Niantic has introduced a new feature called “Team Play” to Pokémon GO, allowing up to four players to form a team and embark on adventures together. This feature aligns with Niantic’s social goals for the game, aiming to provide users with not only a combined experience of technology and gaming but also opportunities to connect with new friends and create lasting memories. With the ongoing global pandemic affecting social interactions, Niantic intends to strengthen the social aspects of the game through the implementation of the “team play” function, eagerly anticipating the gatherings of Pokémon GO players once again.
The Team Play feature enables players to team up with friends, family, or other nearby players to complete team challenges, including spinning Pokéstops, participating in raid battles, and catching Pokémon, with the chance to win prizes. When players form a team, their team members will be visible on the in-game map, allowing them to track each other’s movements. The specific distance within which teams can form is not currently known, but Niantic has stated that playing together within a large park is possible. It is expected that some healthy competition will arise as team members will be able to see and compare each other’s actions and progress.
To create or join a team, players can access the “Team” tab located on the top right corner of their profile page. By pressing the “Create Team” button, a QR code will be generated, and other players can join the team by scanning the QR code. QR codes serve as the primary method of accessing team play, allowing players to form teams with both friends and strangers alike. When participating in raid battles with the same team members, players will have the ability to utilize “Team Power,” which doubles the power of special attacks. Furthermore, team challenges are available, where all team members take on the same task. These challenges offer a range of options, such as catching a specific number of Pokémon, and players can choose a challenge based on their preferences and available time.
To monitor team play progress, players can check the “Team” tab within their coach’s profile. The activity summary provides an overview of various activities, including catching Pokémon, throwing balls, going on adventures, and engaging in battles. Teams can also compete in different themes by selecting the desired activity card, which represents a specific category, such as catching the most Pokémon or capturing certain types of Pokémon. These themes allow for friendly competition within the team.
Additionally, players can partake in ball throwing competitions, field research, and a new special quest. The “Team Play Special” offers the opportunity to obtain an exclusive Eevee t-shirt featuring various forms of Eevee and has become a primary focus for Pokémon GO producers Taigi Mimuro and Nao Ishitsuka. They believe that the team play function will enhance the social aspects of Pokémon GO, enabling people of various ages and from different regions to enjoy the game in diverse ways.
While there are currently no plans to implement specific features such as sharing public QR codes to recruit team members, Niantic remains open to the idea. The decision to use different terminology for teams in different languages, such as “team” in Korean and “party” in English, was made based on cultural considerations and in consultation with Pokémon and Niantic. The one-hour limit for team maintenance was determined through testing within the team, and Niantic is open to revising it in the future. The inability to play team battles and raids simultaneously is currently a limitation, but Niantic acknowledges the potential for improvement in this area.
The Eevee t-shirt offered as a reward for completing special quests is not limited time and can be obtained by actively participating in team play. Niantic aims to encourage team play through the introduction of more powerful raid bosses and other potential future updates. While no specific advantages other than team power are currently associated with participating in raids as a team, Niantic plans to make revisions based on user feedback.
Future plans include exploring the incorporation of team play into offline events and considering the distance between coaches for optimal team play experiences. The decision not to allow remote team formation over long distances is to ensure fair competition and provide similar experiences for all players. In terms of location sharing, there are automatic disconnections after the one-hour maintenance timeout or when exceeding a certain location. Additionally, the options menu includes features for blocking specific trainers, addressing concerns related to privacy and sharing sensitive information.
[게임플] Niantic has added a new feature, ‘Team Play’, to ‘Pokémon GO’ which allows up to 4 users to form a team and enjoy adventures together.
Team Play, a new feature added to ‘Pokémon Go’, is an extension of the social function that Niantic has been pursuing. Niantic revealed once again that its aim is for users not only to enjoy a new world where technology and games are combined, but also to meet new friends and make memories there.
Niantic expressed its intention to strengthen social functions, which had been weakened for a while due to the global coronavirus pandemic, with a ‘team play’ function. Niantic said it looks forward to seeing Pokémon Go users gather again to enjoy the game.
The newly added ‘Team Play’ function allows you to form a team with friends, family, or nearby acquaintances to complete team challenges such as spinning Pokéstops, conducting raid battles, and catching Pokémon, and win prizes.
When you form a team, team members appear on the in-game map and you can check their movements. The exact distance that teams can form is currently unknown, but according to Niantic’s explanation, it is possible to play together within a large park.
Niantic explained that when playing in a team, users will be able to see where and what their teammates are doing, so there will likely be some competition.
You can create and participate in a team from the ‘Team’ tab on the top right of the profile page. When you press the Create Team button, a QR code is generated, and when members scan the QR code, they join the team.
Basically, team play focuses on playing together in close proximity. Therefore, using QR codes will be the most basic access method. You don’t need to be friends to become a team, and even people you meet randomly can become a team by scanning a QR code.
If you perform a raid battle with the same team members, you can use ‘Team Power’, which doubles the power of special attacks.
Along with this, a team challenge is also given. In a team challenge, team members take on the same challenge. When you start playing as a team, you can choose from three types of challenges to take on. You can choose the challenge that is possible considering what you want to challenge and the limited time. A simple example is catching 200 Pokemon.
When playing as a team, a team icon is displayed, showing the progress of the ongoing challenge. Tapping the blue icon takes you to the team’s detailed page, where you can check each member’s detailed progress and contribution.
Team play progress can be checked via the ‘Team’ tab in the coach’s profile. In the activity summary here, you can see the status of catching Pokemon, throwing balls, adventures, and battles. The activity summary feature allows teams to compete for their favorite themes.
