This is a quick explanation on how to play Pokémon GO with limited sighted assistance.

I decided to write this up to give people a quick reference on how to begin playing Pokémon GO with limited sighted assistance, which isn’t as much of a hassle as it might seem. This is due to the application’s tendency to draw a number of people together in one location who all have at least one common interest. If you have any friends who are able to see without any sort of visual impairment, this is intended to give you the information to communicate with those around you who may be helpful enough to lend you some aid. If you are an individual on the opposite end of the spectrum, (Someone with no visual impairments, and encounters someone with one, and are stopped to render assistance) this is intended to help you understand what a person with a visual impairment might request.

Number one: getting Started.

To start, this is a list of things you’ll need to make sure you have before requesting assistance.

1. A smart phone with a data connection and GPS capability.

2. A google account, usually means just having a Gmail account registered to you.

3. The Pokémon GO app, this can be found by visiting the play store or the App store on IOS devices.

4. Launch the game and wait until it pulls up the Google account login screen, and sign in. As a side note, be sure to take Extra security precautions with your Google account by enabling two-step verification.

Congratulations, you should be set up to request assistance.

Next, go through character creation. This process is done by selecting the following fields.

1. Male or Female,

2. Skin color.

3. If female, you choose to wear a hat or not, if male, you choose to wear a vizier or not.

4. Hat/vizier color.

5. Hair color.

6. Eye-color.

7. Shirt style and color.

8. Pants style and color.

9. Shoe style and color.

10. Backpack style and color.

More information on how the game functions and plays can be found here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Goo

Now that you have a general understanding of how the game works, and the principles behind the game, we can get into some of the features an individual with a visual impairment might be interested in learning about.

1. Poke-stops.

Poke stops will pop up on the screen as you move about the world around you. When this happens a chime rings out, it sounds almost like an 8 bit bell ringing, or maybe even an old style bike bell. After you hear this, you can either have the person who is helping you click on it, or you can attempt to do it yourself by tapping around on the screen until you hear it make an 8 bit whoosh sound. When moving about on the screen with your finger, try moving it about a quarter of a centimeter at a time, and hold it there until you hear the chime in the background of the music play. Also, only the area between about 4 centimeters above the home key and the top of the screen holds the over-world, if you tap around below that point you will start clicking on screen tabs. After you have successfully located the Poke-Stop, and have heard the subsequent “Whoosh” sound, you will next need to swipe your finger on the same spot either to the left or right. This spins the stop, which rewards you with eggs, Pokeballs, and other related rewards. You will then have to click around on the screen until everything is collected. Once you are finished, click directly above the home button. This should exit you from the Poke-stop, and return you to the over-world.

2. Augmented versus not augmented. By default the application is set to augmented mode, this means that whenever you encounter a Pokémon, the user must turn about in the real world to capture the Pokémon. In non-augmented mode, the user must turn about in the game world by turning a dial in the application, and then throw a Pokeball. I haven’t tested either mode very extensively, but non-augmented is by far the easier of the two options for an individual with a visual impairment to use. When the user is in an encounter, they must tap and hold the Pokeball, which is located about 4 centimeters above the home button. You’ll want to be careful not to tap two low, doing so may result in pressing the options menu. You will hear a low sound play as you touch the Pokeball, once you hear the sound, you can then flick your finger up the screen to launch the Pokeball at the Pokémon. The speed and angle of the throw will determine how the ball is thrown. The timing of the throw determines your accuracy. Too late, and you’ll miss, too slow and the Pokémon will escape. Once you have successfully captured your Pokémon, you can then tap near the bottom of the screen to close out of the Poke-stats menu. If it is a new type, you will then be presented with a Pokedex entry for that Pokémon species. To exit this screen press near the bottom of the screen. This will return you to the over-world map.

3. Poke battles: To be written.

4. Menus, to be written.

5. If you have any other questions feel free to ask me, and I’ll do my best to answer them, though you may get a better response by asking the person you are helping or are being helped by.

HTH. #pokemongo

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