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# Hurray! Keita Takahashi has made a wonderful new plaything
- URL: https://www.killscreen.com/hurray-keita-takahashi-made-wonderful-new-plaything/
- Published: 2016-05-19T14:30:07.000Z
- Updated: 2016-05-19T09:32:30.000Z
- Description: At the Game Developer’s Conference in 2013, I cruised through the expo floor areas on a student pass. With such a limiting pass, I wasn’t able to do much. That was, until I stumbled upon Tenya Wanya Teens (2013), a never-publicly-released experimental party game from none other than game designer Ke
- Author: Caty Mccarthy
- Tags: News, AR, augmented reality, Experimental game, Funomena, Keita Takahashi, woorld, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2024-07-26 09:39

At the Game Developer’s Conference in 2013, I cruised through the expo floor areas on a student pass. With such a limiting pass, I wasn’t able to do much. That was, until I stumbled upon *Tenya Wanya Teens* (2013), [a never-publicly-released experimental party game](http://tenyawanyateens.com/?ref=killscreen.com) from none other than game designer Keita Takahashi, of *Katamari Damacy* (2004) and *Noby Noby Boy* (2009) fame, and composer Asuka Sakai (also, incidentally, his wife).

*Tenya Wanya Teens* is fun in its purest form. The game has a strange controller, a panel with 16 multicolored buttons, and a joystick for moving characters around the environment. It was never designed for widespread use. That’s the tragedy. But at the very least, I have a memory of perhaps the most joyous game I’ve ever played. A game rooted in the bizarre and even mundane—like competitively studying or swiping fish out of a river as a grizzly bear.

*Woorld* is another notch in the belt of Takahashi’s absurd, ever-charming imagination

Takahashi sees the beauty in everyday things. His first two games in the *Katamari* series, exemplified this trait, as did nearly every game following those. His endearing [daily blog catalogs his life in San Francisco](http://www.uvula.jp/?ref=killscreen.com), and consists of him taking [a photo](http://www.uvula.jp/post/143436496912/dev557-hello-boy?ref=killscreen.com) or [gif](http://www.uvula.jp/post/143538733412/dev559-surfing-on-a-train-stop?ref=killscreen.com) every day, and drawing one of his many adorable characters on it. Takahashi’s newest project, *Woorld*, in collaboration with Vu Ha, Ryan Mohler and Brandi House, is just another notch in the belt of Takahashi’s absurd, ever-charming imagination.

![woorld](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/84/2584b75d-4bd6-4cce-8259-f1d1c65abbb5/content/images/previously/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/woorld.gif)

*Woorld* is an Augmented Reality (AR) project, bringing Takahashi’s adorable art into a fresh, interactive living space. Using technology from Google’s [Project Tango](https://www.google.com/atap/project-tango/about-project-tango/?ref=killscreen.com), *Woorld* blends the whimsical art of Takahashi and the creative, experimental play of AR and virtual reality technologies, creating a wholly unique experience only deliverable from the Funomena crew. The game isn’t a solitary experience either, as anything the player creates and places in their real-world environment can be instantly shared via a shared screen with friends and family.

Like [rolling up a lone bear to create the bear-iest star in the galaxy](http://containinggames.tumblr.com/post/93909740050/katamari-damacy-2004?ref=killscreen.com), [GIRL completing her 2,489 day journey to unite the solar system in late 2015](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da6NMrym4i0&ref=killscreen.com), [exploding hand-holding](http://blog.us.playstation.com/2015/06/11/wattam-a-peek-inside-the-game-world/?ref=killscreen.com), *Woorld’s* AR-driven antics are bound to join the leagues of other Takahashian experiences. As ever, I can’t wait to see what woorlds he’ll create next.

*You can follow Woorld’s on-going development over at Funomena* [*here*](http://www.funomena.com/woorld?ref=killscreen.com)*. Takahashi’s other new game,* [*Wattam*](http://www.funomena.com/wattam/?ref=killscreen.com)*, should also be out this year at some point.*

![1463438840498](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/84/2584b75d-4bd6-4cce-8259-f1d1c65abbb5/content/images/previously/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/1463438840498.png)