One of my favorite memories of Pokémon GO is hearing a friend shout that they’d found a Dratini nearby, inspiring the rest of us to run over and try to catch one, too. So if you’re searching for a specific Pokémon, these photos are a great way to decide where to go next! This will make coordinating raids and meeting up with your fellow Trainers much easier.Īnd, in a future update, one of my favorite Campfire features will be available in Pokémon GO: on the in-game map, alongside Flares and Gyms and all that other fun stuff, you’ll also be able to see pictures of Pokémon caught by other Trainers! These photos will exist on the map right where that Pokémon was caught. To maximize the usefulness of Campfire’s social features, we integrated certain features within Pokémon GO itself.įrom Pokémon GO’s in-game map, just tap the Campfire icon and you’ll see where other Trainers have lit Flares-think of Flares as beacons, real-time markers that direct attention to a particular location-which will help you identify where to meet up with other Trainers. Trainers want to quickly and easily coordinate with their friends while playing Pokémon GO. Once you’ve met up with other Trainers, you can send them a Friend Request and even direct message them to coordinate your next meetup.Ĭommunity, exploration, and real-world interaction shape the Pokémon GO experience, and we think these new features will make those connections even stronger and easier to maintain. If you’re on vacation somewhere-or even just exploring new areas near you-using Campfire is a fun and unique way to shape your own adventure and meet new friends. We wanted to design something that made those experiences even more meaningful, and with these new social features, we hope to have done just that. The themes that came up again and again were that Pokémon GO helps Trainers befriend people who share common interests and explore the world around them. When we were thinking of ways to make Pokémon GO better, we reflected on what makes the Pokémon GO experience special. How Campfire will help you meet your local community That summer, scurrying around the streets of New York City and seeking out Pokémon with my friends, I felt like I was experiencing something brand new-something that I’d never experienced in over 20 years of playing video games.Īll these years later, it’s been a thrill to end up at Niantic and work on something that feels just as special: Campfire! We can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on. Like many of you, I started playing Pokémon GO back in 2016. Hi, Trainers! I’m Mikey, a product manager for social features in Pokémon GO.

Introducing Mikey, Pokémon GO product manager Read Mikey’s thoughts on how we designed these new features, how they’ll enhance in-person gameplay, and how Campfire will be implemented in Pokémon GO, now and in the future. For June’s Dev Diary, we interviewed a member of our staff who worked on our newest set of social features that will make coordinating activities in Pokémon GO easier than ever before!

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