Katamari Damacy + Project Tango = Woorld

Several years ago Google made some minor waves with its Project Tango initiative. The idea was to rethink the way people interact with their devices and the space around them. Eventually the hardware’s tablet version – imagine a Nexus 7 with spatial mapping capabilities – was released to those consumers or interested developers who had a penchant for pricey purchases. Fast forward to today and a curious new creation has captivated some consciousness: Woorld!

Earlier today Keita Takahashi, the man behind one of gaming’s bizarre/unique/inexplicable franchises ever, Katamari Damacy, announced a new project named Woorld that is set to appear at Google I/O and use Project Tango. It’s essentially an augmented reality premise that attempts to show the world around us in a new and decidedly “Fischer-Price” type presentation, as The Verge put it.

Here’s the post from Takahashi’s studio, Funomena:

It’s time to let the cat out of the bag! Today we are pleased to announce that we have been working on an experimental game that splashes in the waters of Augmented Reality!  This game uses technology from Google called Project Tango. Funomenauts including Keita, Vu, Ryan and Brandi have joined forces to create a silly, simple and wonderful Woorld.

Poised at the beginning of a new creative movement that mixes digital and physical play, Woorld is a whimsical, exploratory application. By peeking through the window of a supported handheld device, you can explore, discover, and create using digital objects and creatures that you place in physical space. Even better, you can collaborate on that experience with friends and family as they peer into your Woorld through a shared screen.

Designed to be accessible, open-ended and full of surprises, Woorld is just the beginning of the magical things we hope to do with AR and VR technologies. The game is set to be released later this year, but we’re very excited to say that later this week at Google I/O, developers from all over the globe will be able to create their own Woorld, meet delightfully curious characters, and decorate with silly objects.

Going to I/O? Come play at the Project Tango “Sandbox” area and see it for yourself!

The product certainly looks to be as unique and creative as anything this side of The King of All Cosmos might present players with.

What do you think? Does Woorld look like a whole new planet of fun and fantasy, or could it just be a potential collection of stuff?