Tetsuya Mizuguchi Interview [Eurogamer] [Pic]

I think most dramatic and thematic games exist, and it's really hard. This is for an example: it's really hard to cry if you play a game. You can cry when you watch movies. I have, and everyone has that kind of experience. This is an emotional movement, very strong. But we can't cry when we play a game. This is a different catharsis. This is a physical reason. This is like a basic instinct. I think the game is designed as an experience. It's designed as a catharsis experience.

You have some accomplishments all the time, but accomplishment is a very strong keyword. It's a very strong factor of the game. I think in our 40 year history, we may [continually] redesign this, maybe. But in the last five years, you can get the resolution. This kind of resolution makes you have a very effective emotional possibility, with music, effects, hi-def movie effects. I think there can be growing, growing, and growing. There's some games coming in that class.

Well worth a read through, though be prepared for more talk from the interviewer than usually shows up in interviews.

Expressing The Future: Tetsuya Mizuguchi [Gamasutra]

Mizuguchi: ...What is music? Music has many elements, so how can we cut and separate and remake the parts in the process of game design? So then, game designers have to know what is fun, what is the essence of music?

Matsuura: Essence of music, I don't know. I really don't understand the essence of music. I've been composing music for thirty years, and I still don't understand what music is. But I'm still looking for the certain shape of my music. Anybody who can define the existence of music, I really respect.

Mizuguchi: Yeah, I agree with you. Music is like a universe — many, many elements. Lyrics, chords, rhythm, beats, playing, listening. Emotionally, you feel something. When I was 11 years old, I listened to my first Beatles music. I couldn't understand English, but I felt emotion or something, sort of... I want to love somebody! It's the power of music, of chords... very physical things, very emotional things. Not logic — I don't know, maybe logic. If I understand the lyrics, and it's a new chemistry. Music, we have a long history with music, but new music is coming still. I don't know why. It's a universe. Amazing.

Mizuguchi explained he was inspired by games at a young age, fascinated by Atari's dedicated Pong platform. He says he also discovered the music of The Beatles at the same time, combining the two experiences in a visual and emotional way.

He says he later was motivated to join Sega when he saw the Sega R-360 arcade cabinet for the first time. The enclosed, fully rotating cabinet gave developer AM2's G LOC a more realistic flight simulator experience (and surely induced plenty of nausea). When Mizuguchi saw the R-360 for the first time, he thought "Wow, who did this?"

His first project at Sega, arcade racer Sega Rally, got its own answer to the R-360 later, with a full-sized rally car chassis that sold a total of four units.

Moving on to the console division, the producer went to work on Space Channel 5. It was the result of his fascination with MTV culture as a child and his first foray into merging the emotional response from music with interactive entertainment.

His next was Rez.

The game, once known as K-Project was not just inspired by the paintings of Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian painter who had experience with the condition known as synesthesia. It was also partially inspired by Mizuguchi's early fascination with the Sensorama, a multi-modal device that promised an experience combining wide vision, motion color, stereo sounds, aromas, wind, and vibrations. "Wow," Mizuguchi said, questioning "What is this? What's happening inside?"

Combining those two motivators with Mizuguchi's interest in understanding why people, regardless of region, reacted to music at clubs and festivals physically—and vocally, as Mizuguchi said "Waaaaagggh!", arms stretched high.

These combinations continued, with games like Lumines, which recreated the "play with music" gameplay design and Ninety Nine Nights, Q Entertainment's attempt to combine action games and movies. NNN, Mizuguchi explained, was heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. Lumines II, which felt to many like a retread, was an attempt to more heavily incorporate music videos into the gameplay.

All of these marriages of medium are just portions of what Mizuguchi feels will bring to game development, now, according to him, still in its infancy. The "Big Bang" he says will be a hybrid product for a mass audience that combines online connectivity, video games, music, movies, community and advertising.

Since moving to Q and partnering with friend and now CEO, Shuji Utsumi, Miz says he's begun to come to terms with balancing art and commerce. Utsumi, he says, has been a good influence, especially when Mizuguchi becomes "too artistic." "Games," he says "are entertainment, not just art."

