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03-01-2005, 12:34 PM

Maxwell

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Cool IGN interview with Q's Tetsuya Mizuguchi

See the original (with original Japanese included!) here. It's mostly about Lumines, but it covers enough that it's more suited for general gaming.

Quote:

Ruminating on Lumines: Iconoclastic game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi answers questions on his "Puzzle X Music" PSP title.
by Nix

February 28, 2005 - Does your vision of videogaming go beyond the ideas of what you know as a 'game'? It should. There is a game company which has dedicated itself to pushing new boundaries, and exploring new worlds in the artform that is videogame creation. Headed by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Q Entertainment's debut title is the PSP game gaining some of the hottest whispers of the system's launch: the musical puzzle game, Lumines. We had the opportunity to ask Mr. Mizuguchi-san some questions about the title, which is coming to America courtesy of Ubisoft.

Since our exchange was only through a text Q&A (we haven't yet had a chance to sit down with Mr. Mizuguchi since his days at Sega's United Game Artists, where he spearheaded unique titles such as the adorable Space Channel 5 and the entrancing Rez), we weren't sure what his mood would be and what questions he was looking to field. We've seen the man be contemplative, didactic, exuberant and playful when discussing videogames (often at the same time), so we posed questions on as many sides as we could (and have included his untranslated Japanese answers for multilingual purists interested in his direct responses.) There are questions about the upcoming US edition of Lumines, the difficulty level of the title, the challenges of designing for PSP, and a few silly questions that we're embarrassed to see in print. Above all else, we were interested in how Mr. Mizuguchi and his team have been able to dedicate themselves to doing things so differently, because this is a company which has proved that the future of gaming is always due for something not yet imagined.

IGN: First off, before word of Ubisoft bringing LUMINES over to us, we were paying close attention to your running blog for any hints about an American release. Were you at all worried that this game would not find an American audience with its Japanese pop music and quirky game design?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Q Entertainment: I was not worried at all.

I had confidence in the quality of Lumines' game design as a puzzle game. I also believe that the Japanese song "Lights" produced by Shinichi Osawa and performed by Eri Nobuchika will be accepted by many American users because I believe music has power to move people's heart beyond countries or cultures.

IGN: You have had some time since the release of the Japanese version of LUMINES in December to make some fixes -- what changes have you made to the US edition of the game? Are the changes all improvements, or are there any things that you decided to just change because you wanted there to try something different?

Mizuguchi: Since the development schedule for the Japanese version was very tight to make it a launch title, it was very difficult to focus on details. However, in the US version we made as many improvements as possible to let users experience better game play. We improved loading speed, added retry sequence, etc.

IGN: Are there things about LUMINES that players of the Japanese game have requested to be changed but that you decided you liked best as it was originally designed?

Mizuguchi: For the part about not getting good responses from Japanese users, we improved them as much as possible.
The bottom line of product development should be to pursue the highest quality as possible within the given resources. We'll never refuse to change things just because we personally like them.

IGN: This is a game that is built for challenge and lasting play. (We have some editors here at IGN skilled at it, but our PSP editors have no rhythm and are terrible at playing it.) Did you intend to make a very challenging game? Is the challenge in the US game balanced any differently?

Mizuguchi: We didn't change the difficulty level for the US version; it is the same as the Japanese version. Since this is an action puzzle game, it might take a while to learn the rules and tricks of the game. However, once you learn it you can play it rhythmically to the accompaniment of the music. To learn tricks of the game quickly, please check the demo during the re-boot. You can understand well how to drop blocks and make many squares at once.

IGN: You have one of the most talked-about games in the Japanese launch with LUMINES, and it's creating buzz in America as well. What is your feeling in seeing that gamers are getting so excited for something as natural as a puzzle game?

Mizuguchi: The first thing that comes to my mind when we started the Lumines design was to make a very original game that would make the best use of PSP features. Since puzzle games is a popular genre, I thought it would be hard to think of new ideas. However, I realized that a new style in puzzle game play would be possible with PSP features such as high quality sound, beautiful graphics, and wide screen. I believe that players will be excited about the new elements Lumines can provide.

IGN: How has developing for the new-born PSP hardware been this early on? How difficult have the technical challenges been with this first project? Is designing for PSP very different from working on a console?

Mizuguchi: As this applies to any consoles, it is very hard to start development before a new console's trial piece becomes available. Same case for PSP as well. Until the PSP dev tool become available, we were developing Lumines on the PC considering the PSP's features. Leaving the parts related to PSP's unique features to be developed later, we created the rest on the PC first.

IGN: We're sure that gamers who do not own a PSP may be jealous if they get to try this game and want it on their own game system (particularly if they had just bought a rival handheld ... we are envious of their games as well.) Would you ever consider bringing LUMINES or a game that plays like this to another system if a publisher asked you for it?

Mizuguchi: Of course, I think it would be great if we can make Lumines for various consoles or other platforms such as mobile phones or the PC since I want more players to play Lumines. However, with any platform, I want to make sure to maintain Lumines' basic concept: "electric puzzle with music and lights" - pleasant feelings produced by synchronizing music, graphics and game play.

