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Pokemon No!

Entry 1804, on 2016-07-30 at 19:47:31 (Rating 3, Computers)

I am a proud computer (and general technology) geek and I see all things geeky as being a big part of my culture. So I don't really identify much with my nationality of New Zealander, or of traditional Pacific or Maori values (I'm not Maori anyway but many people still think that should be part of my culture), or of the standard interests of my compatriots like rugby, outdoor activities, or beer - well OK, maybe I do identify with the beer!

Being a geek transcends national boundaries and traditional values. I go almost everywhere with my 4 main Apple products: a MacBook Pro laptop, an iPad Pro, an iPhone 6S, and an Apple Watch. They are all brilliant products and I do use them all every day.

For me, the main aspects of being a geek involve "living on the internet" and sourcing most of my information from technology sources, and participating in geek events and activities.

By "living on the internet" I mean that I can't (or maybe just don't) go for any period of time (I mean a few hours) without participating in social media, checking internet information sources (general news, new products, etc), or seeking out random material on new subjects from sites such as Quora.

I mainly stay informed not by watching TV (although I still do watch TV news once per day) or listening to radio news (again, I do spend a small amount of time on that too) but by listening to streaming material and podcasts. In fact, podcasts are my main source of information because I can listen to them at any time, avoid most advertising, and listen again to anything which was particularly interesting.

And finally there are the events and activities. Yeah, I mainly mean games. I freely admit that I spend some time every day playing computer games. Sometimes it is only 5 minutes but it is usually more, and sometimes a lot more. Some people think a mature (OK, maybe getting on towards "old") person like me shouldn't be doing that and that I should "grow up". Needless to say I think these people are talking crap.

And so we come to the main subject of this post, the latest computer (or more accurately phone and tablet) game phenomenon: Pokemon GO. The game was released first in the US, Australia, and New Zealand and instantly became a huge hit. Of course, since it was a major new component of geek culture, I felt I should be playing it, but I didn't want it to become a big obsession.

And I think I did well avoiding it for almost 3 days, but yes, I'm playing it now, with moderate intensity (level 17 after a couple of weeks). Today I explained the gameplay to an older person who never plays games and he asked: but what is the point? Well, there is no real, practical point of course, but I could ask that about a lot of things.

For example, if an alien landed and I took him to a rugby game he might ask what's the point of those guys running around throwing a ball to each other. Obviously, there's no point. And what's the point of sitting in front of a TV and watching some tripe like "The Block" or some crappy sopa opera? Again, there's no point. In reality, what's the point of living? Well, let's not go there until I do another post about philosophy.

So anyone who criticises playing computer games because they have no practical point should think a little bit more about what they are really saying and why.

And there's another factor in all of this that bugs me too. It's the fact that almost universally the people who criticise games like Pokemon GO not only have never played them but know almost nothing about them either. They are just letting their petty biases and ignorance inform their opinions. It's quite pathetic, really.

So to all those people who criticise me for playing Pokemon GO, Real Racing 3 (level 162 after many years play, and yes, it is the greatest game of all time), Clash of Clans (level 110 after 4 years play), and a few others, I say get the hell over it. And if you do want to criticise me just get a bit better informed first. And maybe you should stop all those pointless habits you have (and that I don't criticise you for) like watching junk programs on TV.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go find some more Pokemon. Gotta catch 'em all!

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