A new Pokémon project has started on Twitter, giving players the chance to play Pokémon Red directly on the social media site through the creator's profile picture. The strange experiment is reminiscent of the Twitch Plays Pokémon phenomenon that caught the attention of millions of Twitch viewers in 2014. Those watching were able to influence the in-game actions of the protagonist by commenting in real-time in the online chat.
This project is just the latest in a strange series of Pokémon-inspired events that have taken place on Twitter in recent years. The sheer popularity of the series and the simple, approachable gameplay from the mainline entries has made it a popular choice for experiments such as this. At the end of 2020, one YouTube streamer was able to complete Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire using commands triggered by his pet fish swimming in its tank. The fish was able to complete the game after more than 3,000 hours and even discovered a previously unknown glitch.
It is now possible to play Pokémon Red online completely on Twitter. Programmer and social media user Constantin Liétard has set up a special version of the game that works in a similar way to Twitch Plays Pokémon. IGN noted that players can interact with the title by commenting on the post below with either Up, Down, Left, Right, A, B, Start, or Select. A bot will then scan the comments every 15 seconds and implement the most popular decision. The action is then displayed in the creator's small profile picture. Progress has already been reset several times to allow Liétard to make some improvements and there have been almost 35,000 comments since the project started.
The fact that this Pokémon playthrough has already become popular should not be a major surprise. As the COVID-19 pandemic causes many people around the world to stay at home and avoid going out, game streaming and related projects like this have grown more popular than ever. Titles like Rust have seen a big jump in terms of players and viewers as gamers look for new ways to stay occupied.
Events such as this just prove how enduring the Pokémon franchise is. Not only are new games hugely successful, selling millions of copies, but older classic titles also remain some of the most-watched on streaming sites such as Twitch and YouTube. As long as that is the case, it is likely that wacky and weird experiments such as this one will continue to emerge online.
Source: Constantin Liétard, IGN