Rez Infinite has been announced for PlayStationVR! A PS4-exclusive, the ultra-awesome acid trip (and one of the original founding music games by Tetsuya Mizuguchi) will finally be playable in a hightech medium for a whole new generation… VIRTUAL REALITY! It almost seems like VR was custom-build for an experience like Rez!
Check out the debut trailer for Rez Infinite for PSVR!
Rez Infinite for PS4 will bring the game completely into modern times, with 1080p High Definition graphics, 3D Sound, running at 60 frames-per-second and, of course, being played in VR on the PS4 with a DualShock 4 Controller!
REZ was originally released way back in 2001 for the Dreamcast. It eventually came to America in for PS2 in 2002 and was re-released as Rez HD for Xbox Live Arcade on Xbox 360 in 2008. Child of Eden, released for Xbox 360 & PS3 and requiring Kinect/PSMove; was the spiritual successor/sequel to Rez.
Check out this video of Mizuguchi talking about Child of Eden… In English! He is one of the very few Japanese developers who speaks English & conducts all his Western interviews in English. This will give you a look into the mind of the man who created Rez.
Rez was made by Q Games and acclaimed music-game genius Mizuguchi, who is also responsible for Lumines, Meteos, Space Channel 5, Every Extend Extra, Gunpey & Ninety-Nine Nights.
Rez, in fact, was made up of members of the disbanded “Team Andromeda” at Sega, who created the Panzer Dragoon series and went on to form Q games with Mizuguchi.
What is “Synaesthesia” you ask? (You’ll hear Mizuguchi mention it in the above video interviews.)
“Synaesthesia is the concept that color creates sounds… That sound & color are linked. It is said that Synaesthesia is a powerful sensation one experiences in Heaven.”
Synaesthesia is the concept that color creates sounds… If you’ve listened to people who’ve been to Heaven talk about their experience (Akiane for example; look her up if you’ve never heard of her); you often hear them talk about this very concept; that sound & color are linked. This, essentially, is the type of experience that Mizuguchi attempts to recreate. Akiane talks about how in Heaven, you can taste, smell, hear and FEEL color. That is the type of experience you get when playing a Mizuguchi game… He wants you to EXPERIENCE the sound & color and have it create an emotion from within you.
Really interesting stuff.
Here is some background on Mizuguchi & Rez:
Rez was originally unveiled in May 2001 under the code name “K Project.” No explanation of this title was given. Upon finishing the game and watching the credits roll, finally we learn what the K stands for: “K Project- Dedicated to the creative spirit of Kandinsky.”
Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) is a famous artist, a painter who is generally regarded as the “Father of Abstract/Modern Art.”
“Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944) is a famous artist, a painter who is generally regarded as the ‘Father of Abstract/Modern Art.’ Kandinsky claimed that he heard sound when he saw colors. When senses overlap in this manner, it is called ‘Synaesthesia.’ Much of Kandinsky’s work revolved around this. He often described and titled his own work in musical terms. This is very much the basis of Rez. Sight and sound co-mingle to form a whole. Rez’s tag line is, in fact, ‘Go to Synaethesia.'”
Kandinsky claimed that he heard sound when he saw colors. When senses overlap in this manner, it is called “Synaesthesia.” Much of Kandinsky’s work revolved around this. He often described and titled his own work in musical terms.
This is very much the basis of Rez. Sight and sound co-mingle to form a whole. Rez’s tag line is, in fact, “Go to Synaethesia.” (Thanks to Amazon reviewer “D. K. Malone” for that background)
Now things have come full circle with Rez Infinite… By using VR… You are now IN the game. And especially by wearing that crazy lightsuit that vibrates (see the below videos), you can literally FEEL the Synaethesia. Hopefully they have plans to make some kind of consumer version of the vibrating suit… Wouldn’t that be insane?
Here is Sony’s announcement and stage demonstration of Rez Infinite by Mizuguchi himself in his futuristic light suit! (skip to 1:33:00 in the video)
Rez essentially created the music-game genre & pushed it forward by mixing it rhythm & shooting elements with hypnotic visuals and a thumping electronica soundtrack. The game was an immediate cult-classic although it is criminally overlooked.
Thankfully, Rez’s moment may finally be here! Rez in VR is literally the PERFECT game to truly showcase Virtual Reality and how it can revitilize old classics.
