game’s popularity as the kinks are worked out.
Pokémon Go is available now on Android and iOS.
Source: The Verge