Pokémon Go is the biggest mobile craze out there, much bigger than Twitter in just a mere few days. I think that it is great that people are getting out of their homes and such, I’m one of those reluctant people who has been leaving the safety of my home to catch Pokémon. One thing I’ve learned though is the fact that people are fickle and lose interest very quickly, so once Pokémon Go goes to the wayside, folks will need to jump to another franchise. These are five franchises that I think Niantic should take a good look at if Pokémon Go slows down.
5) Dark Souls Run!
Dark Souls Run! would start off like the console games, allowing you to chose what type of character you want to become. The different types would obviously have certain benefits in the mobile world—for instance, a thief would be able to steal Estus while battling and so on. You would gain experience and loot from random battles as you scoured the land for bonfires and covenants to join. The battle system would use the touch screen to wield your weapon and to dodge incoming attacks. There would be a little Estus Flask on your HUD for you to tap when needed, and I’m sure we all would need it a lot. The bonfires would be where you use your points and refill your flask. However, if the bonfire isn’t controlled by your covenant, you will be invaded upon nearing the bonfire. If you survive you get to use it, if not, you lose your phone power for five minutes.
4) Harry Potter Accio!
One of the first things this app would do is poke into some information about you, perhaps the websites that you’ve visited so that it can sort you into a house. Once you are sorted into a house, you wander the streets and random wizards will come out of the woodwork and attack you; this is how you level up your wand and your spells. To duel other wizards, Rooms of Requirement would let you show off your spells and defend your room. The Leaky Cauldron is where you can find new spells and get eggs to hatch dragons and the like that will teach you even more spells. To battle, you just have to swipe your screen to match the shape of the spell. This would surely make combat better than Pokémon Go!
3) Star Trek Energize!
Imagine starting Star Trek Energize! and getting to decide what species you want to align with. Would you be a Borg, a member of the Federation, or a Klingon? I would have to join the Federation so I could pilot my own starship and boldly go where no man has gone before. Random space battles would level you up and exploring planets would grant you elements to keep your starship running. Deep Space Nine type space stations would be where the major battles take place for domination. A Borg cube could fight a Federation ship to win the space station and reap all of its benefits. The benefits would be control of the surrounding area for a set amount of time, which means that no random battles would break out and mess with your planet exploration. The battle system would include unoriginal tapping of the screen for lasers and a double tap for proton torpedoes. Beam me up Scotty!
2) Star Wars Duel!
In this mobile game you would begin the game with the option to join the light side or the dark side of the Force. Once that is chosen, you would begin to canvass your area for lost or missing Jedi—the game would take place between Episode III and Episode IV, that way no continuity is really skewed. Finding these lost Jedi levels would level you up and teach you Force moves. Holocrons would be scattered around like PokeStops, and and you’d be able to upgrade your saber and your moves. This battle system would be like the Harry Potter one, where you would have to make shapes on your screen to perform offensive attacks like Force Push and the like. Jedi temples would be where you battled for the dominance of the dark or the light side.
1) DC/Marvel Heroes
This one is a no-brainer, seeing as how popular the Marvel movies are, and how popular the soon-to-be-released DC movies might be. Let’s say that Niantic went with DC first since Suicide Squad is almost out: you would have to choose your allegiance, whether that be a speedster, a lantern, or a character from Batman Incorporated. In each scenario you would search for crimes being committed, and you would have to stop them with your powers or prowess in martial arts. The more crimes you stop, the faster you level up. As you level up, more and more super teams will want you on their roster. You can pick them, and leveling up would increase your dominance in the one you’re in, or you could switch out. A feasible jump would be to go from the Teen Titans to the Justice League. Battles once again would be a shape drawn onto the screen to perform certain moves and use certain gadgets. Halls of Justice would be where you would level up, and places like the Fortress of Solitude and the GCPD would be where you would battle for dominance. It looks like it’s time for me to find my cape and cowl.
Are there any franchises you’d like to see become the next Pokémon Go? Let us know in the comments.