During the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco earlier this month, I got the chance to sit down with Keita Takahashi, the creator of the iconic Katamari Damacy, Wattam and many other silly and wholesome games. He came to the event to showcase his upcoming game, to a T, which follows a young teenager who’s stuck in a T pose — in other words their elbows and shoulders can’t bend.
As I discovered while playing a chunk of the game in a preview session, Takahashi’s to a T has a much stronger narrative than his previous work, and it comes through as you control the child and experience life with this condition. After my demo, I talked to Takahashi about his inspirations when developing games, why he likes thinking outside the box, and which personal experiences he drew from for his upcoming title, especially his bullied adolescence.
Takahashi’s to a T is scheduled to come out on May 28 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. This interview has been slightly edited for clarity.
Q: What was the inspiration behind the game’s signature concept of a teenager who’s in a T pose the whole time?
Takahashi: It’s not inspiration, but I had an idea. I just wanted to make a more simple game. Then after I finished Wattam, the next idea was trying to control the arms of the main character — to grab or punch or throw or anything, just a very simple WarioWare-type of game.
But I thought, That’s dumb; it’s not interesting for me; it’s such a boring game. But at some point, I just thought, What if the player doesn’t input anything; that’s gonna be fun. Then I just get more inspiration from that point.
What makes a Keita Takahashi game a Keita Takahasi game?
Takahashi: That’s an unexpected question. Maybe every single game, I’m trying new things. This one is very narrative, and that is very new. But I know that the narrative game is not new for the other people, so I’m saying this is not so unique.
Why is music such a major component of a lot of your games?
Takahashi: Yeah, I mean, because music is super special to me of course. So I’m, at this moment, a game designer. I need to [use a] PC or console and I need power. Also, I need a monitor. I need a roof. And I need a sofa for someone to play my game and that makes them happy or enjoy [it]. But music, we don’t need such fancy equipment. If you are the vocalist, you can just sing. And then if you have the guitar, then just sing, play the music, and that makes people happy and [feel] nice.
I always want that ability. I’m kind of shy; I don’t have that. That skill always makes me think, Oh, the music is so great. I want that element in my game [which] would be very helpful for people to get more into my game.
Have you ever thought about doing a rhythm game?
Takahashi: Not yet, but maybe.
You’ve worked on some unique platforms, like the Playdate, with Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure. Can you talk a little bit about that and kind of where or what else you’d like to try?
Takahashi: Oh, did you play my game from Playdate?
Yeah.
Takahashi: Oh, really. Did you finish?
I don’t think I finished it.
Takahashi: (laughs) I think no one finished that game.
Yeah, I know that people complained that it’s too hard. Yeah, I like the Playdate because, you know, the input is unique. I don’t think it’s super, super unique because we, maybe PlayStation 2 era, had [a] controller you can twist in the middle or something. Also, the PC mouse is kind of the same input. I like the concept of the device and also what makes it special is that it is super limited: just white and black screen, and the CPU is super weak.
And that gave me a limitation to think about to design [Crankin’s Time Travel Adventure], which is a very good thing, like a fun challenge. If the console is super powerful, then I can do anything. Which means the development time would be much longer, like two or three times more, which is something not so good. I hope the console doesn’t get improved, [and that we] keep the PlayStation 2–era style.
For fans of your previous games, what can they look forward to in to a T?
Takahashi: I know that for some people, my game looks super, or too, unique. Then they try to avoid my game because that looks too unique. I just want people to try this game, because it is not so unique.
[My CNET colleague Faith Chihil asked the following question] to a T has themes about belonging and loneliness — were those taken from previous experiences?
Takahashi: Yeah, yeah, of course. Japan is the kind of country with many troubles for youth. I’m not sure why I was bullied. Maybe I was fat a little bit, but it’s not a little bit: I was large. It was a really tough time. I didn’t want to go to school of course, like a teen. But for some reason I could survive through that tough time, and also I think I got some lesson from that bad experience. That lesson I got keeps me, kind of, nice to people.
I guess I was thinking, the thing I wanted to put into this game was — it’s very rough and still unclear of course; also, I want you to play through the whole game [to understand] — we should focus on the younger generation. We don’t care a lot about the youth right now. Also for the next generation of game developers. Right now we adults — I’m very senior. I have been thinking only about myself, like what I should do, what I have to do, what I want to do. I didn’t think about anything about the next generation.
I got shocked when some girl said, «I don’t want to have a baby because the environment is so risky for the babies.» When I heard that news, I realized I hadn’t done anything for the Earth. I’ll try to reduce garbage or use less electricity or not drive a lot. But that girl just, like, punched me. I think I have to do something for the younger generation, to be the voice. That is a kind of part of this game, the theme of this game.
