How can pokémon become more mature?

moon

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    We keep saying that pokémon isn't strictly for kids here, but the fact remains that it's a cuddly cute franchise in many ways, what with the anime being what it is, the games still having a low age rating and the abundance of plushies and toys being available. To name a few examples.

    There are, of course, many ways in which we have established before that pokemon is too advanced to be solely for kids - the vast strategic complexity of the battle system, for example.

    In what ways do you think the franchise could, in the future, take steps to be targeted towards (or at least allow more for) a more mature audience?
     
    Honestly, I think the franchise more than allows for older fans enough as it is. The battle system can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, and the popularity of challenges shows that more mature audiences are quite capable of making their own entertainment from the games. All I think that could be done in the games is to acknowledge these complexities. To make optional additions; say, being able to pick a difficulty mode at the start of the game (thank you very much, Black 2) or to have the game set restrictions on you. One thing they could do without too much difficulty would be to allow the player to dictate at the start of the game how they'd like to play it - if they want to do a Nuzlocke, for example, preventing them outright from catching more than one Pokemon per route, or making fainted Pokemon permanently fainted.

    Things like the PWT, Challenge Mode and the Medal System in Black 2/White 2, only on a grander scale, would be great to see again, and I think they could do that without any issues. But the core of the game should not be tampered with in any way to cater to a more mature audience, ever. Options are fine, because you can choose to ignore them, but to target a more mature audience? Absolutely not.

    I see this argument in a lot of fandoms that have older fans who have grown up with it - they expect it to grow up with them, or keep expecting to see concessions or acknowledgements made for them. I personally don't agree with this misplaced sense of self-entitlement a lot of older fans of franchises seem to have. It doesn't exist solely to cater to your whims; the developers owe you nothing. If the target audience remains the same age group and you're no longer in it, tough luck. Besides that, it wouldn't even be the same franchise you knew and loved if it suddenly turned darker and more mature: if it catered to your tastes now, it would cease to be what you enjoyed and become something else entirely, and that wouldn't necessarily be a good thing...in fact, it probably wouldn't be.

    In short? I don't think they could do much more than they already did in Black 2/White 2, and I don't think they should either.
     
    As mentioned above, codifying into the games the options and playstyles the community has developed (Nuzlockes and stuff) would be a good start.

    Content-wise, it suffices simply with broadning the horizons of what is shown to us in the games (or any other canon really). That doesn't mean it has to become sex, politics and blood... the focus should still always be building your very own personal team of friendly monsters and making life miserable for the grunts and or bug catcher of the day.

    But it'd be a good and... uhm, mature approach to "mature" if we were given more choices and consequences of what happens when we do things. You released a high-level Pokémon in Viridian Forest? Does he cause weekly suffering to the local bug catchers? How's the ecosystem going to react? Will you eventually meet the offspring of one who was once your friend? Or, ya know, two behemoths of antiquity with power over the elements to reshape the landscape and the weather at a macroscale level face each other at the base of a volcanic island and... what do we get? bump bump wiggle wiggle? Come on. Show me that the encounter raises the stakes. Lemme feel that it's my choice to actually save the world. Make being a Pokémon Trainer Protagonist be worth more than simply wearing a hat and beating poor Gym leaders who barely manage to build teams of more than three Pokémon.

    And the fun thing about if that is done? It's a mature approach to mature... by letting us live childish fantasies.
     
    Yeah sure the gaming aspect of is utilized by adults, but the rest is definitely catering towards a very young audience. I'm not saying there should be a more mature game I'm just saying it is what is, a game directed towards children. We can sugarcoat all day long that in one generation there was a challenge mode option along with a few other optional features and a minimally "darker" story. I feel like I see this almost as an excuse used by people who are terrified to see it be anything more than that. I'm totally fine with it being childish as I've accepted that it's most likely going to stay that way, but hey if it ever does take a turn towards actually being a mature game I'm not opposed either. I'd love to see what they would do with it. I think the big thing that would have to change to ever become that is the plot/characters.
     
    why do you people still think gamefreak is going to make more mature pokemon games

    this game is directed towards babies except for the competitive/gaming aspect imo

    also @archer: while PokeCommunity is mostly mature fans, it only represents a VERY small amount of the total amount of Pokemon fans in the world, especially when you take Japan and Europe into account.
     
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    For a more mature reading I have Pokemon Special, so I will just forgive the games for their stupid plot.
     
    Maybe it's the business and marketing side of my brain talking, but I've never had a problem with Pokemon being directed towards kids, and would have no problem if they keep following in that path going forward. While I can't be for certain, I assume that most of us got into the franchise as a kid or in our early teens, and have stuck with it because we love it for what it is. And while some of us older fans got into the series in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd generation, there are kids now that are just starting, and may be in our position 10 years from now. It's a proven money-making formula, so unless they TPCi starts seeing a decrease in profits, there's no reason for them to change what they're doing.

    That said, I think that things like Pokemon Origins are a step in the right direction towards targeting older fans. They'll never deviate from their current path for the main series games or anime, but if they were to start doing special series like this every so often, it could help catch the attention of a more mature audience. I've also always thought that they should release the Pokemon 151 clothing line (or something similar) outside of Japan. Older Pokemon fans probably don't want shirts with Pikachu or starter Pokemon stock art plastered on the front of it, but give me something like that Articuno or Mewtwo shirt, and I'd wear it all the time.
     
