A new feature for pokemon go rolls out Thursday, allowing players to create and explore custom routes. Unlike classic Pokémon games, the Routes feature is in pokemon go will introduce in-game paths that take players from destination to destination with hopefully exciting encounters and intriguing sights along the way.
Routes in pokemon go are designed to be something like an in-game walking tour, connecting the game’s PokéStops and Gyms in creative ways to encourage players to get moving and discover interesting landmarks.
Players will also be rewarded for walking the game’s routes, Niantic said in a blog post, dishing out extra XP, Buddy Candy and other bonuses as they discover players’ creations.
In an interview, pokemon go senior producer Chad Jones told Polygon that the goal of Routes is to give the game’s players a way to explore cities, towns and parks like a local. Routes, Jones said, will allow trainers “to share knowledge they have about the world to create the gaps between the points of interest we already have.” That means things like interesting hikes or “cool secret trails that people wouldn’t know about unless they were local — hidden gardens or art or things they just know most people wouldn’t be,” Jones said. He compared the feature to other popular mapping apps, such as AllTrails and Strava.
“In my neighborhood we have a park where we have a back entrance that goes over a wooden walkway, which is objectively more fun for people, who just walk around the world that Google [Maps] wouldn’t lead you to it because they don’t know about it — and it’s inefficient,” Jones explained. ‘You wouldn’t know unless you were there with a local. We hope trainers will have an experience of seeing the world through the eyes of local people.”
One can easily see other examples of useful routes: historical walking tours, pub crawls, “raid trains” leading to gyms where pokemon go players regularly raid together. Routes can be short (500 meters), or very long (up to 20 kilometers), and can also just be, well, interesting drawings on the map. For example, Routes allows players to draw a map that resembles Pikachu. (Don’t draw inappropriate things, Niantic says; player routes are graded, so your crude drawing probably won’t make it anyway.)
Players can create in-game routes by simply choosing a PokéStop or Gym as their starting point, pressing “record” to map out their route, writing some information about the route, and submitting it for review. If approved, other players will be able to see it in-game through the Nearby menu.
To entice players to walk Routes, players receive the following bonuses:
- A new route badge by completing a route
- Earn Buddy Candy faster
- More Pokémon attracted to Incense when they first explore a route
- An XP bonus for the first route completed each day (Completing routes seven days in a row earns an increased XP bonus)
- A Buddy Heart when you complete a route while going on an adventure with your buddy
On Routes, players will also find a new item: Zygarde Cells. pokemon go adds Zygarde, the “Order Pokémon,” as part of a new Special Research story called “From A to Zygarde.” While that Zygarde will be relatively weak if caught, it can be upgraded with Zygarde cells (stored in a Zygarde cube) to change Zygarde’s shape. In its full form, Niantic says, Zygarde is powerful enough to overwhelm other Legendary Pokémon Xerneas or Yveltal.
Jones says Niantic expects Routes to not only benefit players in larger towns and cities, but also players in more rural areas. “The rural communities are where we hope it has the biggest impact,” he said, “because it’s going to be a great way for them to really get behind it and progress like they could if they lived in an urban area.”
Niantic has created a handful of routes of its own, but few pokemon go players using the company’s Wayfarer app have already started creating routes before the feature launched. It sounds like route creation will be rolled out to players over time, and that Niantic has plans to develop the feature with improved ratings and recommendations, perhaps even some kind of rewards for players who create popular routes.
“We’re open to all sorts of different things,” Jones said, “with the intention of that.” [Routes] will be a nice addition to how trainers feel about their normal playing sessions.”