{"552571":{"#nid":"552571","#data":{"type":"external_news","title":"The Tragedy of Pok\u00e9mon Go","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIan Bogost, professor in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication wrote\u0026nbsp;\u201cThe Tragedy of Pok\u00e9mon Go\u201d for\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EThe Atlantic\u003C\/em\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExcerpt:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cblockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen they first hit the scene more than a decade ago, pervasive and alternate reality games promised to offer a different way to see and understand the physical, material world. The game designer and author Jane McGonigal, who was also one of the \u201cpuppetmasters,\u201d or game-runners of\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Eilovebees\u003C\/em\u003E, insisted that the \u201calternate\u201d in \u201calternate reality\u201d didn\u2019t signify the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ealternative\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;reality of fantasy, but the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ealternating\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Eone of realism. These games wouldn\u2019t replace the world, either as escapist entertainment or as instrumental exercise or socialization therapy. Instead, they would force the fictional and the real worlds to swap places, and rapidly. The result would be a new and deeper appreciation for the\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003Ereal\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/em\u003Ereality that the games use as their materials. That\u2019s one reason pervasive games so often make use of paranoia fiction: they make visible previously unseen\u2014even if preposterous or unlikely\u2014possibilities.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;And\u0026nbsp;\u003Cem\u003EPok\u00e9mon Go\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026nbsp;sure seems to be offering lots of alternating realities, for good and for ill. A middle-aged white guy\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/imgur.com\/KAwwxFp\u0022 data-omni-click=\u0022r\u0026#039;article\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;link\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;7\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;490793\u0026#039;\u0022\u003Ebefriends\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;(and wards the cops off) two black men in the park at 3 a.m. A Massachusetts man\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.cartelpress.com\/pokemon-go-major-highway-accident-man-stops-middle-highway-catch-pikachu\/\u0022 data-omni-click=\u0022r\u0026#039;article\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;link\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;8\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;490793\u0026#039;\u0022\u003Ereportedly causes\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;a multi-car accident trying to catch \u2018em all while driving on the highway (the report itself\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.snopes.com\/man-stops-to-catch-pikachu\/\u0022 data-omni-click=\u0022r\u0026#039;article\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;link\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;9\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;490793\u0026#039;\u0022\u003Eturns out to be a hoax\u003C\/a\u003E). One player\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/newsbeat\/article\/36757858\/pokemon-go-player-finds-dead-body-in-wyoming-river-while-searching-for-a-pokestop\u0022 data-omni-click=\u0022r\u0026#039;article\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;link\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;10\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;490793\u0026#039;\u0022\u003Efinds a dead body\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;while hunting pocket monsters; others get\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/news\/archive\/2016\/07\/pokemon-go-armed-robbery\/490736\/\u0022 data-omni-click=\u0022r\u0026#039;article\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;link\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;11\u0026#039;,r\u0026#039;490793\u0026#039;\u0022\u003Elured into an armed robbery\u003C\/a\u003E. And mostly, adults and kids commune over an entertainment property old enough to be multi-generational.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor the full article, read \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2016\/07\/the-tragedy-of-pokemon-go\/490793\/\u0022\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"32716","created_gmt":"2016-07-13 10:48:28","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 02:28:16","author":"Hayden Russell","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","publication":"JS Coon Building","field_article_url":"","publication_url":"http:\/\/www.theatlantic.com\/technology\/archive\/2016\/07\/the-tragedy-of-pokemon-go\/490793\/","dateline":{"date":"2016-07-11T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2016-07-11T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1281","name":"Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts"}],"categories":[{"id":"143","name":"Digital Media and Entertainment"}],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}