IGN: Do you enjoy working with portables, or are you designing for handhelds primarily because of the freedom to make smaller games with less pressure? Would you want to ever again try a big console genre game with standard gameplay ideas, something more like SEGA RALLY than REZ?

Mizuguchi: Every time a new console becomes available, I always want the challenge to make a unique game which makes the best use of the console's features.
Not all big games are fun, nor do we have less pressure to make smaller games. As it was the case for Lumines as well, there are always some hardships and pressure to create a new entertainment product. However, even though it is very tough to make a new excellent game for a new console, I think it's fun and worthwhile.

IGN: Please tell us a little bit about your company, Q Entertainment. How many people were involved in creating LUMINES and the company's other game, METEOS? Does the company try out lots of different concepts and have multiple games in development at a time, or do you try to focus on one game at a time?

Mizuguchi: Although many people were involved in Lumines development, the core dev team only had 4 - 5 members. We are developing Meteos with a small team too. For games like Lumines, a bigger team doesn't raise productivity. Actually a smaller team can make decisions faster and thus move forward faster than a bigger team.

Q ENTERTAINMENT has studio functions, of course. However, we don't create all products internally. With the elect few, collaborating with other artists, creators, or studios from Japan or overseas, we'll continue to create many excellent products.
Our best point is communication ability and speed. We'll continue to go out there, meet various people, and make things happen.

IGN: One of the biggest components of the game is the mesmerizing music by Mondo Grosso. What was the collaborative process in working with Shinichi Osawa on a game where music is so important to the play?

Mizuguchi: I think we were lucky that we worked with Shinichi Osawa, a well-known musician and producer.
Our goal for Lumines was to make a puzzle game which could move people's heart. To realize our goal, we needed songs with various elements rather than simple songs. For that matter, Osawa had a perfect balance. He has produced not only dance and club music but also ballades like "Lights". Some players actually cried when they finally reached Lv100 and heard "Lights". I think it is wonderful that you can cry with a puzzle game.

IGN: With SPACE CHANNEL 5 and REZ, you have developed a reputation as a music/gaming mixmaster. Is it intentional that you keep making music games, or does it just happen that the company's best ideas fuse music and gaming?

Mizuguchi: Lumines dev team members are the same members I worked with on REZ at United Game Artists. Together we thought out potentials of combination of music, graphics and game play, and make an excellent game which suits to a stylish PSP. The expressive rich sound lets players feel the music not only with their ears but eyes and body.

IGN: You've made one game with electronic music, one game with bouncy pop music, and LUMINES kind of mixes those. What sort of music do you most often listen to? Are there types of music you enjoy that you would like to see make it into a game some day?

Mizuguchi: I don't really have a favorite music genre- I like anything as long as it is good music. This time we picked songs suited to Lumines game play to some degree. However, since I want more players to play Lumines, if we franchise it, I think it would be a good idea to make different versions suited to various user tastes. For example, songs related to seasons or a cartoon show's theme might be very interesting.

IGN: You've done so well in making music an interactive gaming experience -- have you ever considered trying other artforms as gaming? Maybe a performance art action game? A photography sports game? A needlecraft RPG?

Mizuguchi: I've always wanted the challenge to create a game for a new console or make a variety type of unique games. What we are trying to achieve now is to make fun, international, media free, and barrier free games. In the future, ROMs and Discs will probably be no longer used. Mobile phone or PC game markets have been expanding. Q ENTERTAINMENT wants to go beyond the world borders, jump into the media future first, and be a pioneer.

You know, Lumines would make a good DS game (disregarding the DS's crappy audio hardware

), but Meteos wouldn't make a very good PSP game. Funny.

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03-01-2005, 12:44 PM	#2
DayLahs Will Never Be Another Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Miami, Florida Posts: 46,179	awesome interview and I wish we could get another REZ game cause I LOVE IT. I cant wait for lumines to come out. __________________

03-01-2005, 01:24 PM

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Quote:

Mizuguchi: Of course, I think it would be great if we can make Lumines for various consoles or other platforms such as mobile phones or the PC since I want more players to play Lumines. However, with any platform, I want to make sure to maintain Lumines' basic concept: "electric puzzle with music and lights" - pleasant feelings produced by synchronizing music, graphics and game play.

WOOHOO. That's what I wanted to hear. I'm not likely to fork over $300 to play this game, but I'd gladly pay $50 when the console versions come out.

And yeah jgkspsx - that's the thing about the PSP. There is nothing unique enough about it to prevent ports to any other machine. I had this same conversation in my "Mercury coming to home consoles" thread.

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03-01-2005, 02:03 PM	#4
objection objection Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 1,083	i seriously want this badly march 24th can't come soon enough

03-01-2005, 06:48 PM	#5
Hero rave on Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 3,765	Why couldn't they have asked him all sorts of questions about Meteos and stuck in the DS channel? Seriously though, I'll definitely be trying this one out, whether I get a psp or not.