Pokemon GOseems to introduce new events nonstop. The game only just wrapped up its Ultra Unlock events while in the middle of a long arc about the Mythical Pokemon Hoopa that seems to be leading up to a Halloween celebration. Even so,Pokemon GOhas room for a Fashion Week event seemingly lining up with the real-world Met Gala. Fashion Week is contributing a lot toPokemon GO; there’s lots of Pokemon in special costumes available, and players can now catch Furfrou, a poodle-like Pokemon from the Kalos region whose fur can be styled in a range of fun ways.
However,Pokemon GO’s Fashion Weekhighlights a major flaw in the game. Although the Fashion Week event added some new clothing items for player avatars, it doesn’t go far enough to fix the significant pitfalls ofPokemon GO’s character customization. The event puts an emphasis on self-expression and the player’s sense of style, yet avatars inPokemon GOcan barely be edited beyond the clothes on their backs. Fashion Week would feel like a more appropriate celebration of each player’s identity if players had more tools to make their avatars look like themselves.
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Pokemon’s Relationship With Customization
ThePokemonfranchise doesn’t historically allow for much customization. For a long time, players simply chose between a boy protagonist or a girl protagonist, then named that character. Everything changed withPokemon XandY.Not only could players suddenly shop for clothes for their character, but they could decide details like skin color, hairstyle, and so on. It marked a major leap forward in player self-expression inPokemon.Since then,Pokemonhas been expanding these services, much to the delight of fans.
Even as the mainPokemonfranchise keeps building on customization,Pokemon GOremains stagnant. Niantic adds new clothing to the game, but the physical avatar customization tools are almost identical to their design at launch. Players are still largely limited to changing the color of their eyes, hair, and skin. Even though there’s a great range of colors available in all of these categories, sincePokemon GOfans can’t change their physical features, every avatar ends up looking uncannily similar and doll-like. They can be jarring, especially compared to newerPokemon GONPCs likethe Team GO Rocket leaderswho have detailed designs and unique appearances. For some reason, players can’t be so distinct from each other.
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Potential Pokemon GO Avatar Upgrades
At the very least, there should be some more basic options added toPokemon GO’s avatar customization. Hair styles don’t seem like they’d be hard to integrate intoPokemon GO,and a few options for face shapes would go a long way. Ideally, though,Nianticshould introduce moredetailed customization toPokemon GO. It’d be great to see Niantic add a few sliders that players can use to adjust their body type, tweaking their avatar’s height, muscularity, body fat, and so on. Any or all of these changes could makePokemon GO’s avatars better at representing players.
Pokemon GO’s huge wardrobe is great. There’s a ton of clothing options that let players define their own sense of style, show their love for a favorite Pokemon, and so on. Clothes only go so far, though. It’s crucial that the avatar that wears the clothes physically looks the way that the player wants to, or else it’s impossible to truly achieve the appearance a player wants. HopefullyPokemon GOrealizes this sooner rather than later and introduces some upgrades to the avatar system. Style-focusedPokemon GOeventsin the vein of Fashion Weekwill feel much richer when they’re filled with Pokemon trainers of all shapes and sizes.
Pokemon GOis available now on Android and iOS devices.
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