“You are not good at gaming”: My very silly meeting with Keita Takahashi
Katamari Damacy's lead creator showed me his fun new game, To a T, while we also discussed Disney Plus, dangerous playgrounds and a letter I wrote for him in 2013.
“The last time we corresponded, I was getting an email from your lawyer,” I cheerfully told the acclaimed game designer Keita Takahashi, when I sat down with him last month in a hotel meeting room in Los Angeles to check out his newest video game.
Takahashi is the much-admired original creator of quirky ball-rolling/stuff-gathering game Katamari Damacy.
“My lawyer?” he asked.
He was a little unnerved, which was to be expected. I was trying to make a memorable impression, but I didn’t want to scare the guy.
I quickly put him at ease. Yes, I said, for your visa.
He visibly relaxed.
“Oh!” he replied.
It’s true. In 2013, I received an email from a law firm asking me if I could write a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help Takahashi secure a visa to live and work in America for an extended period of time.
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