Rez Infinite [PS4/VR]

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Rez Infinite brings the Mizuguchi classic to PlayStation VR

Adds 1080p, 60 fps and an all-new area

Originally Posted by Jeffrey Matulef

Tetsuya Mizuguchi's trippy 2001 shooter Rez is coming to PlayStation VR as Rez Infinite, Sony announced during its PlayStation Experience keynote moments ago.

This VR remake will have full 1080p support and run at 60 fps. It will also contain an all-new area.

Take a look at Rez Infinite in action in the trailer below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN_msRkKhNg

For those not in the know, Rez is a music based rail shooter originally developed for the Sega Dreamcast and PS2. It has already been ported once over to the Xbox 360 for a HD release, and now for the new generation, virtual reality...oh. And just in case you were worried that a headset is required to play the whole game...

[Mavrick]

Yep, obvious purchase for VR needs to be a launch title

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Rez Infinite is PlayStation VR's best game yet

Talking to Tetsuya Mizuguchi about a remake that's been waiting to happen for 15 years - and trying his crazy VR suit.

Originally Posted by Martin Robinson

Of course this is how it was always meant to be played. Rez always felt ahead of its time - when it was released back in 2001, there wasn't anything really like Tetsuya Mizuguchi and United Game Artists' rhythmic Dreamcast game, a wilfully artful, arrestingly stylish shooter that matched club cool with slick music action. It was a delicious taste of a future that's finally arrived.

"15 years ago when we shipped the first Rez, the basic concept, the vision was that Rez would be in VR," says Mizuguchi, fresh from a dazzling appearance on-stage at this year's PlayStation Experience, where he revealed Rez Infinite, a VR-enabled remake of the original from his newly formed studio Enhance Games. "The vision that we had was limited to what was available. Now fast forward to 15 years, it's like technology's catching up with what I had in mind, always, with Rez."

I still return to the original Rez at least once a year, and its magic hasn't dimmed in the slightest. Rez Infinite is something else, though. Strapping on the PlayStation VR headset and playing this newly specced version, I'm reminded of seeing 2001: A Space Odyssey on 70mm for the first time, having previously only seen it on DVD; there's a new clarity, and a new sense of purpose. Rez really does feel like it was always intended for virtual reality. And, conversely, this new wave of virtual reality feels like it's been waiting for something like Rez.

The giddy motion as you pulse through the abstract levels is new, the euphoric rush as you push up through layers is immeasurably enhanced. How dizzying it is to be pulled so completely within the abstract darkness of Rez, a world I've watched so many times before. Targeting using the VR unit's sensors - as in PlayStation VR stablemate Eve Valkyrie, you shoot where you look - becomes second nature within seconds, and as your head's tugged around by the enemies that dance into view, you're pulled into Rez's world that much quicker. Strapping into the bespoke synaesthesia suit draws you in even quicker too, of course.

There's only one of them in existence, and it's sadly likely to stay that way. What a trip, though! Taking the premise of the infamous Trance Vibrator that complemented the original Rez to an absolute extreme, this suit places 26 vibrating motors in a tight-fitting, all-body suit. It felt absolutely amazing, even if I ended up looking like Tron guy in the process; the upward tickle in your stomach during the transitions between Rez's layers is helped along by a trickle of vibrations working their way up your chest. "You can feel the texture with this vibration," says Mizuguchi of the suit, the result of a collaboration between himself and some of his students at the Keio University media design course where he teaches. "You can feel the sound texture, like the bass sounds, or the kick snare."

I was asked out of curiosity how much I'd pay for the suit. The answer was an awful lot.

It's absolutely exquisite: the total sensory immersion completes the experience in a way that wasn't possible before without resorting to narcotics. It's worth noting that Rez Infinite won't be confined to VR - there'll be a more traditional PS4 version that benefits from the 3D audio and significant texture work that's gone into the remaster. And both will be getting an all-new area. "We're using the current technology," says Mizuguchi of the new Rez. "We want to make something that is also Rez. We want to try many things, and we want to add something. But we can't say too much yet."

