Escaping Into The Game

Diving further into the idea of Pokemon as an escapism text we can easily turn to that of the video game series. With a resume of computer games in competition with the likes of the Mario and Final Fantasy franchises, the Pokemon world has forever been evolving and growing. However with a few exceptions every game follows the same RPG format, allowing for players to customize naming of themselves, their rival and their own Pokemon, a truly unique world can be created in every individual players game as if it truly was their life behind the screen. Whilst still following a loose narrative and game structure, gamers have near total control within the parameters of the game, uncommon to rival games. The worlds in which each game is based offer their own individual metropolis with small maps having everything to offer from dark caves and sunny beaches to snowy mountains and deep sea. The sudden variations in robust terrains create a surreal world that the majority of urban and city gamers may have never experienced. This all brings us back to this need, as domesticized humans, we have for adventure and offers us a way to live out this need from the safety of a controlled environment. In a world where we rely so much on socialization through social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, it has become a key aspect into our gaming worlds too. With Pokemon games now allowing for not only single player gaming but being able to take the Pokemon you have trained and battle them with friends and strangers wirelessly half way across the world it has reignited a sense of realism to the world of Pokemon as perceive it. The more interactivity that the user is being allowed is offering more control and a deeper sense of personal ownership into the franchise by individual consumers. By being given this ownership the gaming world becomes more personalized allowing gamers to build deeper and emotional bonds into the characters as an audience they have invested their time, money and almost a sense of love into.