A programmer on Twitter created a method for users to play Pokémon Red without closing the Twitter application or leaving the site. That said, it requires a fair amount of updating to actively see what’s going on in the game. Twitter Plays Pokémon is actually a rare case of players who enjoy a game at four frames per minute.
Players collectively control the game by replying to a tweet which says “comment on one of these buttons in this tweet: Up, Down, Left, Right, A, B, Start, Select”. Every fifteen seconds, a program analyzes the comments and registers the most popular button as an entry to the game. According to the additional instructions, the button entries must be followed by a space and a word other than one of the buttons listed. The last time I looked, the player’s character was stuck in a heated encounter with what appeared to be his biggest rival – a corner.
This activity is reminiscent of the 2014 Pokémon Twitch Plays social experiment, which used crowdsourcing entries from a Twitch chat to browse Pokémon Red. Users can still work Pokémon games on the Pokémon Twitch Plays channel, but the whole concept has spawned a series of new twists, turns and stories that, like this Twitter topic, can suddenly attract more attention than the channel can now. A variation of Pokémon Twitch Plays even proved that a group of goldfish could beat three different Pokémon games if you have enough time.
Unusual entries are not uncommon for the series. Pokémon Sleep is a game that allows users to play Pokémon sleeping. Smile Pokémon is a game played by brushing your teeth. Of course, there are many other ways to incorporate Pokémon in everyday activities.