Tetsuya Mizuguchi is a video game designer famed for his pioneering application of music and visuals, using music not just as an accompaniment to a game but as an integral part of its gameplay dynamic. Most famously this unification of sound and vision were explored in his groundbreaking game for Sega, Rez. Pairing the concept of the rail shooter with electronic music, it allowed the player to create sounds and melodies as they shot at and killed enemies, against a backdrop of wire frame graphics that vibrate with kaleidoscopic colors inspired in part by Russian abstract artist Wassily Kandinsky. The game stood out as it sought to give the receptive viewer an immersive experience through the qualities of synesthesia.Mizuguchi eventually left Sega and started up his own company Q Entertainment, a game development firm. After years of working on many games that explored the aesthetics and interrelation of light and sound, he’s produced a sequel to Rez called Child of Eden, due for release, by Ubisoft, in June. The new game, called a “multi-sensory shooter,” again synchronizes graphics with sound design in an orchestra of dazzling colors which uses the Kinect as a control system. The stunning game perhaps has more in common with the impressive imagery and installations we’ve seen from the various Kinect hacks, than with anything released so far from video game publishers.The Creators Project: How did you first get into video game design?
Tetsuya Mizuguchi: I jumped into the industry 20 years ago. Before that, I studied media aesthetics, that was my major at university, studying the new audio/visual expressions in art. After this I wanted to make something, but this was 1990 the Super Famicom era, just 2D no 3D, and the sound was just like a beep sound. But I felt the industry all the time was changing so quickly. When I saw the computer graphics of the movie industry I thought we will soon have these new technologies in the gaming industry, so let’s wait a few years. Which is why I decided to go into the gaming industry.So what made it so appealing to you as a platform for creative expression? What attracted you to gaming in particular?
What is a fun game? We have to think about that. A fun game even if it’s black and white visuals, even if it’s a bit naff visually, a fun game is fun. Like you know Pong, a classic, that’s fun, so we don’t need the high visual, high sound experiences. But I felt we needed a new expression where it’s not just fun but feeling good as well, which is totally different. I tried to find something that was both fun and “feeling good” in Rez, so that was a very simple sound, simple visuals, very minimal experience. Now we have 5.1 surround sound, very high visuals, high-def. But people ask: what is the future of gaming? All the time we have that kind of question. I think my answer is we have to go further and further into the future. So after Rez, I needed to find what’s next? And I felt it should be much more organic, much more emotional, not only fun. So Child of Eden is much more organic and emotional. It is about how can we get a positive feeling after we play the game, not only accomplishment but a sense of well being.The term “synesthesia” is used to describe both games, what does the term mean to you?
This is not a new word, it is a very old word used by some artists 100 years ago. Like Kandinsky, he painted with sound he experienced every day. But for him, he had just one white canvas, now we have not only one canvas but we have a huge, huge canvas and maybe 3D—it’s like a moving architecture and moving sculpture; we have technology now, we have programming, science, so if we can combine that kind of technology and that creativity together we can go to another level of expression.Where do you see the future of gaming heading?
I don’t know. But I can say the gaming industry’s expanding now and not only [in terms of] high-def, high-res experiences. But for instance the unique area of social network gaming—we are connecting by consciousness through network gaming; even if it’s just a smartphone, we can play with other people in the world. So I think the game industry’s expanding in many directions. It’s a really exciting moment.Where do you get the inspiration for your visuals?
Many, many inspirations. Do you know Powers of Ten? This is a very experimental visual project by Charles and Ray Eames. They were designers in the 1970s, and they made this very experimental visual for IBM called Powers of Ten. It is a visual expression about the scale from the micro to the macro in a movement, very free—and that kind of concept I’m very impressed with. I showed you the Evolution level [in Child of Eden] from simple cell, from the deep sea going to galaxy. But why is the simple cell and the galaxy a similar shape? We don’t know why, but we have many, many analogies like that in this game, so it’s not only fun but my hopes are that you feel something different to just a normal game and ask: what is this kind of feeling? So [you’ll be] playing, playing, playing many times and getting an understanding of something. I wanted to put many kind of elements in the game, I have no answers, but I think the game is a “feel media.” It explores our understanding of the world around us.What was the appeal of using the Kinect?
