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Pokémon Go – Pros, Cons, Tips, Tricks

Pokémon as a franchise has come a long way from the days of 8-bit pixelated screens and colourless  characters.  Nowadays, Pokémon games are so advanced and varied, one is hard pressed to find someone that hasn’t at least heard of the phenomenon.  Even so, Pokémon is still seen as a “nerdy” interest. Something that is played in the comfort of ones own home in a video game. A solitary activity – until now.

Pokémon Go is the latest brainchild of Nintendo. A game that does the unthinkable and forces video game players to leave their houses and interact with the world around them in their quest to find and acquire Pokémon. The game will have Pokémon “appear” on ones phone screen at different locations in such a way that immerses the cartoonish character into the real world environment around it. The player is then encouraged to “catch” the Pokémon with one of their “Pokeballs” to add to their collection. They can level up or “evolve” their Pokémon with different powerups, and take over Pokémon battle buildings that other players have previously held monopoly on.

This game encourages long walks and exploration – a concept that is completely new to the video game world and as a result, comes with brand new things to think about and consider.

Primarily – safety. Children who are playing Pokémon Go might end up in unfamiliar neighbourhoods in order to catch that elusive Pokémon they’ve been looking for. The easiest way to combat this is to simply go adventuring with your child while they “play” this game. It has the potential to be a fantastic bonding experience, as well a quick way to work off supper.

The other main concern with Pokémon Go is the game’s ability to track your location. There are many other popular phone apps that also track location, but none quite as precise as Pokémon Go. (sweetchildbirth.com) The game requires very specific location tracking in order to deliver accurate 3D modeling when players are walking around. So far, the makers of the game have taken steps to limit the information being shared with third parties, but there is a growing interest in this information from law enforcement in particular.

Ultimately, Pokémon Go is a fantastic, free phone app that encourages kids to get off the couch and explore the world around them. It is up to parents to decide and delegate how the app is used and for how long by their children and if it is worth the risk of sharing their geographical locations with potential third parties in the future.

 

pokemon go

Surprise Parties @ Game Asylum

When the Game Asylum Party Heroes set out to celebrate Dominic’s birthday, they had no idea it was a surprise party. One they found out from his mom however, a whole new level of excitement came about.

The Party Heroes set up quickly, and then waited outside the truck for Domenic to arrive home from school. Once he did, the smile that lit up his face was one of the biggest the Party Heroes had ever seen.

Domenic had been to Game Asylum parties before, but when he asked to have Game Asylum for his birthday his parents had said no. Little did he know they planned an entire video game themed birthday for him and Game Asylum was the main surprise attraction! (https://www.smallhandsbigart.com)

There are many different ways kids react to seeing the trailer and the best reactions are those at surprise parties. Domenic’s was an Asylum Mixer – an assortment of games from the Game Asylum library, but themed parties tend to add even more to the surprise.

Heroes dressed as Mario and Luigi burst in and surprise the birthday boy or girl and their friends for our Super Asylum World theme. Halo masks come out for Ultimate Asylum theme, and for Asylum Craft themed surprise parties – Party Heroes don their giant Minecraft themed Steve or Creeper head when they enter the party house. Undead Asylum parties are even more impressive as surprise parties, as Party Heroes tell the guest of honour that they are responsible for leading the charge against the zombie invasion!

There are a lot of things that set Game Asylum apart from other video game related birthday options but one of the big things is our focus on themed parties. It helps kids work towards common goals in groups. Teamwork is massively promoted by Party Heroes, and those children who work together and accomplish the themed goals that Party Heroes set have a better chance of winning The Asylum Cup – a coveted trophy that the winning children get to take photos with at the end of the party.

Surprise parties are just another way to enhance the party experience, for party goers and Party Heroes alike.

 

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Trolling and Teamwork

    Teamwork is something that we emphasize heavily at Game Asylum.

    Anyone can sit in front of a TV and play video games, but at Game Asylum, we want to get kids working together – whatever the style they choose to work together may be.

For James and his friends, they showed off their teamwork skills with some classic survival Minecraft exploration. The boys at his party mined all over their world, stuck together when they needed to and went out on their own when it called for it as well. Eventually they found red-stone, lapis, and gold. Such is the power of teamwork between friends. Who knows if the boys would have been so successful sitting at home playing the game by themselves.

Two other boys were playing Mario 3D World together on another tv and demonstrating some of the strangest teamwork our Party Heroes had ever seen.

One of the boys was a skilled veteran at the game, and the other had never played before. At some points, the game forced them to work together and at these points the boys excelled. However, at every opportunity the boys sabotaged each other’s game. (www.bricks4kidz.com) Usually this would phase our Party Heroes, but these boys seemed to work better together when they could “troll” each other into oblivion.

Mario 3D is a great game that emphasizes teamwork and working together for certain goals. However, it is also extremely easy to sabotage your teammates, making it very tempting to do so – especially for 8 year olds who go to school together.

When one of our Party Heroes tried to join the game, the boys turned their wrath on her. Instead of trolling each other, they started picking up her character and throwing her off cliffs! It didn’t take long for her to rage quit, which made the boys laugh even harder than when they were killing her in the game. (https://www.sociobits.org/)

All in all, a party that emphasized teamwork – in all its strange and crazy shapes and forms.

 

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Zombie Party: Hardcore Mode

All zombie parties are not created equal.

Obviously, having Game Asylum at ones zombie themed birthday party helps out a whole lot, but before the trailer shows up, party guests can be participating in a wide variety of activities. Those activities don’t HAVE to include preparation for the zombie apocalypse, but they really should.

Wesley and his friends were told to meet him in the garage (fueling station) where they had pizza and drinks ready to distribute. It takes a lot of energy to fight off a zombie horde and the boys knew this. When Th3 Doctor arrived with the Game Asylum trailer ready to go, she briefed the boys on the dire zombie situation outside and instructed them to yell if they saw a zombie, in hopes of converting it to fight on the side of good.

Just as she was finishing the briefing, a zombie breached the garage and the boys yelled as loud as they could, eventually converting the zombie back into Th3 Avenger, who helped out with the rest of the battle.

Westley and his friends were zombie experts. The second they got inside the trailer, they were fighting the good fight in COD zombies and Halo flood. The boys were teaming up and working together like the world depended on it (which it did) and the Enclave Leader (aka Wesley) and his partner for the evening were fighting the hardest of them all in Left 4 Dead 2. The zombies in Left 4 Dead 2 run when they see you. They have special abilities depending on what kind of zombie they are. There is even a zombie that looks like a little girl crying that will knock you out in you startle her. Such a crazy zombie game took some crazy good shooting skills from the boys, and they worked their way through the entire Dark Carnival mission in the game. Then, on the final boss chapter, Wesley’s best friend and comrade ditched him for the helicopter. Wesley perished, but his friend survived, apologizing profusely.

Wesley swore up and down that if the REAL zombie apocalypse happened that HE would survive. One thing is for sure though – after such an amazing zombie fighting birthday party – Wesley and his friends will be very well prepared for the real thing.

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