Rez Preview
Find out about Sega's upcoming shooter from developer Tetsuya Mizuguchi.
Sega's upcoming shooter Rez will be one of the most visually unique games to come out in a great while. Developed by United Game Artists, the game has a dense, layered look that's made up of surreal imagery featuring a blend of old-school vector graphics and Jeff Minter-esque "melt-o-vision." The visuals are complemented by a trippy assortment of trance music that adds to the surreal feel of the game and fits with stylish approach found in UGA's Space Channel 5. Originally developed for the Dreamcast, Rez was announced for the PlayStation 2 earlier this year. The uniqueness of the game's look and sound is matched by the concepts that contributed to its development. Originally known as "K-project," the game's aesthetics were influenced by the concepts of Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), a Russian painter whose work was influenced by music. Fascinated with power of expression in music and the freedom of imagination it gave its listener, Kandisnky's work attempted to capture that abstraction in his paintings. UGA president Tetsuya Mizuguchi's familiarity with Kandisnky's concepts helped focus the ideas he had for a game into Rez. We talked to Mizuguchi about the game, UGA, and Space Channel 5 Part 2.
GameSpot: What was the inspiration for Rez?
Tetsuya Mizuguchi: Hmm. It's a difficult question. I'd have to say a rave I went to in Europe in 1995. It was a huge indoor party, and there were about five thousand people dancing. The sounds and light were all synchronized. I felt something. I imagined DJing--the sounds, lights, music, and everything. I thought it would be fun for a player.
GS: How did you decide on Rez's gameplay?
TM: I wanted to make a shooter first, because it's a physical and simple type of game. The first image I had was being in a tube with the music notes coming at you in 3D, so you shoot the sound coming at you. So I imagined it would be new and fun, which is the reason I decided to make it a shooting game.
GS: How did you decide on the graphic style?
TM: Old games, like maybe 20 years ago, were like this--vector scan and wireframes. But Rez isn't being nostalgic. The look is a conscious choice. Current games are a little too real now--there's no room for interpretation. But I think Rez is an experience, so I didn't want to put lifelike graphics in it. The combination of dark and light and faces and 3D textures is open to your interpretation as you play. The beginning of this game is simple, but it evolves and is very organic. The design concept was that it would evolve in gradients as you played through the game.
GS: How did you decide on the music?
TM: The first thing we did was decide on musicians. They had to understand what we were trying to do with the game--not only the music, but the visual design as well. That was important.
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