Welcome to Katamari Kalamiti
Welcome to my blog on Katamari Damacy. I have been inspired by this game since I first played it in 2005 with a friend who knew I would just love the game. I have been hooked ever since. The reason I chose to blog about Katamari Damacy was because, at first glance, the game looks like fluff but the more I read about it, the more I became fascinated by it. It was created by a student in college, using computer programs that even I have! When I set out writing this blog there were a few things I specifically wanted to know. The first was where the initial concept for the game came from, the second was what genius thought of the soundtrack, and the third was how could such a small title become so popular. Throughout my studies on Katamari I came to realize that it wasn’t just one thing that made the game so popular; it was the perfect combination of fun art, easy game play, interesting story, great music, and creativity that made the sleeper-hit a success. It's one of those rare gems of a game that surpasses any one genre; that’s why I love Katamari Damacy, and I hope you will too!
STORY:
The game's main character is a tiny prince who is tasked with the mission to rebuild the stars, constellations and Moon, which were accidentally destroyed by his father, the King of All Cosmos (the aftereffects of the planet-sized King of All Cosmos’s binge drinking spree that wiped out all the stars and other celestial bodies from the sky). The King (in his never ceasing dissatisfaction) decides to make the Prince go to Earth with a "katamari"—a magical ball that allows anything smaller than it to stick to it and make it grow—and collect enough material for him to recreate the stars and constellations. Of course, the Prince is successful (though many attempts were needed), and the night sky and cosmos is returned to normal. Throughout the game you meet many new characters; both playable and not playable. The largest group of the playable characters are called Cousins (see below).
There is also a side story that chronicles the Hoshino family and their experiences while the Prince works his magic to recreate the stars. The father is an astronaut and is unable to go to work due to the damage the King caused. The daughter has special 'senses' and is the only one in the family that can see the Prince's work; she can feel when each constellation returns to the sky. Ultimately, the family, along with their house and town, are rolled up in the katamari that is used to remake the moon (in a completely innocent way of course!).
Takahashi, the game designer said Katamari Damacy was not originally planned to be the Prince's first appearance (he had designed a racing game where the Prince would control a boy steering a go-cart, running over buildings across the world), the game was dropped by Namco but the concept for the Prince stuck.
There is also a side story that chronicles the Hoshino family and their experiences while the Prince works his magic to recreate the stars. The father is an astronaut and is unable to go to work due to the damage the King caused. The daughter has special 'senses' and is the only one in the family that can see the Prince's work; she can feel when each constellation returns to the sky. Ultimately, the family, along with their house and town, are rolled up in the katamari that is used to remake the moon (in a completely innocent way of course!).
Takahashi, the game designer said Katamari Damacy was not originally planned to be the Prince's first appearance (he had designed a racing game where the Prince would control a boy steering a go-cart, running over buildings across the world), the game was dropped by Namco but the concept for the Prince stuck.
DEVELOPMENT:
It has been said that when Keita Takahashi, the game director for Katamari Damacy, joined Namco, he wasn’t familiar with computers and didn’t even own a PlayStation.
Mr. Takahashi claims that the concept for Katamari Damacy grew out of his senior thesis project for a Namco-sponsored university. Namco and Digital Hollywood (a digital arts school) collaborated to form Namco Digital Hollywood Game Laboratory, a sponsored institute for game development education similar to Nintendo’s sponsored DigiPen. Takahashi's final thesis created the core gameplay ideas, while a team of ten other designers developed the final product resulting in a prototype of Katamari being made as an exercise. Namco handled the game design, programming and art direction while the students made all the in-game objects that the players roll up. The purpose of the project was for the students to learn the overall flow of the game creation process.
Takahashi has described the idea of Katamari “just came to [him].” He felt that current games were suffering from lack of originality, which drove him to create a game that was in-of-itself unique. Takahashi said that the team was aiming for four key points in developing the game: novelty, ease of understanding, enjoyment, and humor. One of the main parts of the concept was to make the game play something easy and friendly. He has described his frustration with the fact that “games these days are all so complicated” and the fact that he was “just tired of all those complications.” He wanted to create a gameplay experience where the player is more concerned about what is on the screen than what distinct actions their fingers are taking and at one point during the development, Takahashi "proactively ignored" advice from Namco to increase the complexity of the game.
