Keywords

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

As an online game, Pokémon GO blends a mobile device with augmented reality (AR). Players can search for cartoon and animation characters in the real world through their smartphone screens. Since its launch in July 2016, this game has been downloaded more than 500 million times worldwide [1, 2]. Players depend on the Global Positioning System (GPS) to move around in real life, explore maps, capture Pokémon, and fight with other factions to battle for a Gym. Since being released in Taiwan, Pokémon GO has been highly popular. The majority of its players are young people born after 1980, who had watched the Pokémon cartoon when they were young children. But this online game has kept players of all ages attached to it. Players, whether children, middle-aged people, or even old people over 70, join the treasure hunt.

1.2 Research Purposes

Mobile games, or virtual games, have long been considered to be one of the exclusive pastimes for modern-day youngsters. With the popularity of smart phones, mobile games have become one of the pastimes for users of different ages. Although the impact of online games on parent-child relationships is growing constantly, only a few studies have evaluated issues about parent-child cooperative gaming (co-op). If the appeal of family cooperative games as well as the effect on parent-child interaction can be identified, the developers of such games will be greatly helped. Consequently, besides interviewing parents who were involved in the parent-child co-op of Pokémon GO, this study explored the impact of this online game on parent-child interaction. The findings will be helpful to future research into the influence of online games on parent-child interaction.

In the past, online games could only be run on a personal computer. With the rapid development of smartphones and the Internet, smartphones have become the main carrier of online games. Mobile games have been a battleground on the game market, so many young game designers and software engineers have engaged in game development. It is difficult for ordinary mobile online games to attract children and players of the other age groups at the same time. Unlike its counterparts, Pokémon GO leads people of all ages to participate in it. Therefore, this study first analyzed the game design of Pokémon GO to understand the factors that attract its players. Next, it was explored how the online game combined with augmented reality affects parent-child interaction concerning family cooperative gaming. The findings will be beneficial to the developers of online games. The purposes of this study are as follows: 1) to summarize the features of Pokémon GO’s game design, 2) to understand the relationship between Pokémon GO and parent-child cooperative gaming, and 3) to probe the impact of Pokémon GO on parent-child interaction.

2 Literature Review

2.1 Online Game

Online games have developed into one of the primary leisure activities done by modern people. There are many different motives for players’ being attracted to the games [3, 4]. The most important component of online games lies not in the games themselves but in players; specifically, online games and players are inseparable. After researching the motivation of online gamers, Rouse pointed out that in the process of game-playing, players usually regard it as the most interesting part to manifest their creativity and that this dynamic process is named interaction [5]. In other words, whenever players exert their imagination to the full and try new techniques or strategies, they will feel particularly fulfilled and moved. This is what makes video games unique and appealing. Yee classified the motivations of video gamers into three types: achievement, sociability, and immersion [6]. Achievement-type players put emphasis on completing game tasks, upgrading quickly, and accumulating game resources, all of which are in line with the avatar’s desire to demonstrate his/her power. Sociability-type players care about maintaining online relationships with others, for the avatar’s name can present many aspects of a player, such as his/her qualities and personality. Concerning immersion-type players, they become immersed in the story through the designated avatar. Therefore, the avatar’s design as well as the background or style of the avatar’s story will affect the player’s immersion. Games like Pokémon Go have huge potential, for virtual reality (VR) games exert a positive impact on players’ health. Players have an excuse for going out, not only increasing physical activity but also improving psychological quality and social skills [1].

2.2 Virtual Community

A virtual community refers to a group of people who communicate with and contact each other through electronic media, such as telephones, faxes, radios and computers [7]. That is, the virtual community means a kind of social gathering on the Internet. When there are enough users to perform long-term and full participation, communication and management, a body of social aggregation maintaining a social network is formed in the cyberspace [8]. In the past, people had to convey messages through face-to-face conversations, telephone calls, faxes, and letters. Today, interpersonal relationship is free from geographical obstacles, so people in different regions, cities, and countries can have a dialogue without being restricted by space. What’s more, people can use different virtual identities to perform various activities at the same time, transcending the limits of time and space.

The rise of virtual communities can be attributed to the booming development of the Internet. Due to the popularity of the Internet and its users’ habits, it has created the dynamics of a new social domain along with a space reflecting the nature of society [9]. With the swift progress of online communication, Internet users are increasing continuously who have changed the group behavior in society because of frequent interactions. People gather and communicate on this online platform, gradually forming a new social phenomenon, which has brought virtual communities into existence.

