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Elkhova Oksana Igorevna, Doctor of Philosophy , professor, Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Bashkir State University, Russia;

 

AUGMENTED REALITY EFFECT: POKEMON GO

 

The concept of «augmented reality» actively included in philosophical discourse, and quite often used. In this article, we set ourselves the task of defining the ontological sense of the concept, which will allow us to rise to the level of philosophical understanding of how to relate to the concept of «virtual reality» and «augmented reality».

Information technology at the present stage of its development has the opportunity to complete the picture of reality visualized virtual element representing the user inseparable from the real world.

Now augmented reality technology is actively developed and applied in the informational and educational spheres, and in the cultural and entertainment area. So, with the application of augmented reality Pokemon Go opened a new era in the gaming industry, which, one might say, has stirred up the public.

Before the advent of the online game Connect the real and virtual reality for a wide range of users was an accomplishment. Game Pokemon Go situation played out against the backdrop of the real world, it blurs the line between reality and artificial reality, is the most user augmented reality effect. Pokemon Go is already referred to as the mobile fever in recent years, less than a week the audience of its users has become a multi-million.

Although the phenomenon of augmented reality has become widespread in science and culture only in recent years, this phenomenon was investigated earlier. The term "augmented reality in the sixties of the twentieth century was proposed by Sutherland, who believes this type of reality in the form of a computer graphic overlay on the system of the real world image [1].

We believe that augmented reality can be considered a kind of virtual reality. In our work, the term «virtual reality» is defined as a person created the impression of staying in an artificially created world. In its most general form, the virtual reality can be defined as an artificial world, perceived as valid. The essence of the process of virtualization of reality is its substitution of simulation, the modeled modern technical means [2; 3]. Virtual reality technologies are aimed at creating the illusion of human presence in the constructed world. To achieve the effect of immersion in virtual reality, the user must get an impression of the built environment, produced by technical means.Speaking of the virtual world and the person staying in it, we use the term «illusion of presence» (illusion of presence) [4].

In our works, we introduce the concept of «virtual index», which refers to the depth of user engagement in the virtual environment, resulting in allocated virtual reality, low and high index of virtuality. The entered us the concept of «virtual index» suggests that augmented reality, which is realized in the game Pokemon Go has a high index of virtuality.  In the case of augmented reality user sees the virtual objects on top of or combined with the real world, which ensures a high degree of user involvement in the virtual world. As noted above, the virtual index is provided by three components: immersion, engagement, interactivity. High virtuality Pokemon Go index is achieved through a high degree of involvement and interactivity. The basis of the game lies, the so-called quest technology. The quest has always assumed the job in which you need to find something: the subject, hint, message, to move on. In the case of Pokemon Go application main task for the user is the search and catching Pokémon. In this case a thorough examination of the real world has become a necessity in this game for the further promotion of the user. The creators of the game conceived so that the Pokémon can live anywhere: in the member's apartment on a busy avenue street at the diner for a rare species of Pokémon is necessary to arrange the whole expedition in parks, in industrial areas or even go out of town in the woods and ponds. The high degree of involvement in Pokemon Go has many certificates to users, this game becomes a real adventure in the scenery of the real world. So, in the pursuit of Pokemon people wander in remote places, falling from the cliffs, fall in traffic accidents, and some even passed wife childbirth, hunting for virtual objects around the maternity hospital [5].

If we talk about the future of games development, using the effect of augmented reality, of course, to be expected that the market in the near future there will be a large number of such applications in view of the large demand for them, which, in turn, provides an unprecedented commercial efficiency.

In conclusion: We believe the augmented reality as a kind of virtual reality, characterized by a low degree of absorption. Combining visualized virtual objects with the real world provides a high degree of user involvement in the virtual world. Together with the application of augmented reality Pokemon Go opened a new era in the gaming industry, it is expected a large number of similar applications in the interactive entertainment market. High virtuality Pokemon Go index is achieved through a high degree of involvement and interactivity. High involvement in the game Pokemon Go in addition to the effect of augmented reality technology is also provided by Quest, laid in its foundation.

 

References

1. Castells Ì.The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society. Oxford University Press, 2003. 304 p.

2. Elkhova O.I. Ontologicheskoe soderzhanie virtualnoy realnosti: diss. … d-ra. filos. nauk. Ufa, 2011. 330 s.

3. Elkhova O.I. Ontologiya virtualnoy realnosti: Monografiya. Ufa, 2011. 228  s.

4. Elkhova O.I. Illyuziya prisutstviya v virtualnom mire. Vestnik Bashkirskogo universiteta. T. 20. ¹ 4. 2015. S. 1386-1390.

5. Koerber B. Two men fall off a cliff playing «Pokémon Go» [Electronic resource] // URL: http://mashable.com/2016/07/14/pokemon-go-fall-off-cliff/#R8K7nitFiaqx (last accessed: 08.09.2016).