A programmer on Twitter has created a method for users to play Pokémon Red without closing the Twitter app or leaving the site. That said, it takes a fair amount of refreshment to actively watch what happens in the game. Twitter Plays Pokémon is in fact a rare example of players enjoying a game four times a minute.
Players jointly control the game through reply to a tweet which says: “comment on one of the buttons on this tweet: Up, Down, Left, Right, A, B, Start, Select.” Every fifteen seconds a program looks at the comments and registers the most popular button as input for the game. According to further instructions, the entry of buttons should be followed by a space and another word that is not one of the listed buttons. The last time I watched, the player’s character was locked up in a heated encounter with what turned out to be his biggest rival – a corner.
This activity is reminiscent of the social experiment of Twitch Plays Pokémon from 2014, which used large inputs from a Twitch chat to navigate Pokémon Red. Users can still work through Pokémon games on the Twitch Plays Pokémon channel, but the whole concept has spawned a series of new twists, inversions and stories that, like this Twitter thread, can suddenly attract more attention than the channel can do these days. One variation of Twitch Plays Pokémon has even proven that a group of goldfish can beat three different Pokémon games if given enough time.
Unusual input is not uncommon for the series. Pokemon sleep is a game intended for users to play Pokémon by sleeping. Pokémon smile is a game played by brushing teeth. There are of course many other ways to work in Pokémon in everyday activities.