New Pokémon Snap, due to arrive on Switch on the 30th April, is a lovely, relaxing photography simulator that's all about appreciating wildlife and nature. Right? WRONG. New Pokémon Snap is a game that you can win, and thanks to Nintendo of America's new information, we know how to do it. Start exercising your snapping fingers!
In #NewPokemonSnap, Professor Mirror will evaluate your photos based on your subjects’ poses, how large they appear, how directly they’re facing you, and where they fall in frame. With these photography tips in mind you’ll be well on your way to building your Photodex!
Some of you will have already played the original Pokémon Snap game, and are probably thinking, "isn't that how the first game worked?" and you would be right - the original also had "special poses" that were tricky to unlock or find, like surfing Pikachu, so we imagine those will also be returning as well.
Of course, the Pokémon Snap style of photography doesn't always exactly line up with what is considered "good" in actual photography:
We all remember the pain of having to choose between a classically beautiful photograph and the awful one that technically gets you more points, right?
[source twitter.com]
Comments 33
Me noticing the number in the top right corner
Nice
I think the scoring system of the original game is largely what was so brilliant about it and got me addicted to trying for high scores. I'm glad to hear the same system is still in place.
Now I just want confirmation that this game will have lots of clever secrets and branching paths.
That seems like a shame. The rules will generate very similar photographs (when aiming for points and not aesthetics)
I felt the Home decoration system in animal crossing was too simplistic in approach and didn’t allow for much variety in home design.
"You were close!"
I mean, it makes sense. It's easy to score, easy to understand, easy to aim for. At least we now have ways to save the cool looking ones outside of the original album.
It's not really a photography game, it's a puzzle game. You need to bring about and capture (with your camera) certain situations. That's it. You're not gonna get judged on the use or misuse of the rule of thirds — which is a rule you can break. Wes Anderson and Stanley Kubrick wouldn't have had a career if they had stuck to that rule. Context is everything and I don't expect a videogame algorithm to be that subtle.
I think it was the right call to keep the scoring similar to the original. That was part of the charm. And now that you can easily share your photos online on social media, you get ton of additional judges who probably don't require the Pokémon to be at the center.
@Late It is the right call, but I'd love it if they added an advanced mode that used some more sophisticated algorithms to judge them by photography rules.
Just adding rule of thirds like @Beaucine mentioned, or golden ratio/spiral tests with points of interest tagged in the scenery — maybe even contrast? — would not even be that hard to add nowadays.
I suppose you could also go social and get images voted on by people, but I'm less into that.
I’m excited for this, no doubt!
It’s also kinda of insane we’re getting this above Pilotwings or something tho 🙃
I'm kind of a casual Pokémon fan, really. I've tried various entry points but it hasn't stuck with me — I totally respect and understand its popularity — but Pokémon Snap was sublime. It's my strongest positive memory and attachment to all of it. My family is going to eat this up, but I hope it plays well where we all can watch each other play.
@aaronsullivan
My problem with that is that it would be terribly mechanical. Compose a picture a certain way: get a high score every time. There's no art, creativity, or intention involved. I supposed it'd be fine as a Photography 101 primer, but...
I guess ultimately what I'm interested in, for Pokemon Snap, are game mechanics. The original's use of photography as an excuse for adventure game puzzles was clever, and I'm glad that's still the case here.
Great. I didn't have a problem with the scoring. Now only if they could bring back Todd and Oak
The typo in the title is annoying me way more than it should. Great article, though!
@Beaucine totally agree, but I didn't want to get too stuck in to "algorithms can't understand beauty" in a quick news piece!
@ObeseChihuahua2 I can't tell if I'm going blind, or if I just haven't had enough caffeine today, but I'm not sure where the typo is!
@aaronsullivan I would never win games again if I had to rely on the kindness of strangers to upvote my photos
@KateGray
Oh, I get that. I was just kind of thinking out loud (well, not really, because I typed that silent, but you get the point) after reading the embedded Twitter post.
@Beaucine algorithms are super interesting! I don't blame you!
makes the most perfect picture of a rare legendary Pokemon ever
"You were close!"
@Beaucine It's not really even a puzzle game, its more a rail shooter than anything. It might be a more puzzle based rail shooter, but its still a rail shooter.
So, photograph game genre.
I have game like that on PS3 with title Hakuna Matata (Asia version = Hakuna Matata, USA and Japan version = Afrika).
The game is also taking picture of African wild animals with specific requirements. You have to take approach from distance to take a photo snap. After taking photo, you must upload the photos into website and send the specific photos to get reward and increase the rank. The game also introduce Sony's camera products to take photo.
But honestly, despite Hakuna Matata looks great in graphics (looks like The Sims 3), the photographer looks so arrogant. He didn't even want to show his face straightly to the player as you rotate the camera, he always facing his face to other direction, refuse to face 2 face with the player. 🤨
It looks very unfriendly, very contrast with New Pokemon Snap.
@alexybubble
From what I remember, the rail shooting or light gun aspects are trivial. The long game is based around the puzzles and getting specific kinds of shots, poses, events, etc. That requires observation, pixel-hunting, and interaction with the environment, which I don't quite associate with, say, Star Fox or Time Crisis.
The old system was simple and worked, no reason to change it. Hopeful to see branching paths and more unlockables to finding secret shots. Always found it weird Snap never had a Zoom feature.
@KateGray I don't think evolution is spelled with an A. It might be a regional spelling though, like color/colour.
@ObeseChihuahua2 ah, I see! It's meant to say "evaluation" - it means "judgment"
@Beaucine I mean... not more mechanical than it is now. And Photography 101 would be a great side effect to a fun game — as long as it remained fun. Which is also why I think it could be a cool additional feature for those that want a harder challenge and to add replay value.
Without social intervention or some outside source of machine learning from a churn of more recent well-liked photos (by aesthetics), it wouldn't be able to capture the visual sensibilities of the milieu which shift over time, etc. But it would be one step closer and I think remain fun.
@aaronsullivan
I see your point. I guess I'm just skeptical about the implementation of that.
Speaking of photography games, have you heard of Umurangi Generation? It sounds very tempting and is apparently quite good. The grading, however, seems Pokemon Snap-style, in that you're graded more for content than aesthetics. On the plus side, you get lots of pro camera setting to let your photography nerd run wild.
@Beaucine I had not heard of that. Looks intriguing and has great reviews on Steam. I like how well the photography bounties may work as a means of storytelling, too.
@KateGray Oh. That makes sense.
What about the golden ratio?
@meeto_1 There is nothing stopping people from taking photos of things they find aesthetically pleasing and posting it on social media. At the end of the day, the scoring system has to be based on some metric that the game can objectively evaluate; something as abstract and subjective as "I find this angle and composition visually appealing" isn't something that could be programmed into a game.
Yeah I would also like an advanced "photography pro" mode but at the end of the day it's a game, the system not only has to work, it also has to be clear and easy to communicate to players. It's not like I didn't have hours of fun with the first Snap, and I was basically pre-purchasing it already until my Cyberpunk burnout remembered me to at least wait for a couple reviews
Im sorry but the rule of thirds is dumb. It fills no purpose unless you want to be a carbon copy generic photographer. For regular people, they want their memories, family, and subjects to be the center of their photo. For true artists, they aren’t going to be following a rule book.
Rule of thirds is for non creative people who went to a class and think they are now creative.
I hope all photos can be saved to a gallery, whether it's the system's gallery or one in-game. I'd like the opportunity to save photos that may not score many points but is just aesthetically pleasing.
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