Rez Infinite’s creator discusses the inspirations behind the game

Last December, Sony announced that a remaster of Rez was heading to the PlayStation VR. Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the creator behind Rez Infinite, recently went on PlayStation.Blog to discuss the inspirations behind Rez.

According to Mizuguchi, Rez was partially influenced by Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, who attempted to elicit sound through vision.

I had always been a huge fan of the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky who tried to evoke sound through vision (tied to a concept more generally known as “Synesthesia”). He meticulously placed shapes and colors in a way intended to create an impact beyond their visual qualities — to resonate with the other senses. And the soul.

His second inspiration was based on the techno music of the 1990’s, where he went to he 1997 Street Parade music festival in Zurich and described it as music he has never heard before.

One was my first real experience with good techno music at the 1997 Street Parade music festival in Zurich. The power of simple, driving beats perfectly matching colorful lights and abstract imagery was a spectacle unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

When it came to Rez‘s gameplay, Mizuguchi’s inspirations came from various arcade-style shooters like Xenon 2 and Xevious. He states that the game’s “evocative” soundtrack and gameplay was unlike anything he had ever heard or seen.

The last key inspiration were the arcade-style shooters of my youth. Xevious made the lasting impression that this genre could be accessible to anyone, but at the same time include deep gameplay and replayability. Years later, playing Xenon 2 on a friend’s Amiga in college was the first time I realized that a rich, evocative soundtrack could help a game transcend technical limitations and become almost like a new form of media altogether.

The PlayStation VR version of Rez Infinite is shaping up to be an incredible engrossing experience and I personally cannot wait to try it out. With 1080p visuals, a brand new level, and a remastered soundtrack for 3D audio, what’s not to love?

Via PlayStation Blog