Mule [myool] – noun – an individual, male or female, who exhibits qualities of sweetness, silliness, generosity, enthusiasm, exuberance, exaggerated sexuality and adventurousness simultaneously.
Some things just pass you by. Sometimes you turn on the radio and hear a song that makes you perk up and when you find out who it was, turns out it’s your all-time favorite band. You never heard that song before and it baffles you that something like that could escape your attention. I felt that way after checking out the unedited Kenji Eno interview put together by Shane Bettenhausen and James Mielke over at 1up. Not only have I never played a single game by the maverick designer, but up until today I didn’t even know who he was. Which, I have to admit, is frustrating the ever loving hell out of me. Eno is responsible for some of gaming’s most infamous cult creations (shooter/point-and-click adventures D, D2, and Enemy Zero) and other oddities that I have trouble believing are even real (off-the-wall minigame collection Short Warp came packed with a condom. It was for the 3DO. I shit you not.) The man is downright fascinating, his powerful creativity coming through in every one of his answers in the interview. I just wish I knew about him earlier, especially last week when I was writing Easy Access. As one of our esteemed commenters mentioned, Eno created a Saturn game called Real Sound that was actually a mystery game free of visuals. Even more interesting is that he actually made it specifically for blind players.
1UP: After D, you surprised Warp's fans by creating an offbeat Sega Saturn adventure game, Real Sound.
KE: Oh, that's a funky game.
1UP: Yeah, not only was it funky, it was also a game without any visuals. What inspired it, and how did you get Sega to publish it?
KE: After I released D, people were always expecting more CG graphics from me, and I got tired of that. I didn't want people to think that they could predict what Warp would do next. Also, I had a chance to visit people who are visually disabled, and I learned that there are blind people who play action games. Of course, they're not able to have the full experience, and they're kind of trying to force themselves to be able to play, but they're making the effort. So I thought that if you turn off the monitor, both of you are just hearing the game. So after you finish the game, you can have an equal conversation about it with a blind person. That's an inspiration behind this game as well.
The man is an absolute, total mule.
Head over to 1up and read the whole thing. If anyone out there is a Kenji Eno fan, please point me in the right direction for what to play.
Related links:
Easy Access
Raised on the Stuff
Far Out, Man