"Gotta Catch Em All" Together

https://twitter.com/Xminess/status/776191472714612736

With Mrs. Popo following me around, maybe Mr. Popo will finally get the peace and quiet he deserves on Kami's lookout.

Niantic Labs, the creators of "Pokemon Go," added an update a few days ago that allows trainers to carry a buddy with them in-game. We get to relive our childhood dream of watching Pikachu follow us around as we explore Kanto, Johto, and Washington D.C.! 

Sort of. 

Your chosen buddy does not walk next to your avatar in real-time. Instead, you see them stand next to you on your profile page. Once you select a Pokemon buddy via the avatar page menu, that buddy will earn one candy of its type when you have walked a certain number of kilometers. The required number of kilometers you must walk with said Pokemon depends on which one you are paired with. As you might have guessed, the coveted Pokemon require more cardio. As you can see in the link above, I have a Jinx paired with me now. She is going to require 5km. Thus, I would suggest choosing a Pokemon that needs more candy to evolve but, be warned! Switching your Pokemon before they find a candy resets your buddy distance to zero, as others have pointed out.

Now I know what you are thinking:  "Pokemon Yellow," "HeartGold," and "SoulSilver" had this feature, so this is nothing new. To that I say, you are absolutely correct. But who needs a party pooper? Besides, this is your personal avatar we are talking about, not Ash in a coma.

So, who is your Pikachu? Tell me in the comments below, or reply on my tweet with a picture of your partner in PokeCrime!

Until Later Guys,

^_^

Bluesky: Xaimi
Facebook: A State of Gaming

Indie Arcade!!

Short post today! I found out at the very last minute that an event called Indie Arcade was taking place from 1pm-7pm at the Smithsonian American Art and Portraiture Museum. The courtyard had been transformed into a beautiful haven of arcade cabinets, consoles, and gaming laptops for kids young and old to enjoy. The event was free and the games were on freeplay as well. From what I could gather, the sponsors of Indie Arcade were familiars in the video game world: MAGfest and Game Lab (American University's gem). 

"Indie" is a term that is thrown about plenty nowadays and its meaning changes depending on who you talk to and which generation you are from. This minifest served as a stage to show the world just how diverse many newcomer developers' ideas are and what they use to start them. Why the classic cabinets like "X-Men" and Tron then? Well, jump back to the early 70s, 80s, and 90s- you know, before EA, Activision, or Ubisoft were big names in every household. The developers from back then were independent (where "indie" stems from) developers at their very cores! Video games were a new platform that many companies had no faith in. Think of the Magnavox Odyssey, created by the pioneer Ralph Baer (who recently passed away and who the gaming industry owes so much). If it were not for him and his small team working against the odds and disbelief of their employers, there would never have been a Magnavox Odyssey or your living room's next-gen console for that matter. Video games from decades long past were the blood, sweat, and tears of individuals and/or teams that had nothing to go on but their daring ideas and willpower with little to no funding. We have their original premise to thank as the guidance for our generations' Indie Developers.

Ahh crap, said I would keep this short didn't I >.<.  Well, thanks for reading and I hope many of you had a chance to enjoy the Indie Arcade like I did.


Until Later Guys,


^_^


Quick thank you to Kotaku.com 's Luke Plunkett who's article is theRalph Baer link referenced above. Also, check A State of Gaming Facebook , A State of Gaming's Youtube Channel, and A State of Gaming's Twitter for clips and footage from the event