The King of All Cosmos Builds a Playground
I’m not entirely sure it was Keita Takahashi’s intent to revolutionize the game industry when he created Katamari Damacy, but somehow a concept as simple as rolling a ball managed to do just that. In fact, many often label his work as art — contrary to what Roger Ebert would have us believe — so it doesn’t surprise me that others would take notice. Having parted with his former employer, Namco Bandai, Takahashi has been forced move on to bigger and better things. Whether or not we see another title on par with Katamari’s success remains to be seen, but until then, Takahashi will be hard at work creating something a little bit different.
Recently, Takahashi was commissioned to design a playground for Nottingham’s Woodthorpe Grange Park in England. I can’t even imagine what he would design for it, but I’m certain it would be absolutely amazing given his aesthetic. But why a playground? Apparently he was asked to do it in conjunction with an event that promotes awareness of independent game developers held annually within the city limits. If you ask me, they probably couldn’t have made a better choice.
Tim is a pro-blogger and freelance writer out of San Diego, California. In addition to Fanboy.com, he contributes to the ModernMethod Network of sites as the Features and Reviews Editor for the Japanese culture and entertainment blog, Japanator. He’s also an Assocaite Editor for their popular gaming blog, Destructoid, and the collectible toy culture blog, Tomopop. For more information, follow him on twitter, or check out TimSheehy.com.