By Curtis D. Tucker, Enid Buzz | Sunday, July 10, 2016 | UPDATED July 16, 2016
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Pokémon GO Event - July 15
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The creators of the Enid Pokémon GO Facebook Page are hosting "A Night Out Hunting Pokémon" on Friday, July 15 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. The Facebook event page already shows 127 participants planning on attending with another 153 interested.
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Creators of the Facebook Page will set up a booth at 7 pm during the competition! They will have a special giveaway that requires you to come meet them in person to get signed up for! That giveaway will be announced on the Facebook Page after they've set up their table during the event! They will be located on the courthouse lawn by the triple PokeStop spot! Get out and solve the mystery of who they are!
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Competition Rules: Team Valor, Team Mystic, and Team Instinct, assemble your best Pokémon! Gym's in downtown Enid (none spanning past Maple, Adams, Maine, and 3rd Streets) must be taken over! The chaos starts at 6 pm and ends at 10 pm. One person from each team will be chosen with the highest CP in downtown. 10 PM IS DEADLINE! No exceptions! These 3 winners (one from each team) will receive a t-shirt with Pokémon GO team logos, courtesy of Soccer World, AND an extra prize to be announced! PLEASE refer to the Facebook page to see who the winners are. Screenshots will be taken at 10 pm, promptly, of the winners. They will need to see your phone with your username in order to receive your t-shirt and extra prize. Only one gym per team will be chosen (the player with highest CP, according to their team, from all gyms within range, respectively, at 10 pm)
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My First Experience With Pokémon GO
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ENID, Okla. - My experience with video games goes all the way back to the early eighties when Asteroids and Galaga were the games to conquer. Atari game systems were popular for homes but the graphics and functionality weren't anywhere near the quality of arcade games.
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I spent hours on Asteroids until I could literally play for hours on a single quarter at our local Putt-Putt arcade. I even entered a local Asteroids tournament and achieved the high score. It wasn't long before I noticed the addiction video games can have on people, including me. I literally gave up video games all together at that point in my life and have not played since.
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Fast forward 35 years and I still avoid the addiction, I don't even download game apps to my phone or play Facebook games. The reason I am telling you this is to let you know that I know nothing about Pokémon. I am writing this article before doing any investigation so the only thing I am aware of is that Pokémon is a yellow character that came from a Japanese video game. And I could be completely wrong about that.
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In just two days I have seen a phenomenon that is taking social media by storm. Pokémon GO is everywhere I look, especially on Facebook right now. People can't seem to stop playing it and it is starting to make headline news. I've decided to see what all of the "Buzz" is about and am about to enter the gaming world again for the first time since I was in high school.
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The first step is to download the app. I'm on an iPhone so I quickly found the app in the app store and noticed it had over 34,000 reviews. I opened the app and there was a slight delay. Out of nowhere music began playing and the game asked me for my date of birth. It then asked me to sign up with Google and also had a Pokémon Trainer Club button. I went straight for the Google signup. You'll need to sign in with a Google account. After searching for my password and entering it I was in!
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The first thing I encountered was a popup that told me to be alert at all times and to stay aware of my surroundings. I pushed OK. You'll then get to read the Terms of Service which is in tiny print and wordy. I skipped the reading part and selected Accept. As the window was disappearing I noticed a checked box which I think was me agreeing to receive special promotions. You might want to uncheck that at the start.
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I was then introduced to Professor Willow. He explains to me that Pokémon can be found in every corner of the earth. I am then asked to help him with is research. I am told that I will need to find and collect Pokémon from everywhere. I then get to choose my style for my adventure. I picked a male character and was able to pick some of the characters physical attributes and the colors of his clothing.
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The game then connected with my camera and I was immediately told there was a someone nearby and I was given some Poké Balls. I was then able to see characters near me and looking at my phone I was able to walk in their direction. I turned the camera on and was looking at a real scene in my garage and on top of my freezer was a Squirtle. After throwing three Poké Balls at it I captured it. A screen then appeared and told me my score and some other things which at this point I do not understand.
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You then get to pick your nickname. Each name is unique so if the one you like has been taken, you'll need to create another one. The game then tells you you'll need more tools and they will be found at interesting places like sculptures and monuments. It then sends me on my way telling me to move in the real world and it will move my avatar. Off I go!
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Wow! Before I even know it I'm in my driveway staring at a hedge with a Rattata in it. Looking through the camera on the phone it actually looks like a cartoon character is in my hedge! I can immediately see why people are staring at their phones while running into things. I captured the second character and rose to Level 2! At this point I'm a little afraid to walk outside.
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As you begin to walk around you'll notice that the game knows where you are! The exact streets in your neighborhood begin to appear and you can walk down them. I just returned from a trip around my neighborhood and only ran into one other Rattata. The game is a mix of a scavenger hunt along with Geo Caching but without the actual items. Everything is virtual other than the real locations.
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I can see this game being tons of fun for families and getting people outside to explore. Be aware of the data it will eat especially for those without unlimited data. I'm guessing the game puts important things to capture in public areas which draws crowds to those locations. Enid, Oklahoma was filled with people on the courthouse lawn Saturday night capturing all kinds of characters.
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This is a fun game and I recommend you give it a try. Please do not drive and try to play the game, also be careful when out walking to not trip over things. I have a feeling I'll be updating this page as I learn more. Have fun and we'll let you know of any meetups or Pokémon groups in the area.
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Read our list of Pokémon GO safety tips.
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