Police warns Pokémon Go players, be vigilant

St Louis-Pesnell told Sunday Newsday she has not heard of any incidents with people who were playing the game, but stressed people should be responsible for their own safety.

“Be very mindful of you surroundings and where the game may lead you.” The game uses a system called “augmented reality” and requires players to go to physical locations to find and capture the game’s creatures as well as visit specific game areas. In the United States a girl in Wyoming found a dead body while playing, a group of Missouri teens used the app and the “lure module” to rob people, in Phoenix the home of a registered sex offender was a game area and in San Diego two men fell off a cliff while looking for Pok?mon.

St Louis-Pesnell stressed that while there have not been reports locally, she would be proactive and speak with station commanders so they are more aware and can sensitise persons in their districts. If an alert is issued it would come from the police Public Affairs Unit.

“I would say to people be very careful and mindful of your surroundings,” she said, urging people to remember the local climate regarding crime and criminality in the country as a whole. She said that the game could lead a person to a high crime area, or hot spots, and people should not enter while playing the game.

While the police can put out advisories to sensitise people, she reiterates, “The responsibility is on participants of the game.” When Sunday Newsday explained about the lure module which is used to attract Pok?mon to a particular area, St Louis-Pesnell said people need to be extremely careful as they could be lured by perpetrators seeking to rob them. “Players have to be aware of that and not put themselves at risk.” Meanwhile, a number of local companies have been utilising the game to attract business.

Some eateries are advertising that they are PokeStops (places where you can find eggs and pokeballs to catch Pok?mon).

Pizzeria Mario’s Couva branch is a level 7 gym owned by “Team Mystic”, Lucozade released a Pok?mon-themed video advertisement, and telecom company Digicel has a special plan for Pok?mon hunters called the “Catch ‘Em All Data Plan”.

Penny Gomez, CEO of Digicel Foundation and Head of Communications said in a statement: “Digicel is committed to keeping abreast of and in step with global trends. In light of the huge demand for Pok?mon Go we launched data plans that offer the best value to our customers so that they can affordably play the game that has created so much buzz locally and internationally.” Also getting in on the action was entertainment centre MovieTowne. Marketing and advertising officer, Tamsyn Lee, organised a Pok?mon event two days after it was launched on August 3.

Lee said the establishment was contacted by local gaming association, Carigamers, about having a Pok?mon Go meet up, but MovieTowne wanted to have a bigger-scale event with a deejay. The event was hosted on August 7 from 11am to 6pm, in partnership with Trinidad Fresh juices and Carigamers.

Lee said they did not know what to expect, especially with the last minute announcement, but more than 600 people showed up at the event.

“It was a mess, it was crazy, it was hectic. We did not realise there was so many Pokemon fans or hunters or trainers,” she recalled.

While people may think that as a video game it is automatically for kids, Lee said even people between 18-29 participated.

A little over a month since its d?but, Nintendo’s revolutionary Pok?mon Go has shaken up the world of gaming and fulfilled the childhood dreams of millions worldwide. Initially launched on July 6 in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, the augmented reality free-play game was developed by Niantic for iOS and Android devices from the vision of Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata and The Pok?mon Company’s Tsunekazu Ishihara.

Save for the Pok?mon jargon, the game is relatively simple for trainers as it reflects the previous gaming instalments in the 20-year-old gaming franchise of allowing players to catch and train the first generation of Pok?mon, which includes over 100 types.

Utilising the global positioning system (GPS), the game pinpoints the player’s location to identify any Pok?Stops, which are hubs where trainers can gain Eggs, Potions, and Pok? Balls, or Pok?mon nearby.

Upon creating an avatar, players can choose one out of three Pok?mon to start with—Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle.

According to the tech website iMore, however, if the trainer walks away from the choices four times, they will be presented with a fourth choice: the beloved Pikachu. After selecting, the trainer will then enter the Pok?mon Go Map, which bears a resemblance to Google Maps. Using this feature, trainers will be able to spot Pok?Stops that are typically historical landmarks or densely populated area in the trainer’s city. It is here that trainers can retrieve items such as Razz Berries and Incense to entice the creatures, try their hand at catching them, or activate a Lure Module which would attract wild Pok?mon to the trainer’s location.

By collecting Pok?mon and bonuses, trainers can advance to the next level with the objective of catching rarer and stronger Pok?mon and evolve them while simultaneously gaining rewards such as Experience Points (XP) and Medals.

The game allows its players to join one of three teams—Instinct, Mystic, or Valor—which are associated with the colours yellow, blue, or red, respectively.

Although the teams do not affect the type of Pok?mon available, they are important for gyms where, upon reaching level five, trainers can battle their Pok?mon with rivals or train them, according to iMore. Each team strives to capture as many gyms as possible by defeating their opponents to gain redeemable Pok?Coins and Stardust, used to Power Up their Pok?mon, all in an effort to ‘level up’ and build their Pok?mon collection