Interviews// SPOnG Interview: Tetsuya Mizuguchi

SPOnG: A lot of your games are often described as being very ‘trippy’ – do these drug references annoy you in any way?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: No, that’s ok. I’m seriously thinking about what is the future of entertainment via visual or audio or stimulation by good vibration. My DNA of creation is coming from like a ‘sensorama’ concept or games like ELIZA and crazy, experimental games based on new science …so I’m always thinking what should we do, not only for amusement, but to expand our consciousness in different ways so … ‘trippy’… yeh, that is good.

SPOnG: You mentioned vibration – obviously you brought out the fabled Rez Trance Vibrator which was widely reported as being used as an interactive sex toy! How were you meant to use it with the game?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: Yeh you can put it in your pocket, or under the ass or the back. I played sometimes with it under my foot, which is farthest from my hands so I feel a different vibration. I try to design each bit of stimulation – visual, sound, vibration – independently of each other, but at the same time everything is sparking off the musical score. I want to make music experiences that use the whole senses, not just listening with your ears.

SPOnG: Talking about using your whole range of senses, have you seen the new Philips amBX technology, that lets you feel wind (via fans) and different ambient lighting and new types of vibration effects and so on in games?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: You can feel the wind in the game! Oh wow! Sounds great. I’ve not seen this.

SPOnG: Okay, let’s talk a little more now about PS3, Wii and 360. The loss of the rumble feature with the PS3’s Sixaxis controller has angered and disappointed many gamers. How do you feel about it?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: Yeh, me too.

SPOnG: It’s like something essential has been lost isn’t it?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: Yeh, like Gran Turismo, the feedback vibration was very important on the player’s consciousness. So if you lose that kind of input then you must feel some ‘lack’. So even if you have a higher resolution, in terms of the visual experience, but no rumble, then essentially you feel some ‘lack’.

SPOnG: Have you played many Wii games? Zelda? What are your general thoughts on the console?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: Not Zelda no, but have played a lot of Wii Sports, it’s fun. Not a revolution, just fun to play.

SPOnG: Do you have any Wii projects or ideas in the pipeline?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: I have a few ideas, but haven’t announced the Wii project yet?

SPOnG: When might we hear about them?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: I dunno! [laughs] Maybe at E3?

SPOnG: You commented positively on Microsoft’s Live Anywhere connectivity strategy at E3 last year – the convergence of PCs, game consoles and mobile phones. Do you have any general game ideas yourself how you might want to use this integrated network? Or for Wii/DS or PS3/PSP connectivity for that matter?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: I don’t have any specific ideas right now, but in the future there’s sure to be many more projects as mobiles get closer to PCs themselves. Mobile is now moving much more into the centre of our entertainment future.