Topic

So, what is Keita Takahashi really doing for Glitch?

One of the things that sold me on Glitch was the news about Katamari author K. Takahashi joining the team to add his special weird world view to the game. Yet, no further news came out after that, and whatever input he had in the game was obviously well blended in the team's style, so that I never managed to point out something specifically Takahasian in Glitch.

My question is: is there any way we'll ever know which concept were invented by whom, and what was discarded? It should be really interesting to learn the different personalities and game design styles of the single authors, and the process through which their ideas become part of the Glitch experience...

Posted 7 months ago by Ayzad Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I'm also curious! The same article mentioned that one of the co-creators of the PSN downloadable game Journey had joined the team, which excited me as well. I'd love to know more.
    Posted 7 months ago by Abby Cadabra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The newer style of bars for doing stuff are a result of his input, if I recall correctly. They used to be straightforward bars, but now they say the words and have more expressiveness in their style.
    Posted 7 months ago by Little Miss Giggles Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Last I heard (which as bit ago) is there was some style stuff and some exploration of other platform (mobile, etc) stuff.
    Posted 7 months ago by Lord Bacon-o Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think he was working on content for minigame apps - but that is a distant memory I had from reading through posts a long time ago.
    Posted 7 months ago by snarkle Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The new bubble letters. When you pet amd harvest.
    Posted 7 months ago by Thursday Soleil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Robin was mentioned on the blog not long ago and made a hello in a welcome post here on the forum not long ago
    Posted 7 months ago by Thursday Soleil Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Thanks for all the helpful answers, everyone!
    Posted 7 months ago by Abby Cadabra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I really liked that idea he had about us turning into rocks and trees.   That would be funny.   It would also force the people who are very sensitive to perceived griefing to rethink that attitude.
    Posted 7 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'd love to know the areas of expertise and contribution for all of the devs.  I know some are specialists - like Danny does a lot of the music, and Kukubee does a lot of graphics.  Would be great to know what areas the rest are involved with, and then maybe some blog posts that are dev bios so we could get to know them a bit better...or they all answer the same questions which get posted to a getting to know the devs better page (favorite color, favorite super hero, what did you want to be when you grew up, favorite Glitch recipe, least favorite chore at home...etc.), so we could compare and contrast answers.
    Posted 7 months ago by Uniquely Prime Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Uniquely Prime:  when I first joined I clicked through to some page (I'm not sure if it was on Glitch or somewhere else) where their roles were defined vaguely with descriptions like "Dad" and "smelly engineer"  (or something....there were a few "smelly" ones, probably....probably meant working from home).

    I'm not sure if I need to know exactly what everyone is responsible for but I guess I'm as curious as anyone about Keita, since his presence was sold to us as a major advantage.   Perhaps it is hard to explain the sort of contributions such a person would make in terms of inspirations and sharing of past experiences?  TS doesn't seem the sort of company that keeps track of stuff like that.

    On the same sort of topic, I was reading yesterday about SCRUM project management and naturally I began to wonder if TS uses this method (I doubt it, given Stoot's remarks about deadlines).   If not, how do they "Get Things Done"  at TS?
    Posted 7 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 to dev blog posts.

    As to devs explaining new features in the forums in ways that people can understand....quite frankly stoot is better at it.  
    Posted 7 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I agree they made a big to do about kt joining the team, and yes, I'd love to know more about his influence...but I'm also curious about Robin...and heck, we know about stoot, but what about Bees! and eric?!  And since I adore kevbob, Beefcake, jdawg, Jade, Lisa, sugarQb, I'd like to know more about them also...they were the glue holding this game together well before kt and Robin joined the team.  I'd just like to see them get equal time.  And poor Serguei...what does he really feel about people jumping on his head all the time?!  And can't forget Mart, Myles!, Jono and...well, you get the idea...while kt is pretty awesome, the rest of these folks are pretty fantastic in their own right, and I would love to have all of them get some air time to toot their own horns.  You never know when a current 'lowly'/behind the scenes dev on the team is going to be the next kt or stoot or robin...and then down the road, you get a chance to say...hey I remember when they were working on xxxxxx for Glitch...besides...now I'm curious as to which ones are still smelly... ;0
    Posted 7 months ago by Uniquely Prime Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I don't have any proof, but somehow I get the feeling the suika table and satsuma seat are Takahashi's work.
    Posted 7 months ago by Liridona Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Great question @Ayzad! I would love to know as well!
    Posted 7 months ago by Byte Crook Subscriber! | Permalink
  • This list gives an idea about what makes Bees! tick (buzz?):
    network.iamcal.com/