The game was developed for less than $1 million dollars (US), a tenth of the cost of other Namco blockbuster titles. The game took a year and a half to develop, with eight months of prototyping.
In the end, Katamari Damacy was a third-person puzzle-action video game that was published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first revealed at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show, at which the press dubbed it a "snowball simulator". The image featured on the cover of the pre-release demo showed a "Tamakorogashi", a large ball used in "undoukai", a game played by Japanese schoolchildren that was an influence for the game. Plans for releasing the game in Western countries were tied to its performance in Japan. Katamari Damacy was first shown in the United States at the Experimental Gameplay Workshop during the March 2004 Game Developers Conference. Due to its popularity at trade shows and a write-in campaign, Namco decided to release the game in the United States. Katamari Damacy was released in Japan at about two-thirds of the cost of a new title, while the cost was less than half the cost of a new game for its United States release.
Overall, Katamari Damacy was well received in Japan and North America. The game was dubbed a “sleeper hit”, and won several awards, including the “Good Design Award” from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (a first ever for a video game).
Katamari Damacy inspired the development of other video games, and led to the release of five sequels in Japan and other territories: We Love Katamari, Me & My Katamari, Beautiful Katamari, I Love Katamari and Katamari Forever.
Mr. Takahashi claims that the concept for Katamari Damacy grew out of his senior thesis project for a Namco-sponsored university. Namco and Digital Hollywood (a digital arts school) collaborated to form Namco Digital Hollywood Game Laboratory, a sponsored institute for game development education similar to Nintendo’s sponsored DigiPen. Takahashi's final thesis created the core gameplay ideas, while a team of ten other designers developed the final product resulting in a prototype of Katamari being made as an exercise. Namco handled the game design, programming and art direction while the students made all the in-game objects that the players roll up. The purpose of the project was for the students to learn the overall flow of the game creation process.
Takahashi has described the idea of Katamari “just came to [him].” He felt that current games were suffering from lack of originality, which drove him to create a game that was in-of-itself unique. Takahashi said that the team was aiming for four key points in developing the game: novelty, ease of understanding, enjoyment, and humor. One of the main parts of the concept was to make the game play something easy and friendly. He has described his frustration with the fact that “games these days are all so complicated” and the fact that he was “just tired of all those complications.” He wanted to create a gameplay experience where the player is more concerned about what is on the screen than what distinct actions their fingers are taking and at one point during the development, Takahashi "proactively ignored" advice from Namco to increase the complexity of the game.
The game was developed for less than $1 million dollars (US), a tenth of the cost of other Namco blockbuster titles. The game took a year and a half to develop, with eight months of prototyping.
In the end, Katamari Damacy was a third-person puzzle-action video game that was published and developed by Namco for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was first revealed at the 2003 Tokyo Game Show, at which the press dubbed it a "snowball simulator". The image featured on the cover of the pre-release demo showed a "Tamakorogashi", a large ball used in "undoukai", a game played by Japanese schoolchildren that was an influence for the game. Plans for releasing the game in Western countries were tied to its performance in Japan. Katamari Damacy was first shown in the United States at the Experimental Gameplay Workshop during the March 2004 Game Developers Conference. Due to its popularity at trade shows and a write-in campaign, Namco decided to release the game in the United States. Katamari Damacy was released in Japan at about two-thirds of the cost of a new title, while the cost was less than half the cost of a new game for its United States release.
Overall, Katamari Damacy was well received in Japan and North America. The game was dubbed a “sleeper hit”, and won several awards, including the “Good Design Award” from the Japan Industrial Design Promotion Organization (a first ever for a video game).
Katamari Damacy inspired the development of other video games, and led to the release of five sequels in Japan and other territories: We Love Katamari, Me & My Katamari, Beautiful Katamari, I Love Katamari and Katamari Forever.
