Saturday, June 16, 2018

Saturday Game Day 1

I did warn you that titles were subject to change :P


Game of the Week: Pokefarm Q

Long, long ago, I heard of a game called Pokefarm on the internet. It’s a simple fan game, but not anything like the actual Pokemon games I’m used to. They came up with their own Pokemon designs, their own professors, their own world, really. Eventually, as all things tend to do, things went awry and the site split up like icebergs struck by global warming trends, and something new was revealed.

Pokefarm Q is the resurrected idea of a forum-based community surrounding a Pokemon game. It’s basically what it says on the tin – you farm Pokemon. Remember that old episode of the cartoon where Ash wound up on the Miltank ranch? Ever wanted one of your own? Now you can! And it’s absolutely free!

I’m not going to say much about the forums, since I never use them, but as a very casual player, I can tell you, it’s engrossing. You start out by making your trainer card (are you a boy, a girl, or gender-neutral?) and picking a name (I’m Tenleybean, y’all, come visit), and naming your farm (mine’s called Peacevale). Then you’re given the opportunity to pick your starter. And here’s where the game begins to show you what you’re getting into – you can start with any starter from any game. Wanna start with Pikachu or Eevee? Do it. Do you Liek Mudkipz? Do it. Do you wanna be a basic bitch and start with Charmander, Bulbasaur, or Squirtle? Do it. And do it with the knowledge that you will be able to get all the other starters at some point.

After you get your starter, you can start adopting eggs at the lab with Professor Holly. She’ll have an array of eggs at the ready. You have a party of up to 6 eggs at a time. They won’t tell you what they are until they hatch. Really, the game will hold your hand through the starting months – I’ve just lost New Farmer status (which they mark on your profile/name with a Bulbasaur bulb). You gain ranks by hatching and trading (yes there’s trading) and adopting Pokemon, which unlock special currency, special modes, and more.

Then there’s the complex badge system. You can, eventually, go talk to a Jirachi named Ravyne (who I’m pretty sure is also one of the Mods, but again, I don’t use the forums, much). This Jirachi will take the gems you gain from your Pokemon hatching and turn them into badges which give you bonus XP when hatching and leveling specific types. You can only fully construct these badges by evolving Pokemon. All of this is conveyed in a manner so hyperactive and incomprehensible that the page automatically translates Ravyne’s suger-hyped speech into plain old English (or whatever you’re using for a language, I’d imagine).

If you’ve gotten bored with the old Pokemon, fear not, they have Fakemon to make you happy here, too. There are puffballs that evolve into spiders, something that looks like a cross between a Deerling and a Houndoom, more foxes than you can shake a stick at, and colorful snakes that you’ll be super jealous of other people owning.

Now, this blog isn’t supposed to just be me telling you how to play a game, but here’s the basics – you click buttons. That’s how you play. You click on a berry to feed your Pokemon (which grants them XP), you click on people’s names to visit their farms and click berries to feed their Pokemon. You click a button to go fishing, where some dialog pops up now and then to set the mood for you before you click another button to reel in the Slowpoke, Carvanha, Surskit, Magikarp, etc. Yeah, you can catch Goldeen, Slowpoke, and Carvanha with an Old Rod, which I dig. Also, you don’t battle these caught Pokemon, you chuck rocks in their faces and then beg their forgiveness with bait (please don’t run, level 12 Slowpoke, Tenleybean needs you!) before you pelt them with your free balls.

You can also buy balls and bait with in-game currency, called credits, which you get for, you guessed it, clicking on people’s Pokemon to feed them. This includes your own. You can be as self-centered as you like and you’ll still advance.

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed seeing are the new ideas that this group has brought to Pokemon. Besides the Shiny Pokemon we’ve been enjoying since that Red Gyarados in the Lake of Rage, they’ve come up with Albino, Melanistic, and Delta variants. Albinos are, of course, white or washed-out pallet variants of the normal mons, but if you have an Albino variant who also hatches as a shiny? Then you get a Melanistic (black or darkened) version! As for Delta, I’m not clear on that one, since I’ve only seen the name once on someone’s field where all of their Pokemon were surrounded by a colored outline. Very odd.

Besides the awesome variants (god, I want a melanistic Ninetales…) they have also come up with their own Mega Evolutions for various Pokemon. Their Mega Druddigon is fascinating. You have to earn the mega ring doing certain tasks (viewable in the Party tab), but after that, it’s a matter of scouring up, buying, or earning Mega Stones.

Scouring is one of my favorite aspects of this game. You select up to three Pokemon in your party or fields, you send them to one of several locations (Ocean, Volcano, Desert, Forest, etc), and they come back in a couple hours with swag. This might be stuff you can dress up your Pokemon with for one of the many contests the site runs, or it might be berries, or it might be evolution items, mega stones, credits, currency, boxes, or they might come home empty handed. Different Pokemon have different preferences – Your female Squirtle who prefers Spicy berries and hates Sour ones and has a Sassy nature may love the Ocean and hate the City, but another identical Squirtle may love the City and hate the Volcano.

The boxes you sometimes find while scouring are a crapshoot – you don’t know what you’re gonna get. You will, however, get something. It could be the second type of currency, gold Poke, or it could be more dress up accessories, or evolution items, etc. But you’ll always get something. And since they’re free, it’s awesome. Also, you can sell anything on the Marketplace tab for credits.

There are three currencies: Credits (which you earn via interactions), Gold Poke (which can be earned through missions or found in boxes), and Zophan canisters, which are the only thing you have to pay for that I’ve found, so far. These canisters are used for premium content, which, yeah, makes your life easier, but you can also earn the premium content through missions, I’ve found. The only reason to buy canisters is to support the site itself and keep the forums open.

I haven’t even begun to touch on the humor of this game, the deep lore, the great illustrations, but that’s what the link is for – you should definitely check it out for yourself!


Happy Gaming, everyone

and pay poor Tenleybean a visit – he’s lonely.


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