The popularity of smartphones, improvement in Internet speed, and continuous invention or innovation of applications (APP) have greatly influenced and changed the way people interact with each other. In the past, the telephone was invented to help people communicate with each other without the hindrance of distance. Later, the emergence of mobile phones made communication more immediate. Nowadays, such everyday activities as communication, shopping, consumption, entertainment, social activities, and documenting daily life depend on smartphones, which appeal to users of all ages. As the elderly are beginning to keep up with this trend, their lives, social circles, and ways of interaction have changed. Through online communities like Line and Facebook, old people are using smartphones. Mobile games have also evolved with this trend in diverse directions, combining community and interaction. The games enable players, their friends and relatives to experience the fun of teamwork simultaneously by completing game tasks.

2.3 About Pokémon GO

The release of Pokémon GO in 2016 started a growing wave of sensation all over the world. Pokémon GO is an online game that combines a mobile device with augmented reality (AR) [2]. While walking in the real-life world with the help of the Global Positioning System (GPS), players follow the virtual map, constantly exploring and capturing Pokémon. Also, in order to earn Pokécoins, players can battle with their counterparts to seize or defend a gym. A new way of gameplay in Pokémon GO was added in June 2017, under which players can participate in Raid Battles with others, attacking Legendary Pokémon. Only after defeating the Legendary Pokémon are players given the chance to catch rare Pokémon. Moreover, because of the above feature, many players who abandoned this game have resumed it. In March 2018, two new ways of gameplay were introduced, i.e., Special Research and Field Research.

Taking up Special Research, players must complete missions at different stages to get rewards. The later tasks are much more difficult than the earlier ones, challenging players’ stamina, skill, and luck. As long as players complete the tasks, they are qualified to capture Legendary Pokémon, such as Mew and Celebi, with their success ensured. Field Research means that players need to collect topics, or tasks, from a Poke Stop, and there will be a reward for the completed tasks. In July 2019, Team GO Rocket was launched to capture all Poke Stops in various places. Players are likely to catch Shadow Pokémon after overwhelming the Rockets’ Shadow Pokémon. After being purified, the captive Shadow Pokémon will be changed back to normal Pokémon. Pokémon GO has been one of the very successful interactive online games in recent years. The rapid growth of online APP games has resulted in the development of new physical activities, which produces a certain effect on schools, families and the entire society [10, 11].

3 Methodology

By means of interviews, this study aimed to understand the characteristics of Pokémon GO’s game design and the effect of cooperative gaming (co-op) on parent-child interaction. The interviewees were three parents/guardians involved in co-op of Pokémon GO together with their children. Before the interview, the purposes and procedures of this experiment were explained to the interviewees. Then, the interviewees’ information was confirmed; after that, the formal interview was started. Lastly, the collected interview records were organized for further analysis and discussion.

3.1 Interviewees

Targeting at parents/guardians who did much cooperative gaming of Pokémon GO with their children, this study interviewed three participants. The participants’ average age is 53 (from 41 to 65), and all of them reached the game level 36 or above, as shown in Table 1.

Table 1. The interviewees’ information

3.2 Selecting a Form of Interview

There are various forms of interview, including open-ended, structured, semi-structured, and focus group interviews [12]. The difference of the first three forms lies in the interviewer’s control and understanding of the questions before the interview. As for focus groups, the interviewer guides a group of participants to discuss specific topics. This study adopted the semi-structured interview, which combines the characteristics of structured and open-ended interviews, with open and closed questions included. In this way, interviewees will answer questions from easy to difficult ones, gradually entering the core of the topics.

3.3 Interview Procedures

This study first developed an interview outline which was followed to guide different interviewees to answer the same topics. As the interview was performed, the interviewer asked questions in accordance with the outline at first. Later, the interviewee was asked deeper questions, having enough time to think and talk, so that he/she could elaborate his/her answers and relevant ideas. The interviewee didn’t move on to the next topic until he/she could no longer reveal new information [13].

The interviewees were requested to answer related questions about the game design of Pokémon GO’s and its effect on parent-child interaction connected with cooperative gaming. The interview procedures are set forth below. First, the research purposes were explained to the interviewees. Next, the basic information of the interviewees was confirmed. After that, the formal interview started, with its details shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Interview procedures

4 Results and Discussion

This study was directed at two domains, namely, the game design of Pokémon GO and its effect on parent-child interaction connected with cooperative gaming. The interview results found that the game design of Pokémon GO incorporates the following features which lead its players to continue playing: 1) the user-friendly interface, 2) going outdoors, 3) association with places of interest, 4) combining games with exercise, 5) cooperative gaming with the community, and 6) highlighting festivals to attract players. As for its impact on parent-child interaction, Pokémon Go shows the features below: a) becoming a common topic for the family, b) the family members doing their cooperative gaming, c) training children to classify things and use logic, and d) fostering children’s independence.

