So this seems to be happening to me a lot.

Not sure if anyone else has had this happen, or happen a lot.

They go,

"Oh you do game development right? What do you think of the game?"

I tell them,

But I'm not sure how I feel about this.

On one hand, now I got a conversation starter, with people who normally don't know anything about games, willing to ask you for your advice or opinion.

And on the other hand,

It's a bit annoying, since they have no idea what I do, and they make an assumption, based purely on a small bit of information and popular culture.

It's like asking a random composer or musician person you know as to what they think about the latest pop song that is sweeping the nation.

IDK,

This topic is NOT to discuss what you think of the game itself, but the habit people have now asking people in gamedev for their opinion, which in the past they would have never done so.

It's like asking a random composer or musician person you know as to what they think about the latest pop song that is sweeping the nation.

Except it's not really random in this case. These people already know who you are and what you do. It seems to me it suggests that these people respect your position and are interested to hear your input. What's wrong with that? Yes, people might just be trying to justify their guilty pleasures or distaste for something through you but at the very least you could then ask them for their opinions and consider it an opportunity for market research.

I've talked about games more since the damn thing came out than ever in the past few years.

This is a good thing as I study the psychology and behaviour of pokemon go players and see if I can learn from it.

It's also a bad thing because I see adults playing a game obviously targeted at kids and i hear and end up involved in discussion about how to cheat at the game rather than to play it and go along with what it's creators intended (to get kids fit). E.g. "wave your device Round your head instead of going for a walk". Ugh. Depressing.

I think it's a pretty good thing. It's getting a lot of people outside exploring and actually socializing. One of my friends walked 10 miles yesterday. Of course there are negatives, like all of the people getting robbed or killed, but I still think it is overall a good idea. The question i'm more interested in is how long it will last.

For me Pokemon Go is a source of entertainment just watching the politicized articles and comments around it. Saw one guy claim the game was no different than a person having dog fighting rings. Saw an article try to connect the game to sexism and racism. I've seen people blame it for a girl being hit by a car. Saw one article that said gaming needed to go back to being home only and not so social. I think the best I saw was one that said Pokemon Go was a great way to meet men.

It's getting a lot of people outside exploring and actually socializing.

That would imply games aren't social to begin with, but games have always been social. As for exploring, guess it is good, assuming you have never paid attention to your town while you drive around it. The major perk is the exercise players get.

I wish I could say people ask me about games due to be being a hobbyist developer, but sadly my family and friends just want me to fix technical problems for them. Everyone I know sadly has the outdated view that games and the developers are just adults that don't want to grow up. In my case, that is true as I would rather do this than hold a boring 9 to 5 job any day of the year.

Well it's true that games are social, some of my favorite games are MMOs. I was speaking more along the sense of meeting people in the real world, and grouping up on adventures to find pokemon, and capture bases. Seems like a dream come true for a guy like me who would draw digimon as a kid and put them into a printer, hoping that they would come to life. haha.

Its the ultimate tool for human culling. I know its sound kinda sarcastic and cold, but really, it kinda amuses me. People falling down cliffs because the wanted to catch a pokemon on that unstable ledge makes it really hard for me to suppress a chuckle, even though humans getting hurt never is really funny.

But really, that game might give us some Darwin Award candidates over its lifetime.

<sorry for ignoring the thread rules, had to get that out>

As to the game itself... meh, its not for me, I am still pretty much a hardcore gamer, PC and console for me baby, altough this just shows how diverse "gaming" has become, which is a good thing.

Of course its things like that that kindle interest in gaming in non-gamers. 1. its shoved in their face when half the population is not only staring in their mobiles on the street, but are also behaving strangly while doing that, 2. Its as "non game" as it can be given you walk around and search for 'mons more than you play with them actually... sounds like geo-caching, not a game to me.

Will it be a "landmark", or as big as people make it now, in a year? Don't know. Could be a fad. Just like VR, only time will tell if the thing still is so exciting once the novelty is gone. I give it a better chance than the current crop of VR devices though... at least there IS a killer app for this primitive AR here.

I've talked about games more since the damn thing came out than ever in the past few years.

This is a good thing as I study the psychology and behaviour of pokemon go players and see if I can learn from it.

It's also a bad thing because I see adults playing a game obviously targeted at kids and i hear and end up involved in discussion about how to cheat at the game rather than to play it and go along with what it's creators intended (to get kids fit). E.g. "wave your device Round your head instead of going for a walk". Ugh. Depressing.

How is it obviously targeted at kids?

The game requires the use of a smartphone and features in app purchases and involves wandering all over town. (If you live in a small town it even involves commuting to various other towns). If you want to get the best Pokemon it even requires international travel. I'd say the game is squarely targeted at adults who have nostalgia for the original Pokemon games from the 90s.

Everyone at my work is playing this, and there's always a massive group outside our building in a park playing it (There's 3 pokestops and a gym immidiately next to our building).

I think it's good I guess, as I own nintendo stock, and it may show that a new genre of games is viable... Excercise apps etc.

This problem will resolve itself shortly.