A collaborative social game set in the minds of giants plagued by an evil crow? Sounds like a great fit for the man who came up with Noby Noby Boy.
Keita Takahashi, the mind behind the colorful, fun, and outright bizarre Katamari Damacy games, is making a triumphant return to game development after leaving Namco Bandai last year. Takahashi has upped sticks and moved to Canada to work with developer Tiny Spec on its experimental MMO Glitch, a game set in the minds of eleven giants.
Glitch is a new take on social gaming, set in the mind of eleven giants, with everyone playing in the same world and working together to expand the world and repair damage done by the villainous Rook. It sounds very different from the likes of FarmVille, where each player inhabits their own private space and can only interact with other players in a very limited way.
Tiny Speck founder Stewart Butterfield said that he know how hard it was to create something that defied conventions, and that he and his whole team had long been admirers of Takahashi’s work. “His power of imagination and ability to realize something wholly unique and different stands out in the history of games,” he wrote in a blog post announcing the move. “It’s still a huge thrill and a significant honor to be able to say: we get to work with Keita Takahashi! Glitch’s awesomeness will continue to increase.”
Takahashi has been critical of the videogame industry, saying that the future of gaming looked “dull.” He also criticized developers and publishers who released sequel after sequel, without trying to innovate. He had started to investigate other projects, like designing playgrounds, and working on music with his wife. Glitch is in the alpha stage at the moment. If your interst is piqued and you want to get an invite to the game’s testing phase, you can sign up here.
Source: Gamasutra
Published: Jul 11, 2011 12:05 pm