They fired up the game, I chose my level and as soon as it started I could feel the first pulses of vibration at the small of my back, at my feet and in my hands. As the level progressed the vibration became more intense and the controllers did not always vibrate in tandem, sometimes they ping-ponged back and forth creating a unique sensation. Having only played the Dreamcast version and not being among the small number of people to have actually gotten a hold of a trance vibrator, I had no idea how immersive having all that extra vibration could be. If you have played Rez before and were on the fence about getting Rez HD, the multiple controller vibration (it can support up to four) should be enough to push you over the side.

When we saw the game demoed in Tokyo last year, they were still undecided on how they would incorporate the vibration into the game. One thing they didn't want to have to do was design a new peripheral, so they needed to come up with something else as Mizuguchi explains..

In this game, the vibration is really important. The mix of sound, music and vibration is like a chemistry. I didn't just want to have controller vibration, I wanted to do the Trance Vibration again and that kind of thing is difficult to reproduce. So one day, one of the game designers came up with the idea of the multiple controller vibration since most people have more than one 360 controller. We all thought it was a really fantastic idea.

Since the announcement that the PS3 controllers would once again feature rumble, I asked is they had considered bringing Rez HD to the PSN Store as well and Mizuguchi said that yes, it is definitley something they would like to do and have considered. So if all goes well, PS3 owners could well see Rez HD arriving on their consoles in the near future. For 360 owners just a few more days and you'll be playing Rez HD in all its vibrating glory. Remember, one controller at the small of your back, one at your feet and one in your hands, that's the Miz way. As to where you put that fourth, that is entirely up to you, just remember to wipe it off when your done.

His response to GameSpot when probed about another futuristic dancing game? "With Space Channel 5, if I have reason to improve on the HD experience, I will do that. Have you asked Sega?" adding a bit of laughter. The annoying kind that hints that he's not ready to spill something yet. He answered similarly to Game|Life's question on the matter with the same godforsaken laughter.

Look, Miz. We aren't laughing. We've still got the Ulala and Morolian refrigerator magnets up, if that tells you anything. Despite Sega's dismissal of the idea, their new tendency to look backward for hits only makes us want more Space Channel 5.

We know it's rumor, and we actually don't believe a lick of it yet, but let's get this done already. No more laughing! And can we get a cute microphone controller, while you're at it?

We started on Xbox 360, but we have no reason not to provide this game to other platforms.

If I had a reason to remake Space Channel 5 on the new platforms, I will do that.

Rez HD Official Site

I've had a pet project I've been working on for years, three of them if my memory is right. It started as a simple idea: You can judge a lot from a person's desk. I bet you could judge just as much from their home entertainment system. So I decided it would be fun to try and track down some pictures from the work desks and home gaming set-ups of the people who work in and cover the video game industry. Simple right? Not so much.

Turns out that many of the people are either too busy or too private to want to participate in such a project. To make matters worse, there's always fear that something sitting on someone's desk, that ends up in a photo, could actually be news worthy. Like a secret project or the next big thing. But I didn't give up and about once a year I'd harass a bunch of game developers for photos. Finally, this year, the harassment paid off.

What started as a trickle of photos turned quickly into the collection of galleries you'll find on the jump: More than 40 different photo galleries from 17 studios, seven publications, two industry movers and shakers and a couple of fun surprises.

You'll get to see the desk of such greats as Sid Meier, Peter Molyneux and Tetsuya Mizuguchi along with plenty of others. Remember you can comment both on the next page and on each individual photo if you click on them.

If I find there is interest, I will try to periodically update this gallery of galleries with more developers, journalists and industry movers and shakers. Have fun.

DEVELOPERS
2K Games

ASTRO Gaming

Buzz Monkey Software

Capcom

Eat, Sleep, Play

Electronic Arts

Firaxis Games

Flying Lab Software

Gearbox Software

Harmonix Music

Incognito Entertainment

Insomniac Games

Kojima Productions

Lionhead Studios

NanaOn-Sha

Naughty Dog

NCSoft

NetDevil

Neversoft Entertainment

Ninja Theory

Pandemic Studios

Petroglyph Games

THQ

Q Entertainment

JOURNALISTS

Blue's News

BoingBoing

EGM

The Escapist

GameLife

Joystiq

Kotaku

MTV

Slashdot Games

VE3D

VH1

INDUSTRY FOLK

MISCELLANIES
I AM 8-BIT

Penny Arcade

Whorecraft

Video Games Live

Thanks, Aokaze!

