Problem
Pokémon GO is a popular game in which players take on the role of a Pokémon trainer and walk through their cities to catch a variety of Pokémon that appear within specific locations. These Pokémon characters can be viewed via an AR viewer in the app, which embeds a digital Pokémon into the physical environment around the user. In addition to the 'Pokémon characters', two other game elements are 'Pokéstops' at which players receive game-related resources and 'Gyms' at which players can battle other teams with their Pokémon. The 'Pokéstops' and 'Gyms' are typically located at landmarks (e.g., the statue of Sir Issac Brock in front of Goodman School of Business building) or remarkable buildings (e.g., town hall).
1. Discuss which of these three game elements - Pokémon characters, Pokéstops, and Gyms - represent instances of 'place embedding', and which represent instances of 'place enmeshing'? Make sure to clearly define both concepts and explain why each game element is either place embedding or place enmeshing.
2. Whether or not Pokémon GO should be called an 'AR game' is actually hotly debated. Many people argue that the 'AR part' is very small to non-existent, as many players turn off the AR mode when catching Pokémon to save on battery power. However, in our course we clearly identify Pokémon GO as a 'spatial AR' game. Utilizing your discussion in (a), explain why Pokémon GO should be seen as a spatial AR game, even though people spend not a lot of time in the AR viewer.