Publisher: Namco
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Full-Time Staff: 25
Development Time: 1.5 years
Released: September 21, 2004 (US)
Tools Used: 3D Studio Max, Photoshop, Illustrator, Optpix
CONTROLLERS BROKEN WHILE MAKING THE GAME: 13
Platforms: PlayStation 2
Full-Time Staff: 25
Development Time: 1.5 years
Released: September 21, 2004 (US)
Tools Used: 3D Studio Max, Photoshop, Illustrator, Optpix
CONTROLLERS BROKEN WHILE MAKING THE GAME: 13
THE NAME:
ART DESIGN:
Katamari’s story, characters, and settings are bizarre and heavily stylized, rarely attempting any semblance of realism (the people, animals, and creatures look like they were carved from milk cartons), though the brands and items used are based on those current in Japan during the game's production. The graphics are bright, cheerful, and colorful, and in keeping with the game's overall theme.
Takashi felt that by creating subtle elements of the game, such as sound effects when you roll something up, vibration from the controller, and character reactions they were able to express the sense of rolling really well which had a very big effect in adding to the overall feeling of the game. They made these adjustments to the game design, so it really reflected the uniqueness of rolling the katamari. For example, this game actually does have some combo elements. In fighting games, the combo is usually expressed by a number, but in Katamari Damacy, if you roll up multiple objects in a row, you will see fireworks, confetti, or twinkling stars around the Prince, shown in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Overall, through all the sound effects and colors, a peaceful ambiance of the entire game established. This includes many individual elements, such as the graphic style, the color, the sound and music, the movies and cut-scenes, the incredible zany worlds and the overall theme of recreating the night sky. Takashi also felt that there was a lot of aggressiveness and violence in current games so what he “tried to do was not only bring peaceful feelings to the game, but also create something totally different, which would be more exiting than just being peaceful.” Because of the uniqueness of the game, it was natural that the movies, sounds and interface all carry this similar, unique theme.
Takashi felt that by creating subtle elements of the game, such as sound effects when you roll something up, vibration from the controller, and character reactions they were able to express the sense of rolling really well which had a very big effect in adding to the overall feeling of the game. They made these adjustments to the game design, so it really reflected the uniqueness of rolling the katamari. For example, this game actually does have some combo elements. In fighting games, the combo is usually expressed by a number, but in Katamari Damacy, if you roll up multiple objects in a row, you will see fireworks, confetti, or twinkling stars around the Prince, shown in the bottom right corner of the screen.
Overall, through all the sound effects and colors, a peaceful ambiance of the entire game established. This includes many individual elements, such as the graphic style, the color, the sound and music, the movies and cut-scenes, the incredible zany worlds and the overall theme of recreating the night sky. Takashi also felt that there was a lot of aggressiveness and violence in current games so what he “tried to do was not only bring peaceful feelings to the game, but also create something totally different, which would be more exiting than just being peaceful.” Because of the uniqueness of the game, it was natural that the movies, sounds and interface all carry this similar, unique theme.
MUSIC:
Takashi felt that the music of a video game was directly linked to the gameplay experience; for instance, in a typical video game, when there is a boss fight, there is special dramatic music that makes the gameplay more intense. However, in Katamari Damacy, there is no boss and there are no enemies, so they created a soundtrack that’s original to the game and makes every level memorable.
Miyake felt that Takashi “allowed [him] to direct the music any way [he] wanted” and was bolstered by the fact that “[he] would never have been given that kind of creative freedom working for an ordinary director.” His goal was to have the music appeal to everyone, he did this by having many different methods of directing and creating tunes. When asked how Miyake generally came up with ideas he said he “often record[ed] [the] melodies that [he] had in [his] head using [his] cellular phone or PC by humming.” He also stated the humming in the opening sequence of the game was in fact something that he had put in a test version of the game to work out later. The team ended up liking it and kept it originally as a joke and then as something special to the game. “I think the humming differentiates Katamari Damacy from other titles and fits the gameplay perfectly. This humming is also included in the opening theme music. I suppose what I’m trying to say is that singing is the best instrument we humans have.”