4.1 Features Concerning Game Design of Pokémon GO

1) User-friendly interface

Immediately after being launched, Pokémon GO created a wave of craze, so a large number of players were often seen to capture Pokémon characters in many public places or at roadsides. Players in this game range from youngsters and middle-aged people to senior citizens, namely, peoples of all ages. Its simple gameplay and user-friendly interface are two factors that appeal to a wide variety of players. For example, when a player clicks on a Pokémon to be caught and slides his/her finger from bottom to top, which means throwing a virtual Pokémon Ball, he/she has the chance to capture Pokémon characters. In addition, Pokémon is a cartoon character that accompanied young people born around 1980 in their process of growing up, which makes them willing to download and try playing the newly-released game. The interviewee M2 stated that a news report led him to play Pokémon GO in the beginning. After downloading the game, he was captivated by augmented reality (AR) technology [14]. The interviewee M1 said, “Seniors and children join the game mainly because its interface is easy to operate. The former do not need to spend time memorizing the game functions, and the text has fewer explanatory words.” Therefore, Pokémon GO keeps older people obsessed with it. By contrast, because other mobile games are more complicated, players have encountered difficulties right from the start; in the meantime, players need a lot of learning and textual descriptions to understand the rules of those games. Faced with the unfriendly kinds of gameplay, many inexperienced players feel frustrated and give up playing due to confusion, let alone lead children and seniors to participate in the games.

2) Going outdoors

The main feature of Pokémon GO is that players who previously played video games at a fixed place or on a computer must go outside. It changes players’ past behavior, that is, to play online games at home. The gameplay design of Pokémon GO demands that players should move constantly in the real world so that they can move synchronously in the virtual world. The global positioning system (GPS) on mobile phones can accurately locate the locations in the real and virtual worlds. This mechanism forces players to go outdoors one after another, which is one of the factors that make many old players attached to this game.

3) Association with places of interest

In addition to going outdoors, Pokémon Go has another feature and important component, Poke Stop. Players must visit a nearby Poke Stop to collect items so that they may obtain Pokémon Balls to catch Pokémon. The landmark pictures of Poke Stops are numerous, including statues, parks, artistic works, shops, and paintings. What’s more, special items or patterns at roadsides can be chosen as Poke Stops. Players can randomly get Pokémon Balls or other items by turning a Poke Stop. Furthermore, the Poke Stop is designed to be updated every 5 min, so players will move on to the next Poke Stop instead of staying in the same place and waiting for an update. Since the game presents real-life scenes, players just click on the Poke Stop. As shown in Fig. 1, the picture in the circle is the actual presentation of the landmark. Before resupply, the Poke Stop is blue, and it turns purple after resupply. The interviewee M1 commented, “I have lost sight of many valuable things at roadsides. Only when I saw the pictures on the Poke Stops did I discover the things that I had long neglected.”

Fig. 1.
figure 1

Poke Stop, taken from a screenshot of the game

Additionally, Pokémon GO has still another feature, Safari Zone. From October 3 to 6, 2019, Taiwan hosted a Safari Zone event at the Metropolitan Park in New Taipei City, staring from 10:00 till 17:00. The interviewee M1 said, “The Metropolitan Park of New Taipei City, in the eyes of residents in other counties or cities, was practically unknown. Amazingly, it became a well-known scenic spot overnight after the mass media reported about it. According to my brother-in-law, the players in their hometown rented a tour bus and traveled northward to the event site, or the Metropolitan Park, in order to catch rare Pokémon”. As shown in Fig. 2, there were many Pokémon-related decorations and characters for tourists to take pictures of.

Pokémon GO cooperates with places of interest all over the world through the Safari Zone event and at the same time promotes tourism, making rare Pokémon found easily or exclusively in a designated site. Many players scramble to reach the site so that they may catch those rare Pokémon. After the disastrous earthquake in March, 2011, many villages in Northeastern Honshu, Japan were severely destroyed by tsunamis. In the past few years, in order to attract tourists as well as accelerate reconstruction and revival in the quake-stricken regions, the local governments have employed Pokémon GO to organize various activities. For instance, Lapras appeared in large numbers at Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture; as a result, many Pokémon fans swarmed into Ishinomaki to capture Lapras.

