Newsletter No. 483

02 # 4 8 3 | 1 9 . 0 9 . 2 0 1 6 自 Po k émo n Go 今年7月推出以來，這款基於GPS定位技術、應用擴增實境 （augmented reality，簡稱AR）的手機遊戲瘋捲全球，大批精靈訓練員「日夜鍛煉 去取勝」，令香港各區的公園比中秋節還熱鬧，也衍生出光怪陸離的新聞標題—「宅男終 出山捉精靈脫毒」、「青年辭工全力捉妖」等，極盡荒誕。 無論是 Pokémon Go 玩家抑或非玩家，都很難言明究竟是何種魔力驅使男女老幼在烈日下 步行數公里，孵化虛幻無實的精靈蛋。中大心理學系 許展明 教授專研動機心理學，他提供 以下五個解釋： 1.人腦喜歡新鮮感。 當我們遇到新刺激，大腦中的獎賞系統會產生愉悅感。就 Pokémon Go 而言，它給人帶來的新刺激就是擴增實境。「 P okémon Go 是首款將AR技術 主流化的遊戲，大部分人透過這免費程式初嚐AR滋味，大人小孩都迫不及待體驗透過實景 鏡頭捕捉虛擬精靈是怎樣的感覺。」 2.懷舊情懷作祟。 遊戲勾起很多看《寵物小精靈》動畫長大的八九十後的童年回憶。 別以為戀舊等同對過去無謂的耽溺，許教授指出追憶往事有助我們繼續前行。「懷舊的人 希望把過去、現在與將來的自己連成一線。玩 Pokémon Go 令我們憶起有趣的卡通情節或 當年一起追劇的好夥伴，這些回憶能增強當下的正向情緒，提升自信，並促進人與人的連 繫。」這位八十後教授如是說；《寵物小精靈》九十年代末熱播之時，他還在唸中學。 3.人類天生愛互動。 當訓練員四出遊走捉精靈時，放眼望去都是舉着手機面帶微笑 的同路人，共同嗜好令陌生人之間也很容易打開話匣子。「這遊戲成功讓本來互不相識的 城市人變得有說有笑。研究指出，面對面的交流比起電子溝通更有利心理健康。」 4.愈難掌握愈想掌握，愈是稀缺愈想擁有。 機會愈是不確定和稀缺，愈是令 人興奮和珍惜。一方面，玩家無從得知下一刻將在屏幕跳出哪隻小精靈，這種對未來收穫 的不確定增加了興奮感。另一方面，在總數一百五十一隻小精靈中，有些CP值（攻擊力）較 高，表示品種稀有且難以捕捉。當我們成功將「稀寵」收入球內，成功感與優越感便油然 而生。這就是大家甘願攀山涉水追擊「啟暴龍」，或是膽敢潛入殯儀館搜索「鬼斯通」的 重要原因。 5.羊群效應不容忽視。 我們都受着身邊人的一舉一動 影響，因此當大眾都在玩 Pokémon Go ，沒人希望成為落 單那個。「我相信很多人其實並非真心對這遊戲感興 趣，但礙於朋輩壓力或是害怕跟他人缺乏共同話題， 便不由自主跟隨大流。」許教授解釋道。 雖然 Pokémon Go 魅力難擋，但這股熱潮最近幾星期似已逐漸退燒，用家數目銳減三分 一，許教授再次歸因於大腦處理新訊息的方式：AR面世之初確曾讓我們歡喜若狂，但一旦 大腦開始習慣這玩意，新鮮感便隨之消退。「遊戲開發者應考慮注入新元素，例如允許玩 家與好友交換精靈或對戰，以保持新鮮感，同時填補人們對社交互動的無盡需要。」 S ince being released in July, Pokémon Go , a location-based, augmented-reality mobile game, has taken the world by storm. It has phone-wielding players flooding parks and public spaces late into the summer night, and generated surreal spectacles on news media such as hordes of socially awkward teenagers venturing out of their homes for the first time in years to hunt Pokémon, and adults quitting their plum jobs to become full-time players. The phenomenon has left us, Go players and non-players alike, mystified. What on earth has possessed fans of all ages who walk miles to hatch fictional monster eggs? Hui Chin-ming , a CUHK psychology professor who specializes in motivational psychology, offers five explanations. 1. The human brain feeds on novelty. The reward system in our brain creates the experience of pleasure when we encounter a new stimulus which in the Go case means the game’s augmented reality (AR) approach. ‘ Go is one of the first-ever mainstream applications of AR. Thanks to the free game, many have tried the novel technology for the first time. Kids and adults alike are eager to get their first taste of how it feels to catch digital monsters superimposed on a physical world,’ said Professor Hui. 2. The game provides a fair amount of nostalgia for fans who grew up with the Pokémon franchise. While many assume nostalgia means an indulgent looking back to the past, Professor Hui said it actually helps us to move on. ‘Nostalgia is a desire to connect one’s past, present and future selves. Playing Go reminds us of the fun cartoon we used to watch and the people we used to watch it with. Such a reminder can increase positive emotion, enhance self-esteem and foster social connectedness with others,’ said the young professor who was a teenager when Pokémon peaked in popularity in the late ’90s. 3. Human beings are hardwired for connection. When players are walking around their neighbourhoods looking for Pokémon, they run into one another. A shared love of the game makes for easy conversation even between strangers. ‘It’s a 捉精靈 捉心理 The Psychology of Pokémon Go