Other Uses of Pokémon Go

Pokémon Go is a great game in and of itself. It takes elements from the Pokémon world and places them in a realistic setting. Even so, because it includes realistic elements, it may be considered to be useful in other ways. I've come up with several possible uses for Pokémon Go other than for playing the game itself based on its more realistic aspects. Some of these are simply theories, and some are partially or fully based on experience, but they all make use of the realistic aspects in some way.

Quick path finder. This one is based on a real experience. The other day, I met someone in my neighborhood who was looking for someone else, but couldn't exactly pinpoint where the other person was. Luckily, I had Go running, so with the overworld of the game open, I helped to direct the person to where the other person might be. I don't know if the person succeeded, but at least this illustrates the possible use of Go as a quick path finder. I discussed this with my raid group, and this seems to be a fairly common experience for many, so at the least this use seems to be validated.

(Historical) tour guide. In Go, many things around the world are preserved by way of the Photo Discs at the locations of PokéStops and Gyms, even things that no longer exist at the particular locations. With all these things present in the game, enterprising souls could conceive guides that string all of these based on particular themes, locations, and so on. I've offered a particular set based on Gyms, but the same is conceivable for PokéStops or a mixture of both. It would be fun to play the game as well as conduct structured visits to these locations.

Interactive pedometer. A few things in Go keep track of distance traveled, including incubated eggs and buddy Pokémon. Because of that, these could be used as pedometers with interactive capabilities, especially when the game is played properly by walking from place to place. Sure, the game only measures distance rather than steps and sometimes it may be inaccurate due to something called "GPS drift", but to some extent the data collected may still be usable. All the Pokémon things in the game are a nice plus for this purpose.

The fun in Pokémon Go seems to go beyond the Pokémon aspect. Given some considerations and a bit of effort, some fun and helpful uses may result from the realistic aspects integrated within the game. For fans of the world of Pokémon, this game has a lot of good things; for those who would like to maintain some sense of realism, these other uses look to be pretty good too.

One year ago: Incubators in Pokémon Go