    Maybe some of the others also have shared something to feed our curiosity.
    Posted 7 months ago by Vic Fontaine Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Writing bios and blog posts etc takes a not insignificant amount of time (I've had to do it, it's real actual work). I'd rather Tiny Speck spent it on the game, at least at this stage in it's development. Maybe in the future they can afford a PR person to take care of all this stuff, but right now it doesn't seem to me to be a good use of resources.
    Posted 7 months ago by shelleycat Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Good thread.  :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Tibbi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Starting in one corner of the TS office, with just a few small objects like papers and pencils, KT started making this ball, you see, and soon he'll roll up all the desks, and then all the other employees, and then all of Vancouver.  It's a fun game.  
    Posted 7 months ago by Red Sauce Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I'd actually love to see more detailed credits for this site.  Kukubee has posted enough of their work elsewhere for some clear IDs, but there are or have been some other really gifted designers here whose stuff I like -- and I don't know who they are!  
    Posted 7 months ago by oscarette Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Is this about me? wow.
    Posted 7 months ago by kt Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yes, because we love you THIS much! :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Tibbi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Haha KT!
    Posted 7 months ago by Muncey Mango Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I went through the list of Tiny Specks, looking for more art links... found Lilli's portfolio here: http://lillianlaiportfolio.blogspot.com 

    It seems like one of the reasons it's hard to tell who made what is that TS has found people with very compatible styles. The seam streets are really the only parts of the world that aren't first and foremost Glitchy in style (and I love that).
    Posted 7 months ago by Spaghetti Thompson Subscriber! | Permalink
  •  I was reading yesterday about SCRUM project management and naturally I began to wonder if TS uses this method (I doubt it, given Stoot's remarks about deadlines).  

    Treesa: Even Agile teams have deadlines. They're just supposed to be  more flexible than other methods. We've heard stoot several times saying that "soon" was taking a little longer than hoped for.  

    Blog posts like this suggest they're Agile:

    "(For the nerds among you: since launch, we’ve had 4,909 (!) revisions checked in to our source control system by 23 contributors — a net of 31,353 new lines of code (46,581 added and 15,228 removed). More to the point, we’ve deployed new code onto running production servers an eyebrow-crunching 1,015 times. And all the while, players zoom around constantly changing the state of the world, which persists as intended, even as underlying reality shifts.)"
    Posted 7 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think making proposal for the future of Glitch is my role at TS. I've been suggesting over 150 ideas so far. I hope part of these silly ideas will be useful for Glitch.
    Posted 7 months ago by kt Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cool, kt!  Good to hear from you, and nice to see that you are a visionary for the team!
    Posted 7 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Check the Furniture- it comes with a tag that says Keita. Clicky.
    Posted 7 months ago by I Love You TS Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Uber cool, Pot...thanks for posting that...and how did I miss all that cool 'liquid' furniture?!
    Posted 7 months ago by b3achy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Liridona, those were or are very similiar to stock furniture items in now defunct Groddle housing way before kt's arrival.
    Posted 7 months ago by MaryLiLamb Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Look at all the furnature marked Keita!
    Posted 7 months ago by Taco Assassin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Taco, really no need to point out the obvious, it is stickied to the top of the forum!
    Posted 7 months ago by ~Annie~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like to think of Keita as the "emotional design conscience" of Glitch: he works mostly independently, either pointing out the places where something feels too "stiff" or software-like and proposing something which would make it clearer or simpler or more delightful or coming up with all-new ideas which take things in a more absurd direction, especially things which kind "break the reality" of the game (vehicles made of giant food, sitting on trees, impossible perspectives, etc.)
    Posted 7 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Treesa, maybe you meant the Glitch Strategy's wikipedia page for Tiny Speck?

    I think both Keita and Robin will bring a lot of artistic richness as well as some real out-of-the-box thinking to the world, and am very much looking forward to more of their influence appearing in our already amazing game.
    Posted 7 months ago by Lilith Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Lilith:  yes, that is where I saw it.
    Posted 7 months ago by Treesa Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Whimsy is one of the nicest things about Glitch, and I am delighted that kt is on board to bring more of it to all of us!
    Posted 7 months ago by Mollie Subscriber! | Permalink