Myst Pillars, Pokémon Pillars

Since I have disclosed a long time ago that I'm a Myst fan (secondarily) in addition to being a Pokémon fan, I have (mostly) no qualms about discussing any musings I may have about Pokémon that are inspired by the former franchise. Recently, through the community convention for the franchise (Mysterium), a few design principles for games in that franchise have been revealed, which can be described as their "pillars". I consider Pokémon to already have its own pillars - four of them - but there's no harm in trying to put those pillars from that franchise into a Pokémon perspective. Here they are:

Story. The focus of most Pokémon games is on the action, whether it's about battling or catching, or something that's a "proxy" to that. Therefore, "story" is mostly a background aspect. In fact, it may be hardly noticeable; for example, although Pokémon Go currently has a "story arc" of Professor Willow's disappearance into Ultra Space, many Trainers apparently have not picked up on that or are in disbelief that it does exist, indicating either their inattentiveness or ignorance. Still, if one does take the time to comprehend the progression of some of the games, it won't be hard to see that "story" does exist.

Environment. Likewise with "story", "environment" may be thought of as a background aspect in Pokémon games, being that it's mostly a complement to how and where the action takes place. In most games this would be a crafted area, though Pokémon Go puts in an abstraction of the real world instead, as it's meant to be set in that very place. Yet it can't be denied that some design effort has gotten into those background areas, whether it's entire geographical regions like Kanto or even just the café in Café Remix. It's not something for "oohs and aahs" like the other franchise, but just enough to make the games what they are.

Friction. In the Myst series, "friction" is described as something that moves the story and thereby game progression along; it may even put it into a specific "pace". In those games, puzzles often accomplish this purpose. Pokémon games have very few "friction" puzzles - although some do exist in the main series games - yet "friction" may also be considered to be accomplished in different ways. Characters who block off certain paths, necessary "battles" in different ways, and even checkpoints requiring certain completed objectives to progress may be thought as the ways that "friction" is manifested in various Pokémon games.

Clearly, the Myst series is oriented in much different ways than the Pokémon franchise, so it would make sense that the former has its own set of "pillars" to adhere to, while the latter is similar in that regard. At the same time, the former's pillars also represent some elements of conventional game design, and the latter can (and should and does) still adhere to these elements to a certain extent while keeping its primary pillars at the forefront. Being a fan of both, it becomes natural for me to identify their elements and then attempt to understand them even in a side-by-side manner for my and others' enjoyment.

One year ago: Thoughts of Cards, Again

Two years ago: The Age of Post-EX Raids?

Three years ago: Capital Convergence

Four years ago: Getting Lucky with It

Five years ago: I Want to Splurge