Niantic's AR mobile games have succeeded on the backs of community engagement. Before titles like Pokemon GO and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite added recognizable brands, Ingress set a foundation in which players took to the streets so they could accomplish goals together. That idea carries through to games like Pokemon GO via its three teams competing over Gyms, but Niantic's latest venture Pikmin Bloom is more casual.
There is a community aspect to Pikmin Bloom, but it's much less pronounced. Pikmin Bloom is more an exercise tool that asks players to go on walks so their steps can grows Pikmin Seedlings, meanwhile they find new Seedlings and fruit along their walking path. The main thrust of community engagement is that players can set their apps to plant flowers together during group walks, temporarily beautifying the map while accruing Coins. Friends can also send postcards to one another, but this aspect of the game has a lot more potential than Niantic has tapped into.
Pikmin Bloom's Postcards are Largely Aesthetic
Pikmin Bloom is built upon the same map as prior Niantic games, with areas of interest such as Pokemon GO's PokeStops and Gyms replaced primarily by large flower sprouts that bloom after enough flowers have been planted around them. Each sprout uses the image of a real-world landmark submitted by players, and these landmarks are also used to differentiate co-op Challenge mushrooms - unlocked at level 15 so people can send Pikmin to clear areas together.
When Pikmin are sent on expeditions, in which they collect the Seedlings or fruit that players discovered during walks, sometimes they pick up postcards bearing the landmark near that item. Postcards are also collected each time players compete in a Challenge; these versions marked with the points earned on that attempt and subsequent star ranking. A small group of the Pikmin sent on these tasks will also appear on the postcard, making each one unique to the player's collection.
Two players who are friends in the mobile app can send and receive postcards as gifts, asking one of their Pikmin to make the delivery. The postcard will show the sending players' icon in the recipient's collection, but otherwise gifts are no different than the postcards one receives on their own. Pikmin Bloom does not make deliveries instantaneous, as though a Pikmin is actually going to the friend's location, which is a cute touch.
Postcards Could Give Pikmin Bloom Players More Control Over Decor
Postcard gifting is a small way for friends to keep in touch, despite not being able to attach messages, and the simplicity works for an uncomplicated game. However, there's a perfect opportunity for postcards to play into the search for Pikmin Bloom's main collectibles: Pikmin wearing unique decor.
Each Seedling is found around certain archetypical locations. More often than not they'll be by the roadside, but a player can get Pikmin found near places like pharmacies, airports, or the beach. When players interact with their Pikmin enough to earn four hearts of friendship, each individual will return to the place they were discovered and collect a piece of decor. Roadside Pikmin will wear stickers (with winter-themed stickers appear during a limited-time event in the 2021 holiday season), but a locale like the hair salon will offer scissors and a comb.
There's a "gotta catch 'em all" element to this system, as Pikmin Bloom tracks which decor a player has received for each Pikmin color and awards medals at certain milestones. However inequalities are present: players in the American Midwest probably won't be able to find Pikmin around beaches very often, for example. Given these collectibles are a driving force for the game, it would make sense for Niantic to add a means of evening the playing field.
Gifting postcards is one solution that would be relatively easy to implement. Since the postcards are keyed to real-world locations, if someone from Kansas is friends with someone in California they could theoretically trade postcards based on areas the other person lacks. From there, Niantic could implement a system in which players influence their Pikmin to find a gift at whatever appears in postcards rather than their original homes. It might take days for that Pikmin to return, but they could have wider access to new decor as a result. It would be a small touch, but one that makes Niantic's venture more accessible while encouraging communal activities.
Pikmin Bloom is available now on Android and iOS devices.