Katamari creator moving on

by James Ransom-Wiley { Nov 10th 2005 at 11:30AM }

Keita Takahashi, the creator of Katamari Damacy, recently told the BBC that he plans to leave the gaming industry to pursue a career in playground design: "In 10 years time, I am not going to be making games any more… I would like to create a playground for children… an undulating one, with bumps." Takahashi holds a degree in sculpture design and believes that children should spend more time playing in the physical (read: outside) world. His presence in the "virtual" world will be sorely missed.

[Thanks, El Burro]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jack @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Well I'm happy for him, I'm glad he's doing something he feels passionate about. Well hope the best for him.

mercatfat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

i've been asking for a playground with bumps for years.

this man is my own personal best friend forever.

Justin McElroy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Didn't you mean to write "Katamari creator is rolling on"?

Ah well, I submitted an application.

Jigster @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

The games industry weeps a single tear.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

That game, I own. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. *shrugs*, heaven forbid someone has an opinion that isn't your own.

"His presence in the �virtual� world will be sorely missed."
---This is really pathetic. Guy makes two games, one is exactly the same as the other. It just happened to be a sleeper hit that was hit or miss with people, and he gets a "sorely" missed. I'd understand that for people like Sakaguchi, Miyamoto, Carmack, or Molyneux even... But not someone that's had two bargain priced games, one a very direct sequel, that has been around for like 3 years now. What an "empire" HE'S leaving behind.

News, sure. Saying he'll be sorely missed though is kind of insulting though.

mercatfat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

i think the point that he's still got ten years ahead of him in the industry needs to be emphasized.

he also has a far different attitude than that of most game designers- that is, he hates the good lot of them. he's like an indie gamemaker, but with talent. it can't possibly lead to anything but good, for gamers and for the industry, for an attitude like his to be acceptable again.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"he also has a far different attitude than that of most game designers- that is, he hates the good lot of them. "

Link that shows him saying that somewhere, please. Also, just because you hate someone, doesn't mean you aren't just like them. Seeing what he's accomplished in the 3-4 years he's been involved, I don't see what he could of contributed really. Maybe he's leaving because that was his one good idea, and he realizes this early enough to save face? Better to be a one hit wonder than an aging rockstar.

WizarDru @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Christopher, just because YOU wouldn't miss him doesn't mean he wouldn't be missed. You didn't like the game. Got it. Personally, I don't think he's leaving at all: how many times have we heard this from other creators? Metal Gear, anyone?

I think it's ironic that you mention someone like Carmack, Sakaguchi or Molyneux (and I'd add Kojima to that list) as contrasts, IMHO. I mean all three of them have been remaking the same game in variations over and over. Carmack's name is virtually synonymous with a lack of gameplay innovation. Most creators have only had time to work on one particular type of game (3D shooter, RPG, God Game, Stealth 3rd-person action or what have you).

The fact is that Katamari is a fresh idea in an industry sorely lacking in them. It succeeded with virtually no marketing to speak of and impressed a lot of folks with gameplay. I can understand how some folks wouldn't like it, but I think you'd be hard pressed to deny that a lot of folks were looking forward to what kind of game he might come up with next.

Matt @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

aww thats sad

but those are gonna be some insane playgrounds hahahaha

i love me some katamari damacy

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"I think it's ironic that you mention someone like Carmack, Sakaguchi or Molyneux (and I'd add Kojima to that list) as contrasts, IMHO. I mean all three of them have been remaking the same game in variations over and over."

Of the two games he made, both were virtually the same thing. Do you honestly think he'd come at it from a completely different angle? The reason why those three are big names is because they got GOOD at what they did. Also, on Molyneux, he CREATED the genre, as Katamari was made by this guy. I also didn't know that Fable was a God Game... Maybe I missed that note...? I also noticed you left my mentioning of Miyamoto off your list, he's created tons of genres. He's an artist though, so it's his style that he carries over from game to game.

Yes, I did like Katamari. It was fun. It was by no means ground breaking in any way. It was just something fresh and different for the times. So when you make a sequel of that... It's no longer fresh or original. Get off his balls already.

Adam @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I'm going to go to Japan just to roll around in one of his RAD playgrounds. Maybe someone will make a game based on his playground. Hmm...

WizarDru @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Fable was a God Game in the idea that it's main touted feature was the amount of control you had over the environment and your destiny...it was the god-game mixed with the RPG. Or rather, it was supposed to be. What it turned out to be was an RPG on the rails that wasn't that good.

Molyneux - Populous. Populous II.
Kojima - Metal Gear. Metal Gear 2.
Carmack - Castle Wolfenstein. Doom. Doom 2.
Sakaguchi - Final Fantasy. Final Fantasy II.

If you can't stand the guy, that's your call. But there aren't more than two or three guys (Miyamoto being one) who really innovated in radical directions over the course of game or two. Your main complaint with this guy seems to be, he hasn't done it for 15-30 years, so screw him. Some of us hope he doesn't, so he can join the ranks of those guys listed above.

mercatfat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=61076

"most games are boring"

again, he's leaving in TEN YEARS. he still has a decade ahead of him, if not more.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

"Fable was a God Game in the idea that it's main touted feature was the amount of control you had over the environment and your destiny...it was the god-game mixed with the RPG. Or rather, it was supposed to be. What it turned out to be was an RPG on the rails that wasn't that good."