Collaborating with outside musicians was very popular in the game industry at the time, so they decided to hire 10 somewhat well known Japanese vocalists in all different music genres and ranges. After selecting vocalists, their “next step was to figure out how [they] could enhance the mood of the game through the music.” They ended up using a “backward” process in that they created the music after selecting the vocalists, instead of before, so that they “could use the vocalists talents most effectively.” Miyake has gone to say how seriously they thought when creating the gameplay music. “Most game music nowadays is pretty forgettable. I wanted to create a soundtrack that would stick in player’s heads, sort of like an evil curse.”
GAMEPLAY:
The player picks a character to play (in Katamari Damacy you play as the Prince, but in other versions of the franchise you can play as a Cousin) and a level to complete. There are many different level, each with their own objective. You rolls the katamari around houses, buildings, gardens, towns, and cities in order to complete the parameters set by the King of All Cosmos. The player uses the two analog sticks in tandem on the DualShock controller (pictured right) to control the direction the katamari rolls (this applies in the versions of game that appear on the Playstation). Press both pads forward and the ball rolls forward. Pull them back and the ball rolls back. Pushing one pad forward and the other back turns the ball. The right thumbpad also controls the camera. Other controls can be triggered by the player to gain a quick burst of speed, flip the Prince to the other side of the katamari, and more. 
Most levels begin with the king demanding a ball measuring a certain size. You then go out and have a specified amount of time to gather enough stuff to make your quota. Inherently, the game measures objects that are smaller than the katamari and allows them to stick to it when the player rolls over them. The game tracks the size and weight of objects and makes anything larger than the katamari cuase collisions which can cause objects to fall off the katamari, making the player pick everything back up. The game also calculates surface area and adds it to the mix of objects to pick up. This allows long, thin objects, such as pencils, that are larger than the katamari, to be picked up, and they will alter how the katamari rolls (at weird angles as if in real life) until more objects are picked up. Large animals, such as cows, will chase the katamari, knocking things from it, but once the katamari is large enough, it will scare the animals away, and they can be rolled up once they are chased down (see example above and left). As objects stick to the katamari, the katamari will grow, eventually allowing objects that were once obstacles to be picked up, and creating access to areas that were previously blocked. In this manner, the player might start the game by picking up thumbtacks and ants, and slowly work up to the point where the katamari is picking up buildings, mountains and clouds. Although the game is quite easy to play, not meeting the criteria set by the King of All Cosmos can be heart-wrenching (see lower right).
A typical level consists of instructions given by the King of All Cosmos to "Make a Star," in which the player needs to grow the katamari to a specific size within a given amount of time. There are other missions that include specific object rules, such as collecting as many items (swans, crabs, pairs) within a given amount of time, or collecting the largest item possible (such as a cow or bear). There is also the option of a "score attack” for any level, once unlocked, in which they can try to make the largest katamari possible in the time allotted. Certain levels can unlock an "eternal mode" by creating a katamari double the goal size. In eternal modes, the player can explore the level with no time limit.Each level features two secret items that can be found. The first secret item is called a "royal present" which is typically an object that the Prince can wear (see below right in which the Prince is wearing armor and a hat). Most gifts are non-functional costume pieces, but one includes a camera that can be used to take in-game screenshots. The other secret item is a “cousin” of the Prince, which, once rolled up in main gameplay, can be used as a character in the various multiplayer modes. The game also saves and organizes objects the player has collected over time, allowing them to review all the various objects within the game in a special screen on the home screen of the game.
In the two-player mode, a player can choose to play as either the Prince or one of the Cousins. The screen is split vertically; player one is on the left, and player two is on the right. Players compete simultaneously in a small arena to collect the most objects within three minutes. The playfield is replenished with new objects periodically. Players can ram into each other, knocking items from their opponents' katamaris, and if one player leads by a fair amount, then it is possible to roll up the opponent's katamari.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