When Rez first came out for the Dreamcast, I played it extensively and still even plug the old girl in every once in a while for the sole purpose of playing Rez. I've beaten the game quite a number of times so when Mr. Mizuguchi fired up the game for us to watch I got a great rush of nostalgia as I heard the familiar music start to play. He played through the first level of the game with predictable ease and as he got to the boss he turned to me and gestured towards the controller. I was instantly filled with a mixture of elation and terror. Here I was in a room with one of my idols playing his own game in front of him, surrounded by co-workers and being tasked with a boss level. But, I rose to the occasion and took the chair offered me by Mr. Mizuguchi and went in for the kill.

I was immediately impressed at how sharp everything looked. With the relatively simple graphic style of a game like Rez, you might think that HD wouldn't do much for it, but the difference was obvious from the very beginning. The controls, while still in the early stages of development, were very smooth and I actually found them to be much easier to deal with than the Dreamcast's. Having the rumble built right in to the controls without the purchase of the Trance Vibrator was a great addition as it was something I hadn't been able to try before. The music also sounded great, and I was told that all the tracks were being remastered for the full 5.1 Dolby experience. I managed to make it through the whole boss level like a pro, only devolving once and when it was all over I was rewarded with a clap on the back and a handshake from Mr. Mizuguchi.

Rez HD is going to be a great addition to the XBL lineup and will give players who formally couldn't get their hands on it a chance to play for the first time. It will also be terrific for old fans who will be able to experience the crisp new graphics, widescreen and remastered music creating a new way to enjoy an old game.

My work all these years has been to entertain people through video games, but this virtual Tokyo concept could be the next step and path... The Tokyo we are trying to create is based on the image of city. How do people in Tokyo perceive the city? How about foreigners? That's what we want to express.

Escape to block-busting puzzles and pulsating beats in this exciting new puzzle game for your PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) system! Be entranced by brilliant, interactive evolutionary backgrounds from cells to dream-like landscapes in four unique themes over 40 levels.

Puzzle Scape [Got Game via GameSetWatch]

Don't you wish game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi would've brought PSP game Lumines to the DS, instead? He doesn't have to. Germans are doing it for him! Well, not exactly. Germany's bhv Software is releasing Luminator DS third quarter 2007 in Europe. This DS title has only fifteen skins and 15 "CD quality" songs. I'm no lawyer, but it seems as though we've moved beyond flattery into the gray area of copyright infringement. Brian Ashcraft

Luminator DS [Siliconera]

Nakazato also gives the Xbox 360 a fighting chance in Japan, the console in which his company is heavily invested:

I think most of the Japanese gamers will go to casual games on the DS and such, but there will be a high-end gamer market. For those gamers, because of a lack of Japan-made games, they're going to start playing U.S. games. Then, I think the Xbox 360 will have a better chance.

Xbox Live is so sophisticated - on that point I think even Sony is behind, even after their most recent announcements, like Home. I think their infrastructure is still behind. If Microsoft has a chance to succeed in Japan, I think the Xbox Live services and new entertainment fully using Xbox Live are important.

An amazing, and, at seven pages, long interview with great insight into the inner workings at FeelPlus, Capcom and Microsoft. Don't miss it. Michael McWhertor

Ray Tracing: A Japanese Game Market Expose With Ray Nakazato [Gamasutra]

Amid the usual banter and camaraderie, there was as an announcement from Mizuguchi that his next project "is not going to be a video game" but an interesting environmental/convservation themed something. Sounds interesting. I hope that Q? Entertainment can break out of their puzzle rehash rut.

Also hinted at was that Kojima and Grasshopper's Suda 51 may be working on a Snatcher related project. Will it be a sequel to the Sega CD classic from Konami? We don't know! But we're anxiously awaiting the next Hidechan podcast to see what Kojima has to say about it. Michael McWhertor

Kojima Meets Mikami in Snake vs Zombie Event [1UP]

The shoot-em-up from Tetsuya "The Milkman" Mizuguchi will feature the requisite HD graphical upgrade as well as 5.1 surround sound treatment that will provide a "clubbing experience right in the living room". However, the XBLA version will also feature a mode called "S4, Wiz ur Muzik" and will allow players to use custom tracks in-game. Wicked cool.

