Niantic Talks About Pokemon Go Character Creator Update Backlash, Potential Fixes : Games : Gamenguide

Niantic has responded to the backlash in the Pokemon Go community over the game's recent character creator update and also discussed potential fixes that could address the issue.

Pokemon Go received an update in April of this year that affected the game's avatar system. This included updates to both the Style Shop and avatars and also gave trainers access to a wider range of expression which upgraded cosmetics to showcase their unique styles.

Niantic Talks About Pokemon Go Backlash

In an interview, Niantic director Michael Steranka talked about the recent backlash that players have had with Pokemon Go's recent character creator update.
(Photo : Niantic / Screenshot taken from official website)

Following that particular update, trailers have become able to personalize their avatar by adjusting their body shape, size, eye color, skin tones, and new hairstyles. Despite this kind of update seems like a major win for all players, there was a considerable amount of backlash after it was implemented.

This was because players felt that Niantic strayed a bit too far from previous designs as a not-insignificant amount of people called the update a step back rather than an upgrade. In an interview, Pokemon Go director Michael Steranka talked about the latest issue, according to GoNintendo.

He noted that the developer has been working hard to find a place where all Trainers will be able to feel satisfied with their avatars. Steranka said that they saw a lot of feedback that players felt like the new update did not match what they were hoping for.

The game director added that the team has already made some adjustments with things such as improving the different body proportions that players can have as well as skin tones. He argued that this is just the start, adding that they want to add more to the feature and make it much more diverse.

On the other hand, Steranka explained that it was technically challenging to implement the feature and bring it out into the market. This is due to having a backlog of different avatar items, articles, clothing, and poses.

Complaints About the Game's Avatar Update

Unlike biomes, Pokemon Go's avatar update even had some players revolting against androgynous-looking characters. There were also a large number of bugs that some trainers experienced, said PokemonGoHub.

In the past few months, the game has seen a number of useful quality-of-life improvements. While the recent Go Tour Sinnoh event threaded the needle in terms of player engagement, others have been received quite well.

Steranka also talked about players soon seeing, particularly in the upcoming seasons, more new Pokemon coming out that fans know and love from the franchise. He also said that they knew there were a finite number of Pokemon that were released in the main series games.

This means that they are thinking hard about what would be next for Pokemon Go after all, or the majority, have been added to the game. They thought about how to make the game exciting without solely relying on releasing new creatures.

Steranka said that this was top of the line for them but argued that they are still keeping an open ear for feedback on other updates that they implemented to Pokemon Go. He added that the team has put a lot of serious consideration into the matter, according to EuroGamer.