"Pokemon Go is a game for casuals (and what that means for "Hardcore" players)"

#PokemonGO: With the recent events and changes to the game it became clear (to me at least) that Niantic targets casual players with Pokemon Go. I define casual as somebody playing a few hours a week for fun. They might not know the latest news, might not care so much about nest mechanics and gym details but enjoy running around catching (new) Pokemon, evolving and maybe taking down a gym and being the gym leader for a little while.The reason I think that Niantic has casual players as a target audience is that they have taken many ways that favor casuals. The events are pretty much done in a way everybody can participate: They are long running, do not require any level or any investment prior to the event and have an immediate payoff. The changes to the gym system are not done to the underlying mechanics but rather to the numbers in order to balance the game. The balancing makes it easier for casuals to take down gyms (which for many is their main objective). The way they introduced Ditto is another hint: There is nothing you need to do, just keep on catching. The easter eggs found so far are pretty basic and can be used by anybody. I could go on, but you get the point I guess.So, if we assume that Niantic targets casual players, this might mean several things:The gym system won't change in a way that it requires a huge amount of skill: I won't go as far saying that the gym system won't change. It might, but I doubt that it will satisfy more invested players. The reason is that a system focusing on the strength of each individual Pokemon and maybe even on the skill of the trainer would hurt casuals who just catch some stuff and then use it to fight a bit.Legendaries will be available to everyone: I expected Ditto to be a lot harder to get. When reports of Ditto being in the wild were released, I reached out to all my local groups and tried finding somebody who caught one in my area to head there and get it as well. It didn't work out but while playing about 4 hours throughout the day, I found 6. Looking back, the reason is simple: They want casuals to find it. The only way to make this possible is to have a high chance of encounter. I expect something similar for the legendaries. They might be harder to get, but by now I expect them to be in the wild just like the others. Maybe everybody can get each one just once and they have a fixed IV or something.Don't expect complicated mechanics to get specific Pokemon: Mechanics from the main series like walking your Eevee a specific amount to get Espeon or Umbreon seems unlikely. Breeding might be a thing but I doubt it. It's simply to complicated for casuals to be bothered withAnd the main takeaway for me: For every idea we have, think about it with the "hat" of a casual. If it's to complicated for somebody turning on the app every day for 5 min to maybe take down a small gym or catch a few Pokemon, it might not get implemented. This includes complicated gym mechanics, non-trivial features from the main games and everything that requires a lot of effort.On the bright side, it means that things like more items to style your character might come soon. And the events will stay low-level and long to encourage everybody to participate.One thing I'm not clear about at all is Gen2. On one hand, releasing it early might be exciting for casuals. On the other hand, people who do not play that much do not have a full Pokedex yet and adding new Pokemon to the mix might make it even harder. Also keep in mind that 150 Pokemon is a lot for somebody not invested in the game to keep in mind and adding 100 more to the mix might just overwhelm them. But it could also make for a more diverse catching and fighting experience. So yeah, I'm not sure at all which way Niantic is going with Gen2.TLDR: Niantic targets casuals which might mean that features that complicate the game might not come. We should get used to it. via /r/TheSilphRoad http://ift.tt/2gpbbQM