Uploaded February 2020 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Support the show on Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast - https://anchor.fm/writingongamescast
Second Channel - youtube.com/channel/UC1xxfS_HILi09yaELQdmV1A
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The games of Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy) have predominantly focused on allowing us to reexamine the world around us, to use play to convey a message of hope about our future. This vision, however, always ends up clashing with the financial realities of game development and industry at large, leading to a palpable feeling of frustration or cynicism within a lot of that same work. With his latest release Wattam, however, it seems Takahashi has been able to fully realise his ideal of creating a game that, through play, allows us to confront loneliness, isolation and inertia in the face of incomprehensible chaos; envisioning a utopia where differences are celebrated and everyone is on an equal playing field... as well as being as pure a celebration of nonsense as you could probably imagine. Let's take a look at Keita's trajectory as a game developer and see how, beyond its cutesy aesthetic, Wattam is perhaps his most optimistic game to date.
Think of this as an extension to my previous video on Katamari - youtube.com/watch?v=mBaJsSuGeRs
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Extra footage used:
PlayStation Experience | Surprise and Discovery: Wattam Panel (Playstation) - youtube.com/watch?v=YTWimn0VgnM
Keita Takahashi: Zooming Out (Telfair Museums) - youtube.com/watch?v=KSv63cFW7bw
Keita Takahashi - Exclusive Interview (GamerhubTV) - youtube.com/watch?v=vZIBwzsuNRk
3D Pac-Man at the Babycastles Summit (Kotaku) - youtube.com/watch?v=ZpYQ-N__zQo
Keita Takahashi (G4CANZ) - youtube.com/watch?v=MqqA7QYlRlk
Noby Noby Boy Keita Takahashi Interview (sceablog) - youtube.com/watch?v=LbSDdQ08bfs
Introducing WOORLD (Funomena) - youtube.com/watch?v=AgSYwL-PjfE
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Text intro by Draz - twitter.com/drazgames (hit him up for any editing work you have)
Support the show on Patreon - patreon.com/writingongames
Podcast - https://anchor.fm/writingongamescast
Second Channel - youtube.com/channel/UC1xxfS_HILi09yaELQdmV1A
---
The games of Keita Takahashi (Katamari Damacy) have predominantly focused on allowing us to reexamine the world around us, to use play to convey a message of hope about our future. This vision, however, always ends up clashing with the financial realities of game development and industry at large, leading to a palpable feeling of frustration or cynicism within a lot of that same work. With his latest release Wattam, however, it seems Takahashi has been able to fully realise his ideal of creating a game that, through play, allows us to confront loneliness, isolation and inertia in the face of incomprehensible chaos; envisioning a utopia where differences are celebrated and everyone is on an equal playing field... as well as being as pure a celebration of nonsense as you could probably imagine. Let's take a look at Keita's trajectory as a game developer and see how, beyond its cutesy aesthetic, Wattam is perhaps his most optimistic game to date.
Think of this as an extension to my previous video on Katamari - youtube.com/watch?v=mBaJsSuGeRs
---
Extra footage used:
PlayStation Experience | Surprise and Discovery: Wattam Panel (Playstation) - youtube.com/watch?v=YTWimn0VgnM
Keita Takahashi: Zooming Out (Telfair Museums) - youtube.com/watch?v=KSv63cFW7bw
Keita Takahashi - Exclusive Interview (GamerhubTV) - youtube.com/watch?v=vZIBwzsuNRk
3D Pac-Man at the Babycastles Summit (Kotaku) - youtube.com/watch?v=ZpYQ-N__zQo
Keita Takahashi (G4CANZ) - youtube.com/watch?v=MqqA7QYlRlk
Noby Noby Boy Keita Takahashi Interview (sceablog) - youtube.com/watch?v=LbSDdQ08bfs
Introducing WOORLD (Funomena) - youtube.com/watch?v=AgSYwL-PjfE
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Text intro by Draz - twitter.com/drazgames (hit him up for any editing work you have)