Fig. 2.
figure 2

A Safari Zone event at Metropolitan Park in New Taipei City, Taiwan

4) Combining game with exercise

Unlike other online games, Pokémon Go boasts one more feature, namely, helping to increase players’ amount of exercise. Through augmented reality (AR), this game gets players out of their homes, requiring those who usually stay at home or walk less to go outdoors. In consequence, people who have been accustomed to interacting on the Internet return to the real world, engaging in actual exercise. The interviewee F1 said, “Playing Pokémon can increase the amount of physical activity and help me to stay in shape.” For the game to go smoothly, the player is compelled to move constantly; meanwhile, there is a speed limit for egg-hatching, which is used to calculate mileage. Therefore, players who want to upgrade and capture Pokémon creatures must walk, run, or ride a bicycle in real life. However, if the mileage of travel exceeds 30 km, the figure will not be accepted by the program. The craze for Pokémon GO has led many people to go outdoors to do their treasure-hunting and egg-hatching. According to Howe’s findings, in the first week after downloading Pokémon Go, its players moved 955 more steps per day on average than those who did not play the game [1]. In the first six weeks, players’ amount of exercise indeed increased greatly; nevertheless, after six weeks, other more creative ways had to be found to help the players continue their habit of exercise.

5) Community co-op

Pokémon GO is a game that can be shared for pleasure with family members and friends [2]. It is mainly for the above reason that a lot of players continue playing it [14]. Since Pokémon creatures will appear anywhere randomly and disappear after a certain period of time, it is generally difficult to control the situation far away. Many players didn’t know each other before but often met each other when playing Pokémon GO nearby, so they ended up becoming friends and creating a community. When a special Pokémon appeared or a group battle (Raid) occurred, the message was immediately sent to the community; soon afterwards, lots of players came to the scene to capture Pokémon or fight a Raid. In the eyes of an unsuspecting person, a group of people suddenly appeared and gathered somewhere, and then, after a short time, they dispersed equally suddenly, as if they were flash mob.

6) Highlighting festivals

Downloading mobile games through the online APP has expanded from the regional market to the global market. It is much more convenient than before for players to choose and acquire the games. How to keep players fascinated and attached has been a major challenge for game developers. Online games are often combined with festivals and relevant celebrations to attract as many players as possible. In addition to the special festive atmosphere in the real-life environment, players can create game scenes in the virtual world with the same festive layout and decoration, and even dress the virtual characters in festive costumes. Pokémon GO is no exception, for there are special festive celebrations in addition to the regular community day every month. From October 18, 2019 to November 1, 2019, the Pokémon GO Halloween 2019 event was launched. The brand-new Shadow Pokémon, costumes (avatar items) and Shiny Pokémon appeared in the game. More Ghost- and Dark-type Pokémon appeared in the wild, Eggs, and Raids. To capture special Pokémon, which are only available during special festivals, many players showed up on such occasions.

4.2 Effect of Parent-Child Co-op on Interaction

1) Pokémon as a common topic

Pokémon has become a topic among the family members. Its game design mainly enables players to move around, find Pokémon characters randomly, and use the Pokémon Ball to conquer them for the purpose of collecting Pokémon as well as opening the book. The interviewee F1 said, “After collecting Pokémon, my granddaughter felt very happy and fulfilled. Also, she shared and discussed her experiences with her peers.” The interviewee M1 remarked, “After my child came back home, he directed all his talks at Pokémon. Right after returning home, he came up to me, asking what special character I had captured, where I caught it, what its combat power (CP) was, and whether its individual values (IV) were high.” Many seniors cannot remember Pokémon’s name, but children can. The interviewee F1 added, “My granddaughter explained to me the characteristics of a particular Pokémon, which is so powerful as to spray water. Then, I asked her whether it was the one I suspected. If not, I would request her to talk more about it. We talked and talked in vain for 30 min without getting bored.” Pokémon GO has become not only a topic among friends but also a bridge connecting parents with children.

2) Cooperation in Pokémon-hunting

In a modern society characterized by hustle and bustle, parents are usually busy with work while children need to digest heavy schoolwork. As a result, parents and children spend a meager amount of time getting together, with the opportunities for parent-child interaction decreasing. The interviewee M2 commented, “I started playing Pokémon GO just to keep up with the trend, thinking the news report seemed to be amusing. Immediately after the game was released, my children and I started to play it, using the same account. We did our cooperative gaming most of the time, discussed the progress of the game, and studied our strategies. In this way, we would walk together in the park near our home, catching Pokémon at the same time.” Some parents had not played online games themselves, but after starting to play Pokémon GO, they were willing to stroll outdoors, chat with their children, and improve the parent-child relationship. Some of their relatives and friends participated in the game together, and they took their children to a specific site to join the Community Day. Thus, opportunities for parent-child interaction increased.