It is like a conductor, so if you play the game by controller you can feel the vibration and this is fine. You can feel the music by eyes, ears, hands, that is OK. But the Kinect is a totally different experience, you are the conductor. It is like Mickey Mouse in Fantasia and you get to control the sounds. This is very new and it’s very exciting.Where are the peripherals going to go from these motion sensor devices? Augmented Reality goggles?
Oh yes. So if you use the 3D glasses, the 3D technologies, then if you touch something here, something is moving with music, then touch something else and everything is moving with music—when you touch you get the sound and the full effects. It’s not so far in the future.
Advertisement
Tetsuya Mizuguchi: I jumped into the industry 20 years ago. Before that, I studied media aesthetics, that was my major at university, studying the new audio/visual expressions in art. After this I wanted to make something, but this was 1990 the Super Famicom era, just 2D no 3D, and the sound was just like a beep sound. But I felt the industry all the time was changing so quickly. When I saw the computer graphics of the movie industry I thought we will soon have these new technologies in the gaming industry, so let’s wait a few years. Which is why I decided to go into the gaming industry.So what made it so appealing to you as a platform for creative expression? What attracted you to gaming in particular?
What is a fun game? We have to think about that. A fun game even if it’s black and white visuals, even if it’s a bit naff visually, a fun game is fun. Like you know Pong, a classic, that’s fun, so we don’t need the high visual, high sound experiences. But I felt we needed a new expression where it’s not just fun but feeling good as well, which is totally different. I tried to find something that was both fun and “feeling good” in Rez, so that was a very simple sound, simple visuals, very minimal experience. Now we have 5.1 surround sound, very high visuals, high-def. But people ask: what is the future of gaming? All the time we have that kind of question. I think my answer is we have to go further and further into the future. So after Rez, I needed to find what’s next? And I felt it should be much more organic, much more emotional, not only fun. So Child of Eden is much more organic and emotional. It is about how can we get a positive feeling after we play the game, not only accomplishment but a sense of well being.
Advertisement
This is not a new word, it is a very old word used by some artists 100 years ago. Like Kandinsky, he painted with sound he experienced every day. But for him, he had just one white canvas, now we have not only one canvas but we have a huge, huge canvas and maybe 3D—it’s like a moving architecture and moving sculpture; we have technology now, we have programming, science, so if we can combine that kind of technology and that creativity together we can go to another level of expression.Where do you see the future of gaming heading?
I don’t know. But I can say the gaming industry’s expanding now and not only [in terms of] high-def, high-res experiences. But for instance the unique area of social network gaming—we are connecting by consciousness through network gaming; even if it’s just a smartphone, we can play with other people in the world. So I think the game industry’s expanding in many directions. It’s a really exciting moment.Where do you get the inspiration for your visuals?
Many, many inspirations. Do you know Powers of Ten? This is a very experimental visual project by Charles and Ray Eames. They were designers in the 1970s, and they made this very experimental visual for IBM called Powers of Ten. It is a visual expression about the scale from the micro to the macro in a movement, very free—and that kind of concept I’m very impressed with. I showed you the Evolution level [in Child of Eden] from simple cell, from the deep sea going to galaxy. But why is the simple cell and the galaxy a similar shape? We don’t know why, but we have many, many analogies like that in this game, so it’s not only fun but my hopes are that you feel something different to just a normal game and ask: what is this kind of feeling? So [you’ll be] playing, playing, playing many times and getting an understanding of something. I wanted to put many kind of elements in the game, I have no answers, but I think the game is a “feel media.” It explores our understanding of the world around us.What was the appeal of using the Kinect?
It is like a conductor, so if you play the game by controller you can feel the vibration and this is fine. You can feel the music by eyes, ears, hands, that is OK. But the Kinect is a totally different experience, you are the conductor. It is like Mickey Mouse in Fantasia and you get to control the sounds. This is very new and it’s very exciting.Where are the peripherals going to go from these motion sensor devices? Augmented Reality goggles?
Oh yes. So if you use the 3D glasses, the 3D technologies, then if you touch something here, something is moving with music, then touch something else and everything is moving with music—when you touch you get the sound and the full effects. It’s not so far in the future.