Google Doodle launches series of games around Tokyo Olympics

Japanese animation company Studio 4°C designed the 16-bit games

With the Olympics set to be officially opened in Tokyo, Google is launching an interactive series of Doodle games based on events there over the next two weeks.

The Doodle, which is called Doodle Champion Island Games, has seven mini-games created by Japanese animation company Studio 4°C.

Users can take part in the Olympic event-themed 16-bit games and contribute their scores to one of four teams, which will be tracked by Google.

In the games, Lucky the Calico Ninja Cat takes part in events such as table tennis, skateboarding, rugby, artistic swimming, climbing, and marathon running, each with its own “Legendary Champion” to challenge from Japanese folklore and history.

There are also side quests that users can undertake on Champion Island.

“First, we identified stories and folktales from all over the country with characters that are highly recognized,” said the studio.

“Next, we connected those folktales and characters with each of the sport events included in the game. In the design process, each event champion was selected from those unique stories.

“The team mascots and the characters in the city such as Kappa, Yatagarasu, lion dance, were also chosen as they are very well known across Japan. Each character’s design was based on their original story image, but then adapted for the game.”