Stained Glass and Pokémon GO

Stained Glass and Pokémon GO
Austin Lynn 

Culture is to human experiene what color is to stained glass windows. Shards of glass, varying in size, shape, frequency, and distribution, come together to form images that inspire deep stirrings in the human heart. Especially prominent in churches, stained glass windows often depict holy scenes dripping in meaning, where even the colors in the background carry significance. Of course, it goes without saying that without any colors at all, stained glass windows would hardly be remarkable. Without the unique process that injects color into the varied pieces of glass, stained glass windows would merely be plain windows; color provides a crucial framework to the images in the windows, and without color, those images are forever lost.

Without color, all we can do is count frequency, analyze shape, and track distribution. We can make arbitrary comparisons of size, but any true semblance of comparative meaning is unobtainable. With the addition of color (in this metaphor, culture) we are then able to see which pieces fit together, view the shapes that once-dispirit pieces come together to form, and catch a glimpse of the big picture. Human action, seen from without the view of cultural knowledge, becomes as confusing and meaningless as clear glass would be a stained glass portrait. It is only with the addition of culture that we can begin to unravel the meanings, connections, and purposes of human behavior.
As Clifford Geertz has famously stated, culture can be defined as “webs of significance” (Geertz 1973) that man has spun for himself. This definition is in line with the definition of culture as color; colored glass has no meaning on its own; rather, it is the meaning that we impart to it, the webs we spin, that creates images, and allows us to suspend ourselves on our “webs.” We decide which colors are positive or negative, which represent love, lust, hate or rage. We decide what image we want to present, at some level: unity, power, and so on. When we can see the shapes taking form, we can tell which actions do and don’t contribute towards our picture of understanding; which ones ‘fit’ and which ought to be discarded.

For instance, in the year 2016 the smart phone game Pokémon GO became an instant cultural phenomenon. Those in the cultural know easily predicted this, with organizations such as IGN, the New York Times, and Twitter predicting its widespread success weeks, even months before the game was released to the public. They were able to confidently make these predictions because they were in the cultural know‚ and they were able to see how Pokémon GO was positioned perfectly to fit into 2016’s stained glass window.
Pokémon GO finds its roots in the generation that grew up in the 80’s and 90’s. Those children grew up watching the television show Pokémon, which (obviously) Pokémon GO draws its inspiration from. The designer’s intentions to play into that nostalgia is obvious, with the focus on the original batch of Pokémon seen on the television show, rather than the multitude that exists in the massive franchise today. By restricting themselves to the original group of Pokémon, the creators of Pokémon GO made it apparent that they were making a game for the people who loved the television show, all those years ago. More so, that generation happens to be one that is enthralled with vintage shows‚ vintage clothes, vintage music, and so on. One only need look at the recent resurgence of records, bell-bottom pants, or the use of music from past decades in new movies to track this trend. Pokémon GO hits that sweet spot of being a childhood classic, bringing the old back in style. In agreement, author Alex Fitzpatrick writes, “The Pokémon skin is going a long way towards fueling this fire [referring to Pokémon Go’s near- instantaneous leap to the top of the gaming world]. Millenials around my age-27-feel considerable nostalgia for Pokémon... Younger kids, meanwhile, are still discovering (and loving, it seems) the franchise for the first time... Had this been anything other than a Pokémon game, there’s little chance it would’ve caught fire the way it has.” (Fitzpatrick 2016)
On top of that, Pokémon GO appeals directly to the young adults of today, who are enthralled by hand-held gaming, but are conscious of the concerns related to physical and social health that

accompany such gaming. Pokémon GO comes with a convenient offer: play this game, but play it with friends, and be physically active while doing so. No doubt many are reliving memories of playing outside with their friends as they hunt for Pokémon in their own backyard. The team behind Pokémon GO successfully tapped into both positive and negative aspects of culture when making this game: they took advantage of the things people liked, but were also wise enough to play into the cultural stigma that people who play video games generally aren’t physically active. By designing their game to fly in the face of that, the creators of Pokémon GO were able to distinguish themselves even further.
That Pokémon GO has tapped into several cultural veins is undeniable. Political organizations, food chains, and residential businesses have all attempted to tap into its inherent appeal to people, holding events at places that coincide with in-game gathering places. Some businesses even offer special promotional discounts for showing ‘rare Pokémon.’ Adults, children, and teenagers gather at culturally significant locations in their hometowns, given new life by the mobile game. In an article by Katherine Isbister, she enumerates several of the cultural trends Pokémon GO has ridden to become such a hit. She writes, “There are several astute design choices that make for increased collaborative fun and interaction. For one thing, everyone who shows up to collect a creature at a location can catch a copy of that creature if they want. So players have motivation to communicate with one another and share locations of creatures, engaging in deeply collaborative rather than competitive play. Not all gamers like fierce competition, so the collaborative aspects of the game broaden its appeal.
“For those who do love competition, the three-team structure allows for friendly rivalry and challenge. The ease of joining a team keeps it from being exclusionary, preserving the game’s inclusive style.” (Isbister 2016) It is by tapping into these veins of culture that Pokémon GO has established itself as a part of culture, affecting the way people do business as well as interact with each other out doors.

If one were to remove color from a stained glass window, we would lose our understanding of its meaning and worth. Likewise, if one were to remove culture from our understanding of Pokémon GO, we are left with a mediocre game, one that fails to be a challenge for professional gamers and is too slow for casual players; in other words, a game that shouldn’t have become popular. Without culture, without color, our window is as good as smashed, and we’re left without a genius piece of work where several cultural trends converge. The color we inject into the world around us helps us to place things such as Pokémon GO into a framework of significance. Like pieces of glass, we can piece together the different parts of our lives to form meaningful wholes with the addition of culture.

Bibliography

1. Clifford Geertz, “Interpretation of Cultures,” New York: Basic Books, 1973
   
2. Alex Fitzpatrick, “How ‘Pokémon GO’ Took Over the World,” Time, July 12, 2016
   
3. Katherine Isbister, “Why Pokémon GO Became An Instant Phenomenon,” The Conversation,
   July 15, 2016