3) Training children to classify and use logic

How to upgrade and rear highly powerful Pokémon in the shortest time is also one of Pokémon GO’s features. On Pokémon Event Day, the chance for special Pokémon to appear is very good; besides, different events are accompanied by different doubled rewards. For example, the candy, experience points, and Star Dust awarded to players are doubled to increase their willingness to capture Pokémon creatures. Pokémon GO Halloween in 2019 doubled the candy reward, and many players turned to Pinap Berry to have a better chance of getting candy. The interviewee M1 said, “When my child and I first started playing Pokémon GO together, he would use Berry for whatever he saw; that is to say, his timing was incorrect. After taking my advice, he knew when to save Berry and when to use it. On some occasions, as the item bag was full, he needed to consider which items to throw away and which ones to keep. Those matters needed to be explained to him clearly.”

In addition to capturing Pokémon outdoors, it is necessary to frequently tidy the limited Pokémon zone and item zone. The former zone is no longer capable of capturing Pokémon when it is full; likewise, the latter is no longer capable of holding added items when it is full. For example, as each Pikachu (Pokémon’s name) is randomly captured, its individual values (IV) and combat power (CP) are also randomly assigned. With such a big difference, it is necessary to spend some time considering which Pikachu should be kept or traded for candy. The interviewee M1 added, “I explained to my seven-year-old child how to identify those Pikachus’ IV and CP and then to rank them in order of the two values. Five Pikachus were kept at one time, with extra Pikachus traded for candy. In this way, the Pikachus with high IV and CP were reserved, so a lot of Pokémon space was freed.”

The interviewee M1 went on adding, “When a combat is fought in Pokémon GO, the case of conflicting types frequently occurs. My child used to fight inefficiently when playing against his opponent. After he had suffered a number of defeats in the one-to-one combat, I explained to him the importance of types. Now, my child can remember the type of each Pokémon and equip it with an appropriate attribute during the combat. I often ask my child which Pokémon can be dispatched to defeat its enemy.”

4) Fostering children’s autonomy

The main reason why many parents object to children playing online games is that children are easily addicted to the games. The interviewee F1 remarked, “The main reason for me to play Pokémon GO with my granddaughter is to cultivate her autonomy. If a child is stopped from playing online games at an early age, he/she will easily become addicted after owning his/her mobile phone. It is better to accompany the child and guide him/her to play online games in his/her childhood than to prevent him/her from playing.” The interviewee M1 said, “The main benefit of Pokémon GO is that its players must walk around outdoors to play the game. Such being the case, children no longer demand to play online games at home. Moreover, children’s merit points can serve as a reward. If children perform well, take them out for fun on a holiday or an outing.” Modern people spend more and more time playing games online. It is very difficult for adults to show self-control, not to mention children. It is suggested that children’s autonomy should be cultivated by means of online games.

5 Conclusions

This study explores the game design of Pokémon GO and its impact on parent-child interaction, discovering several features of its game design. Its game interface is easy to operate, appealing to a wide range of players, from 5 to 65 years old. Unlike other online games, it compels players to go outdoors. Players must walk in order to play this game, which increases their amount of exercise and wins widespread praise. To give players an unceasing sense of novelty, the game company host different activities every week, combining places of interest and festivals to keep players attached.

Pokémon GO has become a common topic in family life. All the family members participate in Pokémon-hunting together under the influence of a common interest. The time for parent-child interaction has increased, and so parent-child relationship has also improved. Through cooperative gaming, parents can try to understand their children’s interests, cultivate common interests, train children’s classification and logical abilities, and foster children’s autonomy. When parents put too much blame on their children for being addicted to online games and neglecting studies, they push their children farther away. Parents can respect their children’s ideas by understanding and even participating in the latter’s game together. When children notice their parents caring about what they care about, the conversations in a family are no longer just parents’ order-like instructions or worries about schoolwork, but discussions about the game are frequently heard. This game has changed parent-child relationships. Specifically, children teach parents how to play the game, reversing their roles in the family. Parents do not play the role of educators at this time. When facing new things, parents can consult with or learn from their children. Children achieve a sense of achievement in the teaching process. In the end, more interactions between parents and children lead to a closer relationship.

Players are reminded to pay attention to the following when playing online games. They should spend a moderate amount of time playing, manage their money wisely, be always alert to safety, never play on the road, and never indulge in games.