Just to be clear here, I do not own Pokemon GO, and with good reasons too. Forgive me, I do not even play the game that has taken over the world overnight. However, being in this day and age, there is no escape from technology and the amount of information on the subject being fed to me daily has given me a rather decent understanding on how the madness works. If it were up to me though, I'd make a few changes which might really push people to the edge, physically and mentally and also use the madness for a few personal gains.

The following are a few suggestions which may or may not have already been part of the ultimate plan behind Pokemon GO but they're definitely things which could be explored.

IDEA NUMBER 001 - NPC

From what I've gathered from my Facebook newsfeed and also a couple of my zombified friends, the game basically revolves around the idea of completing a collection of Pokemons. It astounds me that such a purposeless task could actually gain so much hype. Sure, there are gyms and battles but the main hook is the collection element.

NPC is an acronym for non-playing characters. There are a bunch of these in the original Nintendo series of the game which adds purpose and challenge to the game. For example, there were certain items or Pokemons which could only be acquired by completing tasks set by these NPCs. If I owned Pokemon GO, what I'd do is implement an NPC concept which would require players to complete certain tasks before being able to acquire certain items to capture certain Pokemons. Now being the Jenius I am, I'd take this further and monetize the concept. If you've played the original Red/Blue/Yellow version of the game (I'm pretty sure they have these in order versions too), you'd be familiar with a few items such as Silph Scope or the Pokeflute. These were items which enabled the player to capture certain Pokemons. Couple this with merchants and you'd be able to "distribute" these virtual items after the players made a real-life purchase. QR codes on receipts would occasionally contain items which players need.

I'd attack you too if you played some nonsense tune while I am sleeping.

IDEA NUMBER 002 - REALISTIC GAMEPLAY

As an avid angler, I am rather insulted that Magikarps are so easily caught in the game (so I've heard). I've seen images of Magikarps being caught in shopping malls, roadsides and even bedrooms which begs the question if the creators of Pokemon GO even bothered playing the original series of the game. Old rod, good rod and super rod were needed in the past to capture most water-based Pokemon (hence idea number 001). Of course, making all Pokemon GO players purchase an actual fishing rod to capture a virtual beast is definitely pushing it a little too far even though I am pretty sure the fanatics would get one if they deemed it necessary.

How about trying something simple yet challenging enough which makes actual sense. Like say, put Caterpies only at gardens and parks, Sandshrews in sand pits and sandy beaches, Tangelas at that noodles stall that won the Michellin Star and of course Gengars only at cemeteries. Maybe that last one is going slightly overboard but man would that be fun to hear about. Haw Par Villa at least for the ghost-type Pokemon?

IDEA NUMBER 003 - TEAM ROCKET

What is Pokemon without Team Rocket?

The antagonist of the whole franchise is definitely Team Freaking Rocket but there has been no mention about it currently. Niantics would probably implement something related to the Rocket Gang later on but if it were up to me, this is how i'll implement it. Sure, I could do the whole NPC thing with Team Rocket and it'll definitely be safe gaming for everyone but this is where the evil Jenius in me takes over.

Firstly, I'd make Team Rocket consist of actual human players. With the team of villains normally out to steal items and Pokemons, they'd be given a different set of tasks from actual players. They'd have their own leader board based on stolen Pokemons. Using the same GPS location technology, they'd just have to be in the same vicinity as regular Pokemon GO players to swipe Pokemons off of other players. Of course, this would breed suspicion, chaos and even anger and it feels a little like Joker from the Dark Knight in my opinion but there are ways to manipulate populations using this gameplay. With the emergence of my version of Team Rocket in the game, there would generally be a common hate for said group, which would ultimately bind Mystic, Instinct and Valor ( Ozymandias idea here). Hence, the group has to be picked with intent and not just a random selection of players. For example, give all Trump supporters to have the ability to be Team Rocket and then watch the madness ensue.

Re-reading that last paragraph, let's just keep Team Rocket as NPC characters. Things could get pretty ugly.

IDEA NUMBER 004 - POPULATION CONTROL

Crazy. Crazy people everywhere. Well, if I were a real evil Jenius who just wants to watch the world burn, what I'd do is put a bunch of Pokestops with amazing catch rates and whatnots at the locations where my enemies sleep. I'll release rare Pokemons only at the wee hours in the morning so that my enemies would definitely not have a good night's rest. Pokemon GO affects not just those who play it but everybody around as well. Imagine if I do this for months on end with new modules and new Pokemons every couple of weeks. Sure, those who play the game would definitely feel fortunate but everybody else who is just trying to get some shuteye would definitely feel the impact. Hougang has been in the news in recent years mainly for political reasons but to use Pokemon to torment its residents would definitely be considered Farfetch'd. OR IS IT? JENG JENG JENG!

IDEA NUMBER 005 - MAPPING THE WORLD

Having had worked with GPS modules, digital accelerometers, digital gyroscopes and digital compasses during my internship, I am rather impressed at the extent that these technologies are being used in the gameplay of Pokemon GO. NERD.

Recently, I came across a video on how the brains behind Niantics and Pokemon GO came to build the game we have today. The gist of the story is in the video below.

With such technology and a whole bunch of players everywhere, it is possible to harness the "manpower" to map the entire globe. And no, I don't mean in a Google Maps kind of way, I mean in a all-seeing eye kind of way like that echolocation super computer technology Batman used in The Dark Knight to locate the Joker. Imagine each and every player (and there's really quite a number of them) going to a location which the program points them to and then said player has to "find" a Pokemon in a certain direction and "captures" the Pokemon. With a huge enough database, Niantics pretty much has an organic pool of cameras mapping the world for them. In the wrong hand, say Team Rocket, this technology could be used for a whole bunch of infiltration-type missions. I'm sure a few of you were bragging about how you caught a dozen Pokemon at home but what if that's what they wanted you to do? 

You see, Google Maps can only go so far with images of the external of buildings and the environment but now they've a technology that could truly map almost every inch of the world and the best part is, they don't even have to do the work themselves. The government probably knows all of these prior to the launch in Singapore which was why the Singapore Armed Forces were so quick to reinforce their no camera usage in certain zones in army camps.

So yeah, that's about it from me for this post. I'd probably never play the game but for all of you out there, be the very best that no one ever was. PSY-YAI-YAI-YA-YAI-NING OUT!

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