Katamari creator joins Glitch developer

In news likely to cause the VG247 team to abandon their duties completely, Katamari creator Keita Takahashi has signed on Tiny Speck, developer of the unusual MMO Glitch.

"Some have the exceptional fortune to work directly with one of their heroes on a shared goal. And … that’s us!" Tiny Speck founder Stewart Butterfield wrote on the Glitch blog, announcing a partnership with Takahashi.

Butterfield said the Katamari Damacy and Noby Noby Boy creator, who left Namco Bandai last year, has "always been a hero to everyone on the Glitch team."

"His power of imagination and ability to realize something wholly unique and different stands out in the history of games. We know how hard it is to defy convention and make something entirely new."

Introduced by ThatGameCompany's Robin Hunicke, Butterfield and Takahashi discovered a set of shared values - "deep beliefs in curiosity, humor, absurdity, and above all a belief in the positive power of play" - and found that "it was like talking to an old friend".

Takahashi had stepped away from the games industry after announcing he found it all a bit dull, but he and his family have moved to Vancouver so the lauded designer can join the Tiny Speck team.

Glitch is a strangely beautiful MMO currently in closed beta and as yet unsure what it will become. Without naming names, you'll find a number of VG247 staff and freelancers partaking of the almost-weekly testing.

Thanks, Massively.