    I think first and foremost we have to agree one thing, the games are still fun to play now as they were back in 1995 when I first booted up Red.

    The biggest thing for me would be a difficulty level choice as previously mentioned, gym leaders and elite 4 with full teams and levels based around the maximum level of your team rather than a set level (so you cant overlevel them), more battle maison style AI levels using decent moves heals etc.
     
    - For in the games I hope they make the story a little more interesting, giving the characters a little more personality. I love what they did in OR/AS giving the characters expressions on their faces and a dialog that fits the character more. + the extra storyline at the end was a pleasant surprise.

    - I loved watching the pokemon origin serie. I hope somehow they will make a different story line in the poke-universe for a more mature audience, but I think that it is difficult to keep them separate from each-other. For example if you make another pokemon serie but 12+ and kids start to watch it because it's pokemon, not knowing pokemon has a spin-off serie for a older audience. It can get complicated for pokemon.

    To be honest I think Pokemon is at least trying to make it as interesting for the older audience.
     
    I don' t see how cuddliness and/or cuteness are something to rate things solely for kids. To me, the franchise always appeared like something for both, children and adults, and I don't think that GF should change it for being more mature.
    I think, also, that "In-Depth" Pokemon has something "mature" to offer.
     
    Ausaudriel said:
    My biggest complaint is the storyline of the games and the dialogue that comes along with it. It all feels so kiddish and unreal and just boring, honestly.

    I love playing the games for the adventure/exploration aspect of it, but the story is just sooooo bad. :\ In almost every game. The last storyline I enjoyed was Ruby/Sapphire, but even now when I go back and play I'm just like "ugh" at every line of dialogue.

    I dunno specifically what I'd want to change, I don't want to put that much thought into examples haha. But I do know that where it is now isn't where it should be.
    Click to expand...
    Regarding the story, I think I'd like to see a more complicated plot. Some mystery, some tricky situations akin to the flood/draught in Hoenn where you feel like srs bz is going down. And the "evil teams" should be replaced by some more realistic villains. They don't need to be grimdark realistic, I just mean that the concept has run its course when we start having teams that want to create new universes etc...

    The basic "travel around, collect badges, catch 'em all" is golden and should always be kept in the main game series. It's the other standardized things surrounding the characters and extra plot that could evolve a bit more. Imo!
     
    Whenever I hear an argument mentioning the maturity of the pokémon main series games, I always think of how innocent and carefree the story can be... and that has always bugged me a bit. Not because I don't like the overly kid-friendly atmosphere... but because I've seen that, even if it's a spin-off game with a different atmosphere, that the pokémon franchise is capable of producing story lines that at least take steps in the right direction.

    The biggest example I can think of... and as many fans of the series will probably already see coming... is the pokémon mystery dungeon series. Specifically the second incarnation the explorers of time/darkness/sky trilogy (However the rescue team and gates to infinity games are also applicable.)

    To pick at a point already mentioned here... there are massive legendary pokémon destroying the World and yet you still never really feel all that threatened. Not in the PMD games. In the explorers trilogy... [Major Spoiler Warning]

    Spoiler:


    ...but despite the happy ending and all of the other happy and child friendly moments that are littered throughout this game... the story here gets pretty damned dark. You get to SEE the consequences of what happens if you fail in your quest to save the world...

    ... and well, it ain't pretty. It's damn well depressing actually.

    Yet still they manage to keep these dark and depressing themes toned down enough for younger audiences... or, even better, intricate enough so as to allow the true severity of what was happening to go right over younger kids heads while us more mature players can get the whole picture.

    I think the main series could take a note from chun software and the PMD games in terms of story-telling... these games show that you can make a pokémon game with an at least somewhat more mature story while still catering to a younger audience and I think that if Game Freak did this they'd make a really positive impact on their mature audience while still remaining friendly enough for the younger folks, a win-win if you ask me.

    Edit: Apologies for the long post by the way, might have gotten a bit carried away. ^-^''
     
    No I don't think that the games need much changing
    I think they are perfect for older people too...
    Even though you are a 10 year old kid in game

    But as the anime goes... They should have made the characters age
    And with each new season had a new hero... Like the games
    And had the old heroes meet the new heroes....
    Like how gold meets an older red in GSC...
    While still keeping the theme of the anime to teach people new to the franchise
    How battling works and types + weaknesses
    While showing growth of characters...
    This would make the old characters mature while keeping the current anime
    Fresh...
    Right?
    Just saying :P

    No I don't think that the games need much changing
    I think they are perfect for older people too...
    Even though you are a 10 year old kid in game

    But as the anime goes... They should have made the characters age
    And with each new season had a new hero... Like the games
    And had the old heroes meet the new heroes....
    Like how gold meets an older red in GSC...
    While still keeping the theme of the anime to teach people new to the franchise
    How battling works and types + weaknesses
    While showing growth of characters...
    This would make the old characters mature while keeping the current anime
    Fresh...
    Right?
    Just saying :P
     
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