You can select the theme you want to compete in this time on the details page of the team tab. Each theme is called an activity card, and there are various categories of themes.
You can compete to see who on your team can catch the most Pokemon, or see what kind of Pokemon each person catches. You can also create a rule for who catches the most Water Type Pokémon. After you select the corresponding card, you can immediately start the competitive competition. There are also ball throwing competitions and field research.
Finally, a new special quest is added. Through the ‘Team Play Special’, you can get an ‘Eevee’ t-shirt featuring ‘Eevee’ and four evolved forms of ‘Eevee’, including ‘Shamid’, ‘Jupy Thunder’, and ‘Booster’.
‘Pokémon Go’ producer Taigi Mimuro and Stuff UX designer Nao Ishitsuka believed that the team play function would further strengthen the strengths of ‘Pokémon Go’ social functions. People of different ages and in different regions around the world can enjoy ‘Pokémon Go’ in a more diverse way.
In an interview with both people, I was able to hear more details about the team play feature.
Stuff Niantic UX Designer Nao Ishitsuka
Q. I understand that there is currently a ‘Campfire’ app to make it easier to recruit raid members. Is there anything that will be updated in conjunction with this ‘team play’ feature? For example, functions like sharing public QR codes to recruit team members.
Mimuro Taigi: It’s hard to answer what’s next, but I think the ideas you mentioned are quite interesting. I think I would think positively about introducing it. For now, I think the most important thing is to play with people you already know. Next time, if we focus on playing with people who don’t know each other, various possibilities will likely increase.
Q. In Korea it is written as team, but in English it is written as party. Why was terminology not unified?
Taigi Mimuro: That’s a good question. This is because I think the tone of the word party is a little different in Japan and Korea. This decision was made in consultation with Pokemon and Niantic.
Q. Why is team maintenance limited to 1 hour?
Taigi Mimuro: Regarding the time, we tested several times within the team and decided that one hour was the most appropriate one at the moment. There is room for revision in the future.
Niantic Producer Taigi Mimuro
C. Team and route cannot be played together. Is there room for improvement?
Nao Ishitsuka: Right now, like I said, we can’t proceed at the same time. It’s hard to give a specific answer in the long run, but I think there’s room for improvement because I think it’s good to be able to do both at the same time. However, understand that it’s hard to promise anything about long-term content.
Q. Is the Eevee T-shirt released as a reward a limited time offer?
Nao Ishitsuka: T-shirts are special quest rewards, and you can get them all by playing.
Q. Besides the Eevee t-shirts, are there any other measures you are considering to encourage team play?
Nao Ishitsuka: This time, we didn’t focus on being able to get new and powerful things, but rather on what we could enjoy together. Other than that, there are no other compensation plans. However, one thing that comes to mind is that more powerful raid bosses may appear in the future, and I think it will be a bit easier if you play as a team at this point.
Q. Aside from team power, are there any advantages to participating in raids as a team?
Taigi Mamuro: So far, there is no definite way to secure a slot or participate. We plan to revise it based on user feedback in the future.
Nao Ishitsuka: After creating the team power feature, we received feedback that it seemed fun to fight together with various people. We intend to revise it in the future after seeing the response.
Q. I’m curious about team power efficiency. For example, can a party of 4 level 40 users clear a 5 star raid?
Taigi Mamuro: It’s hard to answer specifically. I think it would be a good idea to give it a try.
Nao Ishitsuka: When playing with two, three, or four players, the meter filling speed for special attacks will be faster.
Q. I’m curious if you plan to add activities that use ‘team play’ in offline events in the future.
Taigi Mamuro: There’s nothing I can answer right now, but we definitely plan to look into it.
Q. What is the distance between coaches to enjoy team play? And why can’t we join remotely over long distances?
Nao Ishitsuka: It is difficult to answer the specific distance, but it is possible to play in a fairly large park. The reason why it is difficult to form teams remotely over long distances is for equal competition. Some people can do it in places where there are no pocket stops, while others can do it in many places. The premise was that similar experiences could be had in similar places as much as possible.
Q. Location sharing is a sensitive issue Is there a function like blocking specific trainers?
Nao Ishitsuka: Two things were said earlier about the scope of the play. When a team’s one-hour maintenance timeout expires or a certain location is exceeded, the connection is automatically disconnected. There is also a feature in the options to turn off sharing my location. This allows me to protect my privacy.
Q. Is this category random in the summary that appears after the team play is over? Is it installed in the game by default?
Nao Ishitsuka: What is certain is that what is displayed depends on what was accomplished. Details will be released later.
Q. Finally, is there anything you would like to say to Korean coaches who enjoy team play?
Taigi Mamuro: First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the users who participated in the last Safari. In the future, it would be good to use the team play function to gather together with family and friends and expand the function more and more. We hope that playing Pokémon Go will spread further in Korea. And we will work hard to achieve this.
Nao Ishitsuka: I would like to thank the users who participated in City Safari. I really wanted to participate, but it was difficult to participate because of team play. I heard from coaches around me that Seoul is very nice. I would like to thank the Korean people who welcomed me because I enjoyed not only Pokemon Go but also Korean culture and food.
I know Korean consumers enjoy competition. I often hear people say they want a leaderboard. When I think about it like that, I think things like activity summary cards might be more suitable for Korean players. I would be grateful if you could think of and suggest more interesting ways to play, including these aspects. I definitely want to visit Korea for the next event and enjoy it with everyone. At that time, I believe that we can improve the team play function by maintaining more diverse communication.
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