This Pokemon Go-Like Mobile Game Lets You Collect Catholic Saints, And It's Blessed By The Pope
Pok¨¦mon Go was a smash success because it took a beloved franchise, made it more accessible to newbies, and threw in augmented reality for good measure. Many have tried to copy it later, but none have been quite like this recent attempt.
Just a couple of years ago, Pokemon Go became a smash hit worldwide, combining augmented reality and a beloved franchise to sending the entire world on a wild goose -- err Pokemon -- chase.
Obviously because of its enormous success, Pokemon go was copied by a lot of other apps. But none have been quite like this recent attempt.
Follow JC Go is the newest Pokemon Go imitator on the block. What makes it stand out though is that the JC stands for Jesus Christ, and this is an app straight from the Vatican.
The basic concept is the same, you move around the city trying to find encounters, which in this case is biblical saints and avatars of the Mother Mary instead of Pok¨¦mon. Except instead of trying to battle and capture your finds, here you answer the saint¡¯s questions in order to add them to your ¡°evangelisation team¡±. It's still "Gotta catch 'em all" though.
Also Read: One Year Since Geek Became Cool: How Pok¨¦mon GO Changed How We See Games, AR, and Nerd Culture
Aside from that, the game lets you eat, drink and pray to top up your in-game stats. Yes, the eating and drinking here involve sacramental bread and wine, and yes that likely involves going to physical locations of churches and holy sites to reap in-game rewards.
So, the Vatican has launched its own version of the #PokemonGo app in which you catch saints instead of pokemons:
¡ª GiorgiaV (@ParvaVox) October 22, 2018
find a saint, answer correctly to some questions about him & then you can add him/her to your e-team (evangelisation team)
H/T @peloux_fernandhttps://t.co/NETHQUtXod
It's all a bit ridiculous and a good laugh at that, but there¡¯s at least one feature in the game that¡¯s admirable. Instead of simple microtransactions any in-game currency is purchased by making an in-app donation to charity. Unfortunately, though Follow JC Go is available right now, it seems to be solely in Spanish, which does happen to be Pope Francis¡¯ native tongue.
The game was developed by Fundaci¨®n Ram¨®n Pan¨¦, a foundation promoting evangelization, in preparation for World Youth Day in January 2019. The day is a n international Catholic event where the Church focuses on youth in the faith as the future. According to Crux Now, a Catholic publication, Pope Francis himself loved the app when it was demonstrated to him in Rome earlier this month.
Reuters
"You know, Francis is not a very technological person," Fundaci¨®n Ram¨®n Pan¨¦ executive director Ricardo Grzona said. "But he was in awe, he understood the idea, what we were trying to do: combine technology with evangelization."
A total of 43 designers, theologians, Church historians and coders worked to build the app, over something like 32,000 hours since project began in August 2016. They've spent about $500,000 in money provided by sponsors and private donors. The Vatican-approved JC GO app is available both on Android and iOS.
