The words “alternate reality game” were the last thing some hardcore Pokémon fans wanted to hear last night. I understand why. It’s a spin-off. It’s on mobile. You can’t play from the comfort of your own home. And yet! Pokémon Go could be the shot in the arm that the monster-collecting series needs.
There are plenty of games out there that posit alternate realities. Upcoming MMO The Secret World bases its whole plot around the idea, while piles of other games have at some point integrated themselves into the real world, often for marketing purposes.
Jane McGonigal believes in gamers, because they're trained to believe they can win. She's built an alternate-reality game to tap that confidence and channel it into good works benefiting gamers' communities, with the larger goal of fostering empowerment in Africa.
There's much more to do in PlayStation Home than the Running Man today, as Sony launches the first console-based Alternate Reality Game, Xi.