Katamari Damacy Online (lost massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on puzzle-action game series; 2010-2012)

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Kmo.jpg

Early promotional artwork for Katamari Damacy Online.

Status: Lost

A screenshot of Katamari Damacy Online's installation.

Katamari Damacy Online ~Roll it! Prince!~ (괴혼 온라인 ~굴려라! 왕자님!~) was an online multiplayer game developed in collaboration between South Korean game studio Windysoft and publisher Namco Games. Releasing to the public in February of 2010,[1] the game would remain active for two years before being shut down on February 24, 2012.[2] The MMO was exclusive to players who lived in South Korea, and introduced a number of new features, characters, and items never before seen in the franchise. Although gameplay footage and official artwork has surfaced online, the game, along with almost all of its assets, is considered lost.

Development

Details of Katamari Damacy Online's development is shrouded in mystery, but based on what we know, it was quite troublesome. News of the game’s development first made its way online in 2006.[3] A formal announcement by Namco wouldn’t be made until early 2007, where it was revealed that the company was partnering with Windysoft, a developer of online multiplayer games from South Korea, to release the game.[4] It would be another two years before Namco revealed more information about the game. Two new Katamari Cousins were revealed, along with a new map based on the Capital of South Korea titled Seoul.[5] These two cousins, Mint and Melo, are the only ones with available descriptions. Again, the game would continue on with development for a number of months, with private tests being held in late 2009.[6][7] Final testing for the game was performed from January 6th to 8th of 2010.[8] It would be another month before the game would finally be available for the public to play, officially opening its servers on February 18th, 2010.[1]

The Official Website for Katamari Damacy Online. Sadly, it has not been properly archived.

A number of updates were made to the game during the time it was online. The game was first updated on March 3rd, 2010.[9] Many of the updates would include new maps, cousins, and cosmetics for players to purchase. In July of 2010, a Practice Mode and Tutorial section was added for user convenience.[10]

Gameplay

As with the original game, Katamari Damacy Online features the player rolling up items using a round ball known as a Katamari. However, certain gameplay features changed with the introduction of new game modes. Single Player maps featured three modes, titled "Quick Mode" "Great Mode" and "Special Mode". In Quick Mode, the player must attempt to make their Katamari reach its target size, while Great Mode simply has the player make the Katamari as large as possible. Both modes featured a time limit.[11] In "Special Mode", players had to attach specific items to their Katamari in order to win. [12] In Multiplayer Mode, users could battle against each other one on one, or team up in groups of three to take down an opposing team. Up to six players could be hosted on Multiplayer maps. Multiplayer Mode shared the same three gameplay modes as the Single Player maps.[12]

An image from Katamari Damacy Online, showcasing players waiting to enter a multiplayer game.

Many obstacles were added into the stages, including an octopus which slows the player's rolling, a squid that sprays ink on the player's screen, a siren, a King card that may have been a shield, a spider web which may have lowered rolling speed, a rock which made the player immobile, a hook that took objects off of an opponent's katamari, and a shark missile that took off even more objects from the katamari. To receive one of these abilities, the player would roll into a Mario Kart-style mystery box. 12 Single Player maps and 7 Multi-Player maps were available to the public during launch, with more added during later updates.[11] Some single player and multiplayer maps were reused from older titles from the franchise, such as We ♥ Katamari.

An image from Katamari Damacy Online, showing the mystery box in-game.

New Features

As seen in gameplay videos, charging/dashing required a meter to be filled. This was most likely done for balancing purposes, as players could charge into others to knock off items from their Katamari.

New to the series was the introduction of items. Items could be used to aid the player during Single Player or Multiplayer Modes. Players could also express how they were feeling using the in-game chat, or by using different emoticon commands. There were 24 different emoticon commands available.[11]

A promotional flyer for the "Cosmo Couples Event".

Players could purchase cousins using real or in-game currency, along with other items such as cosmetics used to customize your avatar and Katamari.[11] The cousins' prices were based on their rarities: Common, Rare, and Prism Rare. Cousins and cosmetics also had different rarity levels.[9] As stated previously, different cousins and cosmetic items were introduced through updates made to the game. Many cousins were playable exclusively to Katamari Damacy Online, and have not made an appearance since the game was discontinued. Mentions of in-game virtual pets and customizable ‘houses’ were made during early development, though it is unlikely that these features were added to the final game, due to the lack evidence of being added.

Various collaborations occurred over the lifespan of Katamari Damacy Online. These include Pringles[13], Chupa Chups[14] and the Korean makeup brand Etude House. The event allowed the player to receive coupons for beauty products and in-game items.[15] One of these bonuses was an exclusive Cousin based on Etude House's logo. However, the most prominent collaboration happened with Korean celebrity Noh Hong-Chul. He filmed commercials[16] and participated in promotions.[17]

An old screenshot of the Katamari Damacy Online website's leaderboards.

A "Couples System" was added to the game, which would benefit two players of opposite sexes.[18] A player would be able to make a profile featuring their blood-type, gender and age. The couples with the most points would be put on a leaderboard accessible from the website.[19]

Availability

On February 24, 2012 , the game was shut down, and has remained unavailable to the public ever since.[2] Because the game was only available to those in South Korea, players from other countries were never able to experience it firsthand. Thankfully, the game is very well documented online. Gameplay videos and official art has surfaced, giving us insight as to how the game would’ve played.

Found Assets

A developer with the username Volky412 uploaded images of layouts and textures from Katamari Damacy Online in 2015. 3ds Max, Gamebryo 2.5 and Photoshop cs2 were all utilized in the creation of these assets.[20]

Videos

Opening cutscene of Katamari Damacy Online.

A player making their way through the game's lobby.

Gallery

External Links

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 News article providing information on the games release. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
  2. 2.0 2.1 A forum post detailing news about the games closure. Retrieved 25 Jun '20
  3. A news article from 2006 detailing rumors of the games announcement. Retrieved 25 Jun '20
  4. A news article from 4Gamer about the announcement of Katamari Damacy Online Retrieved 25 Jun '20
  5. A news article from 4Gamer about the games development. Retrieved 25 Jun '20
  6. Information on private tests being held before the games launch. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
  7. More information on private tests held before the games launch. Retrieved 27 Jun '20
  8. Information about the final tests being performed on the game. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
  9. 9.0 9.1 Information on the March 2010 update to the game. Retrieved 27 Jun '20
  10. Information on the July 2010 update to the game. Retrieved 26 Jun '20
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 A thorough analysis of the game written by a Private Tester. Retrieved 27 Jun '20
  12. 12.0 12.1 A review of the game from 2009. Retrieved 27 Jun '20
  13. Screenshots featuring a Pringles advertisement 2 Oct '23
  14. Katamari Damacy Online White Day event Retrieved 2 Oct '23
  15. Etude House collaboration article 2 Oct '23
  16. Katamari Damacy Online commercial Retrieved 2 Oct '23
  17. https://www.jungle.co.kr/magazine/15821
  18. Rolling adhesive action gKatamari Damacy Online, first CBT schedule revealed! Retrieved 1 Sep '23
  19. A screenshot from a website developer featuring the Couples Menu Retrieved 1 Sep '23
  20. 2007-2009 Windysoft - Katamari Damacy Online Retrieved 1 Sep '23