Pokémon Snap Just Turned 20 Years Old - Perfect Time For A Revival
Pokémon Snap was released two decades ago and the timing could not be more perfect for a rebirth of this Pocket Monster-meets-Instagram photography game.
If you’re old enough to remember being excited and running into a Woolworths to pick up a copy when you were a kid, Pokémon Snap Brough an interesting photographical element to the massive universe - capturing monsters of all sizes in film rather than in balls, to help Professor Oak’s research.
With plenty of deployability through secret paths, extra layers of interactivity and a great core gameplay system, this title took up a lot of my time. And the same can be said of my friends, who all also share fond memories of the game (hi, speed running Lindsey).
Now we’re here, twenty years on with systems that are nothing but perfect for it. Let me explain.
Scenario 1
You already know the Nintendo Switch - the portable/home console hybrid with some motion control elements in there.
Now imagine Pokémon Snap on that very console. Pretty cool, right? Plus with the online updates, more levels can be added with greater complexities and the faster control system of moving the tablet Switch around, gameplay can be much faster and more precise. Beyond just capturing the Pokémon, you have to take into account framing and composition.
You could provide a photography lesson all encompassed within a Pokémon game. It’s an interesting scenario when you expand upon it.
Scenario 2
Take that smartphone out your pocket. Chances are you’ve had an Augmented Reality experience on it, whether it’s catching Pokémon in “GO,” or even just measuring stuff. Niantic’s aforementioned game already has a photographic element in it, but imagine if research tasks revolved solely around taking pictures of Pokémon in their natural state.
It would take some serious AI computation to register that the Bulbasaur you’re photographic is on a grassy surface, or you spotted Squirrel by a beach. But PO-GO is already up to some smart tricks using AR+, surely this is just a natural extension of that.
This also adds another element that is common sensical to the whole trainer experience. You don’t just catch Pokémon, you learn about them. Understand their rituals and habits, and catalogue them for research purposes. Stick a Professor Oak UI in there, which grades your photos and you have a Pokémon Snap extension to what is already a massively popular game.
Again, it just makes sense.
