The Dark Heart of Katamari Damacy

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Katamari Damacy, with its joyful explosion of colour and immensely satisfying mechanics, is seen as the non-violent, friendly face of video game power fantasies. But when analysing the themes of the game as well as the trajectory of its creator Keita Takahashi, I began to think that perhaps it isn't the wholly feel-good experience it appears to be—that the realisation of its power fantasy deliberately plays on some of our less desirable traits as human beings, to great effect.

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SOURCES:
The joy of Katamari Damacy (Eurogamer) - https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/20...

Video games aren't about power - they're about agency (The Guardian) - https://www.theguardian.com/technolog...

The negativity of Keita Takahashi (gamesindustry.biz) - https://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...

Interview: The Melancholy of Keita Takahashi (Gamasutra) - https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/1...

Katamari was comment on consumerism (Eurogamer) - https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ka...

Katamari Creator Denies Drug Use & Other Choice Quotes (Kotaku) - https://kotaku.com/katamari-creator-d...

Japanese industry "in decline", says Takahashi (MCV) - https://www.mcvuk.com/development/jap...

Keita Takahashi (Exclusive Interview) (GamerHubTV) -    • Keita Takahashi - Exclusive Interview  

Keita Takahashi's 2011 Global Game Jam Keynote (Mark J. Paterson) -    • Видео  

Noby Noby Boy Keita Takahashi Interview (sceablog) -    • Noby Noby Boy Keita Takahashi Interview  

noby noby boy Takahashi interview 2 (Playstation Korea) -    • noby noby boy Takahashi interview 2  

GameSpot @ GDC 09: Noby Noby Boy Interview (Gamespot) -    • GameSpot @ GDC 09: Noby Noby Boy Inte...  

DOOM footage from NVIDIA -    • Exclusive DOOM 1080p 60FPS Gameplay w...   ---

Intro text animation by Draz:   / drazgames  
   / @drazgames  

Production work by Nico Bleackley