Gotta Play It All!

For the final binge Katie, Will, Eric, Ward, and Mara played Pokémon Glazed. A fan made game, which uses components from the original games to create a new one. Pokémon Glazed had several differences from the originals, for example players had the option of choosing from five starter pokemon (as opposed to three) and it had a combination of Pokémon starting from the first 150 to the most recent versions. It was sure to be a grand adventure.

Eric prefered playing in groups rather than in the individual binge sessions. During the group binge he found support and enjoyed playing. While when playing alone time dragged on and the game was not fun. To try and improve his experience he turned to the online communities to find the same support, it did make a difference but over all playing with other people who were around the same level/spot in the game was the best part of all the binges so far.

Katie found that this binge session was one of the two that she preferred. The first night she got more absorbed than she was expecting, which helped her for the remainder of the binge. After the first group binge she found that she preferred playing with the other members of her group due to their support. During her individual binge Katie sought advice from the online communities in regards to what elemental types to use when battling specific types, as well as what type Pokémon were. Aside from these two main moments when she looked online, she also used videos other people have made in order to know what was coming up within the game. Overall Katie found this binge to be more enjoyable than she was expecting and she intends to continue playing.

Ward thought that this was the best binge out of the three, and he felt that it was the best to group binge as well. He felt like he could get absorbed into it for hours and not feel the drain of boredom. This might have been the game itself as Ward found Battlestar Galactica extremely boring, and he found American Gods to be lacking in characterization. Pokemon Glazed provided Ward with attachment, which he says is what he looks for in a good TV show, book, or game. However tough it was it provided Ward with motivation to surpass the difficulty of the game. He felt like he wanted to talk with others about his progress and help them in turn.

Will enjoyed the Pokémon Glazed binge, it reminded him of why he fell in love with the series in the third grade. He felt like the game was more challenging, but it was not to the point that the game was no longer enjoyable. At times he did feel frustrated, but out of this frustration came a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. “If it were not for these moments of frustration, I would have had a boring experience with the game,” said Will. He also felt a sense of attachment to his Pokémon which he found interesting as well. “I felt like they were really ‘my’ Pokémon, even though they do not actually exist,” he said. “I can honestly say that if I had not felt anything for my Pokémon, I probably would not have enjoyed Pokémon half as much as I did." In his opinion, creating this relationship between the player and the Pokémon is probably the biggest strengths of the series.

Mara enjoyed this binge more than the reading binge but less than the television binge. She felt she had more time to discuss with her group mates while the binge was going on without letting the discussion disrupt the progress of the game or the binge itself. This binge required attention, but in a different way than the first two binges, and Mara enjoyed the pace of the game. She noticed that she didn’t feel particularly emotional or drawn to the game, and it was hard for her to get invested. She enjoyed learning about the world of Pokemon, but felt like she needed more time to fully understand the motives of the game.

Written by: Katie Bullard, Will Burton, Eric Kelley, Ward Sandberg, Mara Stern

Edited by: Will Burton, Eric Kelley, Katie Bullard