Shane Brunswick is a fourteen-year-old Pokémon Go player who is less than satisfied with the creatures he has access to in the suburbs. To that end, he’s created a parody web game, which he calls Pokémon Go: Suburban Version.
The Suburban Version attempts to replicate the experience of playing Pokémon Go in the suburbs — an endless stream of Pidgeys — and nothing else. Unlike the augmented reality of the real app, the browser game is a 2D platformer where players have to collide with the flying Pokémon and dodge version updates.
Brunswick has apparently taught himself JavaScript in order to make a point to the team at Niantic, according to a report from Nintendo Life. “I set out to make this game in hopes of alerting Niantic of the severity of the communities’ disdain for current spawning mechanics,” writes the teenager in a blurb accompanying the game.
Despite his frustration with the lack of desirable Pokémon in his area, Brunswick still has plenty of praise for the app. “There’s so much to love about Go,” said the teenager, speaking to Digital Trends via email. “It brings the entire Pokémon universe to life, and I’ve loved meeting others who love Pokémon as much as I do while playing the game.”
That said, he’s resolute in the criticisms that he lays down in the Suburban Version. “I’ve caught at least 900 Pidgeys since I started playing Go,” he explained. “In fact, I reckon I’ve caught so many Pidgeys that we may soon need to worry that the species might be on the brink of extinction.”
Obviously, Brunswick’s game is tongue-in-cheek, but it raises an important point about the disadvantages of playing Pokémon Go anywhere that isn’t a city. Given that the game’s active player count has seen significant drops, it might be time for Niantic to consider evening out the playing field for all trainers.
Like the real app, server issues are a concern for the Suburban Version. Donation links are present on the site to prevent outages, and a special version of the game is set to be released for the Pokémon Go faction that contributes the most money to the cause.
Update 8/29/2016: Added comments from Brunswick.