Leaderboards, acheivements, online play, it's all there. Let's just pray that Q will find some way to get the entire game, not a crippled, money-grubbing piecemeal version up on day one. *prays* Amen. Michael McWhertor

Adding more fuel to the fire that Miz and Q? Entertainment will be bringing a version of the previously-for-PSP game Every Extend Extra is today's report from CVG that reveal this week's GDC will be the time and place for a new XBLA announcement from Q. Could it be Gunpey? Meteos? What will it be?!

We'll let you know if we corner Miz! Michael McWhertor

GDC: Mizuguchi's new XBLA game [CVG]

This painfully awkward interview-slash-commercial for Q? Entertainment's Meteos cash-in for the Nintendo DS is as cringe-worthy as it is confusing. Look, I love you, Miz, but the once stellar name of Q? is desperately in need of something fresh. How about fewer ports and more original content? We're all out of Lumines goodwill at this point. Michael McWhertor

It's widely known that the Lumines Live! screwjob from last year didn't sit well with Xbox 360 owners. Releasing a hobbled version of the game on Xbox Live Arcade with the promise of future through-the-nose payments rightly warranted some gamer finger wagging (and poisonous Kotaku comments).

But next week's Lumines Live! download packs might just make that bitter microtransaction pill a tad easier to swallow. For a limited time (until February 21), the following add-ons will be available at a reduced price.

- VS CPU Pack (100 MS Points)
- Puzzle/Mission Pack (100 MS Points)
- Heavenly Star Skin (Free for Gold Members)

See? Q Entertainment loves you. Of course, once that period of goodwill is over, the regular screwjob price for each will creep back up to 300 MS points.

Unless you want to be reminded how you shouldn't have snoozed from your Live peers, make sure you're ready to download these packs starting January 24 at 1 AM PST. Michael McWhertor

Get a Deal on Lumines Live! Add-On Packs [Xbox.com via Gamerscoreblog]

While Lumines II may not be winning the hearts and minds of PSP gamers quite like the first one did, at least you can maybe get a free trip to Miami out of it. All you need to do is suffer through the Lumines II Remixer at the official site then send in your remix.

What do you get if you win? Sadly no games! Instead the winner will receive a trip for two to Miami for the Winter Music Conference, a VIP "experience" with Junkie XL (hopefully no awkward passes from the artist), hotel accommodations, round-trip airfare, car rental and $500 spending cash. I suppose you could do worse. If only Tetsuya Mizuguchi were there I'd spend all night on my remix.

Go on aspiring DJs! Get your virtual wiki-wiki, scritch-scratch on. Michael McWhertor

Lumines II Video Mixer

In a speech given at the Montr al International Games Summit, Q Entertainment co-founder Tetsuya Mizuguchi spoke his mind on the future of the gaming industry, calling for integration of other media types in games, and bringing in fresh new talent. In my opinion there is no better person than the creator of Rez and Space Channel 5 to discuss innovation.

This industry is a kind of sponge," Mizuguchi continued. "If you want to make something, if you need some kind of technology, the games industry is always kind of sucking many things. So if you want to connect to people, technology is coming - [and there is] no form and no limit.

You've really got to love the language barrier. Wouldn't life be so boring if we all understood each other? Michael Fahey

Mizuguchi calls on games industry to embrace new talent [GamesIndustry.biz]

Take it as a good sign. Japan's geekiest adult video actress Ann Namba bought Ninety-Nine Nights, even name dropping Mizuguchi. "I'm so glad I bought it," she blogs as a glimmer of hope flashes in the eyes of Peter Moore. The *literally* hardcore actress-come-gamer has already impressed many by previously lining up for a DS Lite, gushing over Final Fantasy 12 and doing others unmentionables.

Fairly Innocuous But Still NSFW [Ann's Blog]

So Mizuguchi's RPG Ninety-Nine Nights just launched in Japan, and MSoft has licensed N3 tees, mugs and bags. Guys, shouldn't we be more focused on selling actual games?

Goods Here [Dengeki Online]

Mizuguchi and Sang Youn Lee, director of NNN developer Phantagram, also talk about the character design decisions that went into the dramatic brawler's leads, which range from empathy to pure boob lust. Check out the Gamasutra write-up on their talk at the link.

GDC: All About Ninety-Nine Nights: Next-Gen Character Design [Gamasutra]