Contact: James Carskadon

STARKVILLE, Miss. – As the mobile game Pokémon Go continues to grow in popularity, Mississippi State University students, employees and visitors are encouraged to use caution when playing the game on and off campus.

MSU Dean of Students Thomas Bourgeois said players should remember to use common sense while pursuing Pokémon by avoiding restricted areas and keeping player safety in mind. He also advised players of the augmented reality-based game to stay hydrated and not overexert themselves while playing in hot weather.

Pokémon Go, launched earlier this month by Niantic, allows players to catch Pokémon through an augmented reality interface on their phones in their surroundings. The game also includes gyms and Pokéstops at various locations where users can battle each other. The MSU campus has many gyms and Pokéstops, which has drawn people to areas all over campus while playing the game.

“I think it’s a good way to get students out moving around campus and getting familiar with campus and all the different venues,” Bourgeois said.  “Anytime you can get students up and moving, it’s a good thing.”

Although players enjoy the game for a wide variety of reasons, it is designed to showcase interesting landmarks and features of any area, including the MSU campus. Alan Burns, a research associate at MSU’s Social Science Research Center, helped mark campus and Starkville points of interest used in Pokémon Go while playing Niantic’s Pokémon Go predecessor, Ingress. In Ingress, players submitted points of interest as portals in the game, usually providing background information about what made a location unique or significant. Many of those same portals were then used by Niantic as gyms or Pokéstops in Pokémon Go.

“If you went into a new town, you might not necessarily know where all of the cool murals and statues and sights to see are, but if you were playing Ingress, you could bring it up and know there was something interesting one block over because there’s a portal there,” Burns said, noting that the same logic now applies to Pokémon Go.

When MSU senior biological sciences major Marissa Gonzalez recently was taking a break from her summer schedule to play Pokémon Go, she said she has learned about different sites on campus, such as the YMCA Building. The 102-year-old building, constructed with funding from John D. Rockefeller now is a virtual gym in Pokémon Go. Gonzalez recommended the game for incoming freshmen as a way to get to know the campus and socialize.

“It gives you a lot of background and history on MSU, which is pretty cool,” Gonzalez said. “Like the Chapel of Memories bell, I learned something new about that. It’s pretty cool because I’ve talked to so many more people than I usually do while playing the game. Maybe when these freshmen come, they’ll be more outgoing and feel connected to campus faster.”

Burns, who provides public relations and communication support to the SSRC, said the game can have positive benefits for organizations and businesses. For just over $1 an hour, players can put out lures, which brings more Pokémon into a specific area. In addition to luring Pokémon, the lures also can bring customers or event attendees looking to catch Pokémon into an area who may not otherwise have been there.

“If you get 50 extra people to come to your event, you assume that dollar is well spent,” Burns said. “That’s 50 extra pairs of eyes you have looking at something you’re promoting or have bought something.”

Although the lures have positive uses, Bourgeois noted that those that wish to do harm could potentially use lures to draw players to an isolated or unsafe location. Although there have not been any Pokémon-related incidents on campus, Bourgeois emphasized that students should use good judgment and avoid isolated areas, especially late at night. Additionally, players should be mindful of their surroundings and avoid playing the game in a way that interrupts day-to-day campus functions.

“There have been no reports here, but you can see people looking at their phones or not paying attention while they’re walking,” Bourgeois said. “Players need to be cautious around construction and traffic and things like that. There’s a lot of potential of people just falling over something because they are looking at their phone. Again, just use common sense.”

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.