Tetsuya Mizuguchi was already a respected game designer when the Dreamcast released in 1998, thanks in large part to his expert work on the home conversion of Sega Rally in the mid-90s, but it wasn’t until he began working on Sega’s ill-fated final system that he expressed his true creative voice. Mizuguchi’s reputation is built on his designs blending gameplay and music (as in Derrick’s fav Gunpey). Dreamcast’s Rez, Mizuguchi’s minimalist synesthesia masterpiece, is arguably the purest meeting between traditional play and music generation ever made. Rez wasn’t born whole into the world however. As you can see from this early footage, Rez started out as Project K, and the changes it underwent could not be more dramatic.
Though the music and visuals used in this video of Project K #1 are clearly only meant to demonstrate Rez's beat creation play, you can already see the seeds of Mizuguchi’s aesthetic goals musically. Visually, Rez still had a long way to go. Mizuguchi had not yet decided on its abstract presentation. The human figure running along the ground and muddy polygonal forest are far less attractive than the final game’s wireframe character and environments. Perhaps he turned away from the more realistic presentation seen here because it distracted from the aural experience?
While still different, Project K #2 starts to take on more of Rez’s ultimate characteristics. Its presentation is more bombastic and psychedelic and it employs “videogamey” sound effects for shots when they would ultimately be used as one more aspect of music generation in the final game.
Rez is emerging from its chrysalis in Project K #3. The player character isn’t quite there yet but the game itself is coming together.
And here is Rez as it is today, enjoying it's third release on Xbox Live.
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Make the Music With Your Games, Kids!