People who actually attended PSX 2015 got to play Rez Infinite in a futuristic vibrating suit that featured over 40 vibrating sensors!
Here are is a video of Brad Shoemaker of Giantbomb wearing the Vibration Suit while playing Rez Infinite with PlayStationVR…
… And the folks at IGN talking about the experience of wearing the suite while playing Rez Infinite in PSVR.
REZ SYNOPSIS
“GO TO SYNAESTHESIA – Enter a pulsating world of intense sights & sounds. Where every beat and sample is synced directly to your actions. Through the use of light, sound & rhythm, you alone must take control of the network and its music in an attempt to unlock the system’s secrets and bring Eden back home.” – REZ Synopsis, Back of Box, PS2
GO TO SYNAESTHESIA
Enter a pulsating world of intense sights & sounds. Where every beat and sample is synced directly to your actions.
Through the use of light, sound & rhythm, you alone must take control of the network and its music in an attempt to unlock the system’s secrets and bring Eden back home.
* Revolutionary gameplay allows players to create their own rhythms while destroying enemies.
* Unlock more than 20 extra features by mastering every aspect of the game.
* Advanced technology blends intense visuals, addictive action, and awesome music into one seamless gaming experience.
* Extra modes include “Score Attack”, “Beyond Mode”, “Boss Rush” and “Trance Mission”.
THE SHOOTING GENRE RE-INVENTED
Within the network, anything is possible. Rez requests your senses. Are you game?
Last but DEFINITELY not least, watch this awesome interview from the PlayStation Xperience Exp 2015 where Mizuguchi talks about Rez Infinite for PSVR with a true fan of the game. Who’s unvarnished excitement at getting to talk to Mizuguchi about Rez Infinite for VR can hardly be contained!
It’s amazing to me to think about how it must feel to be Mizuguchi.
He’s so humble so he doesn’t want to take the credit, but he really did lay the groundwork for the fusion of music, sound, rhythm, and most importantly, as he constantly stresses, EMOTION.
“I find it fascinating that if you hear people who’ve had experiences with Heaven, people who have BEEN THERE, if you hear them talk about what they experienced; They will say that in Heaven colors create sounds, and everything can be FELT. This is the type of experience that Mizuguchi is attempting to recreate to the player in REZ. Games like Rez are, quite simply, an OTHERWORLDLY experience. A small slice of Heaven.”
He essentially created the type of experiences that we see today and that are now much more common and now have their own genre. He is the Forefather.
I find it fascinating that if you hear people who’ve had experiences with Heaven, people who have BEEN THERE, if you hear them talk about what they experienced, they will say that in Heaven colors create sounds, and everything can be FELT.
This is the type of experience that Mizuguchi is trying to recreate to the player in REZ.
Games like Rez are an OTHERWORLDLY experience, and it is supposed to so immerse you that you experience emotion tied to the feelings of sounds, colors, shapes….
But this vision has never been able to be fully realized because of the limits of technology.
Now however, for the first time, thanks to VR, we are able to experience what Mizuguchi always felt in his head, saw in his dreams I’m sure, what he FELT inside when HE plays REZ.
The emotion of being completely & utterly immersed in this small slice of Heaven.
What I love about Mizuguchi is that, Rez and Child of Eden and games he makes… this isn’t just “Guitar Hero”. He takes it beyond and in true Japanese fashion, makes it a SPIRITUAL experience meant to elicit emotion, ponderence, joy…. To bring about a true reaction deep in your core.
Mizuguchi works on a much deeper level, with layer upon layer meant to create a true EXPERIENCE.
And I feel that with VR… Man, can you imagine what he is going to do after Rez Infinite?!
You can see the gears of his mind working in this interview, at that one point he seems to be talking already about his NEXT project and what he can do and wants to do… What he can make gamers FEEL now that VR, this insane technology, exists that TRULY puts you INSIDE this new realm; Now he can show us his TRUE genius.
I can’t wait. I imagine it’s going to blow our minds.
I just hope that Rez Infinite is a launch game and that it SELLS like friggin’ crazy.
Mizuguchi and his masterworks deserve it and Rez feels custom build for the VR experience!
Rez was VR before there was VR!
How excited are you about Rez Infinite for PlayStationVR!?