Pokémon GeO: Queer and Disabled Narratives in an Unintentional (P)GIS

Abstract

Pokémon GO has been a quintessential title in the location-based game (LBG) genre since its release in 2016. In the time since its release, there have been many changes to the game, however perhaps none more significant than the move to volunteered geographic information (VGI). Pokémon GO uses VGI through OpenStreetMap (OSM) environment data and the Niantic Wayfarer community suggestion/ratification platform for its points of interest, known as wayspots. The Wayfarer system allows Pokémon GO (and its predecessor, Ingress) players to define the most significant aspects of their real-world locales and bring them into the game world. As such, PokémonGOcan be understood to be an unintentional participatory GIS (PGIS) – built with the purpose of being an entertaining video game but creating VGI as a byproduct. The presence or absence of certain cultural experiences and narratives in the Pokémon GO wayspots presents players with an image of the area they find themselves in that is almost exclusively defined by players from that area. These narratives are investigated using Wellington, New Zealand as a case study. Despite having rich history in both areas, Pokémon GO is found to be lacking in wayspots corresponding to queerness and disability in Wellington. The broad absence of these themes is shown to be a combination of real-life biases making them less visible in the real world and part of a broader issue of diversity in video games in general.