![]() |
![]() |
Rez
This nOde last
updated March 17th, 2002 and is permanently morphing...
(11 Lamat (Venus) / 6 Cumku - 128/260 - 12.19.9.1.8)

![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Laboratory_ 12"x2Virtual world designed to overwhelm the senses
By BBC News Online's Alfred Hermida
A new video game inspired by the
abstract artist
Kandinsky
aims to overload the senses with its
psychedelic
visuals and
pulsating
dance
beats.
Rez for the Playstation 2
seeks to create a sense of
synaesthesia,
literally a crossing of the senses, so that you can "see" sounds or "taste"
colours.
"Rez is an experience, a
fusion
of
light,
vibration and sound completely immersed in synaesthesia," said its creator,
Tetsuya Mizuguchi of
Japanese
game developers United Game Artists.
The game takes place in a
virtualworld
inside a computer. You play a
hacker
of sorts,
flying
through six levels of cyberspace in search of the
artificial
intelligence at the heart of this world.
But there is a twist to the traditional shoot-em approach that makes Rez stand out.
Virtual DJ
Every
time
you destroy one of the insect-like enemies, a sound is generated. This
sound becomes a form in the scrolling, flashing 3D computer world
rushing
past.
Destroying enemies in patterns results in more elaborate sounds and effects, literally creating the music and the graphics on the fly.
"We worked closely with the artists within the game, breaking down the tracks to the most basic of notes then putting them all back together to fit in with the game structure," Mr Mizuguchi told BBC News Online.
"We tried to create a game that was true to the concept of synaesthesia, as nothing has ever been done like this before I guess you could say we tried to be different."
Artistic influence
Tetsuya Mizuguchi drew much of his inspiration for Rez from the concepts of Kandinsky, whose own paintings were influenced by music.
Kandinsky was fascinated
with power of expression in music and the freedom of
imagination
it gave the listener.
Mr. Mizuguchi was thinking
along similar lines when the idea for Rez came to him at a club, seeing
the
lights,
feeling the vibrations and hearing the music all around him.
He sought to capture some
of Kandinsky's ideas by using wireframe graphics that are reminiscent of
the 1980s film,
_Tron_.
The look of the Rez brings
to mind the neon-charged cyberspace envisaged in
William
Gibson's bible of
cyberpunk
fiction,
_Neuromancer_
.
By flying through the virtual world of Rez, players are bombarded with colour, form, movement and sound.
"We have a vision that people will be chilling out with friends," said Mr Mizuguchi.
"While one person is playing
Rez the others can watch the visuals and listen to the music."