You're so full of shit and you know it. Fable is by NO means a God Game. The defining characteristic of a God Game is you play a God, controlling denizens of your world. Fable is an action RPG with it's flair(every game has one) being that people react to the light/dark path you take. So by your definiton, I guess Knights of the Old Republic 1/2 and Jade Empire are God Games, as well as the Jedi Knight series, and Samurai Western as well. Lets throw Megaman Legends 2 in there as well, since if you do bad things like kick trash cans or people your turn black. Retard.

This dude was a one hit wonder. He's making the mistake of whoring it out for a sequel(which is identical), then a PSP port.

Do not confused "new and fresh at the time" with "innovative", they're two entirely different things. I've seen flash games on the same level as Katamari. The big thing for him is he added personality to it and put it on a console instead of a computer, where it would have blended in with all the other mediocre garbage that gets put out in the name of "Creative and innovative"

mercatfat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Chris:

you read really well, you know that? we should be friends. i like a reader. are you pretty? you seem like you must be.

mercatfat @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=61076

"most games are boring"

again, he's leaving in TEN YEARS. he still has a decade ahead of him, if not more.

1up_clock @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Hey, Chris,
For once in your life, SHUT YOUR FRIGGIN' MOUTH. I know how you hate it when people aren't you, but just shut it, for once. I'm sick of your crap, and I'm pretty sure everybody else is.

And I don't see in any way how making a sequal to Katamari is a mistake.

I hope that before he retires, he can make even more cool ideas, and I hope his playground can encourage kids to go outside.

Luke @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Good, that game sucked.

Christopher7xii @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Whatever man. You don't care what I say, I sure as hell don't give a damn what you say.

Sup Sailors? @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

�In 10 years time, I am not going to be making games any more� I would like to create a playground for children� an undulating one, with bumps.�

perv.

Timmotheus @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Interestingly enough, Chris, he did not at all "whore out" his game for a sequel. He was very opposed to making one, and said so publically. It was forced upon him by Namco executives. He actually went to far as to claim that "it came to a point where the company was willing to release a sequel without me."

You can decry this guy all you want, but the fact is that you're wrong here. He's a man who had a unique vision, and made it flesh. Whether or not he has any potent ideas left remains to be seen, but you must realize that there is no reason at this point to think he's a one trick pony.

This is a man interested in expanding horizons and defying convention, and that is something that the gaming industry could use more of, not less.

Quote taken from here, perhaps you will read it if you honestly care about whether or not your arguments have any basis in fact:

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1510104/20050921/index.jhtml?headlines==

dumbbmud @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

I dont know about you but I sure will miss the creative game play that this game brought to the industry. I mean its so innovative. rolling stuff into giant balls. I hope he makes more games. maybe running in place, or stare contest. that would be fresh and creative. give me a break. super smash bros. was a fresh and creative addition to the gameing world. so was grand theft auto 3, doom, the sims, and everquest. that being said i dont even like the sims or everquest but that doest take away from the fact that they were fresh creative titles. for his sake I hope he remakes the game a million times. Katamari 5, with more shit to roll up than ever.

Rocketboy @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Only kids cannot phantom what a unique, fresh, and innovative take on gaming Katamari Damacy has. It is a perfect example of "Easy to learn, difficult to master". Sorry, as much as I like games like Metal Gear solid, I don't like to always have to remember what every controller button does in every situation. Sorry, as much as I love Final Fantasy, sometimes I don't feel like dealing with item managment, and being stuck playing untill I find the next save point. Katamari Damacy is just plain fun. A game being that straightforward, instant pick up and fun, is rare now. A game that has a dynamic that in over 20 years of gaming, I've never seen anything quite like it, is pretty damn special and unique. But let's glow over the next driving game, or the next first person shooter, and call them innovative, when they tack on the slightst change over the next 10 titles on the shelf that are almost, but not quite, just like it.

james @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

Wait wait... hold up. How is "innovative" different than "new and fresh at the time"? And is "new and fresh at the time" some innovative term that you've come up with, or is it just, um, new and fresh at the time...? Please get back to me on that, because I'm trying to review this game and I can't figure out if it's just new and fresh at the time or if it might be innovative, but you know, it's tough to distinguish and the designer hasn't been around for a long time. He's just been fiddling around on the internet, I think, with creativity and whatnot. So, again, what are some qualities that separate "innovative" from "new and fresh at the time"?

Sk8erdudeaw @ Dec 18th 2005 10:01PM

dear chris,

you need to listen to others opinions, because some of them listened to yours. just because you dont like this game, say its medeocore, doesnt mean that everyone has to listen to you. i have read what you said and i have read what everyone else has said, and i dont agree with you. i am not saying your wrong (even if you are) but i am saying that this man has come up with a very innovateive concept and a sequal is just what we needed, even if he did not want to make one himself. the first katamari damacy was awsome and so is the sequal. i can not wait to see what kind of new games he is able to come up with. i belive he WILL be missed because his idea was creaive, even if it was a little wacky. on the same account, WizarDru did try to convince you to listen to him, something he shouldnt have done, but he did have some great points. you were complaining about this games sequal being the same, havent all of the final fantsy games been the same? how about the grand theft auto games? doom? unreal tournment? need for speed? tony hawk? what about all the sports games? those are EXACTLY the same! EVREY SINGLE ONE! this game had the same ammount of changes one of these other games has. so before you judge this man on what he has come up with get off you lazy nerd ass, get out of your mothers house, and compare some other games!