A lot of people were talking about Google’s Olympic Doodle, and the buzz was particularly high in the gaming community. It was released at the beginning of the Games and people got to enjoy it for a week. The doodle consisted of an animated game created in collaboration with Tokyo Studio 4ºC.
The player has to explore an island and defeat opponents in seven different sports: table tennis, skateboard, bow and arrow, rugby, synchronized swimming, climbing and marathon. The main character is a cat named Lucy. The game combines olympic games, japanese characters and 8 bits RPG animation, in a tribute to the great classic games.
We thought of analyzing the game from the perspective of our animators, who are also old time gamers.
What did you think of the Google´s Doodle? Did it make you think of some other game? As an animator, what did you tink of the technical aspect? As a gamer, what did you think of the characters?
Javier Hodara- Senior Designer & Gamer
“I think Doodle Champion Island Games is a great idea, full of easter eggs and references to Japanese entertainment culture. They have combined animations and references to Studio Ghibli and the “in-game” pixel art takes you back to the childhood classics. I think they have achieved a connection with the old time gamers with the classic RPG look, and entertaining and user friendly mini games. Great tribute to this type of games recognizing their contributions to the industry and the way they changed it forever.”
Gonzalo Villafañe- 3d Animator & gamer
“The new doodle from Google is great, it has a classic game vibe from Pokemon with a little bit of Stardew Valley. The Pixel art is beautiful, and properly used considering the game concept. Characters are charismatic and likeable, even considering how small the interactions are. But all the character’s actions and the game environment adds to and makes this little doodle world. Super cool and interesting way to kill some time.”
Nicolás Basílico- Project Manager & Gamer
“I loved it. I felt super nostalgic about it. I played Gameboy for ten years, in every single version of it, and I really liked playing this doodle, at least for a while.
The characters, the reference to the Hero’s Journey, the cut scenes, everything took me back in time and I honestly felt the love these guys put into this.
It made me think of several games. First memory, Zelda, clearly. But as I kept playing I noticed the RPG animations, the character’s progression, and I thought about Stardew Valley, Final Fantasy Tactics, Golden Sun, Pokemon.
I’m not an animator but I love “anime” and video games. The level of work here is really impressive. Character design, game environment, the story telling. I got hooked right away. Like many from my generation, I’m a big PVE fan and I have a special connection with this type of games.”
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We analyze Google’s Olympic Doodle