So what, I ask, does the Infinite mean in this remaster's title? "As you know, Rez isn't a game where you play a stage and say, okay I'm done," says Mizuguchi. "You can play the same area or layer over and over, and it's not going to have the same textures twice. My desire, my hope is that Rez is a game that you can play infinitely. Why doesn't Rez die? It's because people are playing it over and over and over again. Rez isn't a game that ends. It brings infinite possibilities of how you experience a level that you may have played just yesterday, or five weeks ago. You're going to have a brand new experience every time you play it. It's not a one time play game. So Infinite has a pretty deep attachment to what Rez means to me."

Rez Infinite's been swirling around Mizuguchi's mind for a while - and, of course, the idea of a VR version likely goes all the way back to the Project-K prototype for the game - but what we're seeing at PlayStation Experience is the result of six short month's work. There are more improvements to come, and more tweaks, as well as that all-new area that's being crafted by the small team at Mizuguchi's Enhance Games. How many of that team, I ask, were part of the United Game Artists set-up back in 2001?

"There's a team member, on the dev team, who's worked alongside me since the original Rez. But not only from back in the day - I have staff who played Rez when they were teenagers, high school kids. One guy told me it was a life-changing experience for him - he got through to Sega, and shortly after I left Sega... He was sort of chasing me! The next stop for me was Q Entertainment, and he was a concept artist on Child of Eden - he did something like 2000 pieces - and now he's with me at Enhance Games doing the concept and art direction. There's a new generation, but the common denominator is still Rez - it's the communication path and channel between them and I."

Texture work has improved to help the leap from Rez HD's 720p to Infinite's 1080p. For VR they're looking at 120fps, too.

Rez Infinite also marks the return of Mizuguchi after a short sabbatical. Thankfully, it seems like he's back for good. "I've done things like media, music or the whole trans-media thing. Games is my life's work. There's meaning why I added games to Enhance Games. I felt like that is going to be the foundation. Because the goal is to really enhance the experience of games in the future, it could turn into something else - it could be interpreted into something else. For now, there's a very good reason it's called Enhance Games. That's where I am right now. I want to enhance the games!"

How lovely it is to have Mizuguchi properly back, and how exciting it is to see Rez getting something that already feels like much more than a remaster. "Nothing's aged," says Mizuguchi. "Because of the new technology, it's ageing very well. Like when we say wine ages very well - it's almost like that. The ingredient doesn't change. Due to the limitations of the technology, the vision that we had was limited to what was available. Now fast forward to 15 years, it's like technology's catching up with what I had in mind, always, with Rez. That's why, to me, Rez never really ages."

Rez always did feel ahead of its time, and played through today it still does. With Rez Infinite, and with the exciting new frontier of virtual reality, maybe Rez's time is about to come.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

The Inspirations of Rez Infinite on PlayStation VR

Originally Posted by Tetsuya Mizuguchi

Is it possible to give gamers that magical, musical feeling of being “in a groove?”

How do we sync graphics and sound so they combine into something more powerful than the sum of their parts?

Most importantly, can we do all of this and still make something that is fun to play?

15 years ago when I set out to create the original Rez with my team at United Game Artists, we challenged ourselves to answer these difficult questions. Luckily we had a few key inspirations to help us find answers.

Core Influences

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.

…or had I? In a strange way, it reminded me of another inspiration from a totally different medium.

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.

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.

And Now, 15 Years Later…

All this reminiscing isn’t just for nostalgia’s sake (and it isn’t just about the Rez post-mortem talk I gave today at this year’s Game Developers Conference) — the developers at Monstars and Enhance Games are working hard to keep these core inspirations in mind every single day as we develop Rez Infinite for PS4 and PS VR.

The same ideals we followed back then guide us now as we remaster assets to 1080p, remix the sound for 3D audio, and consider control options and other tweaks now that the game will also be (optionally) fully playable in PlayStation VR.

And the spirit behind the creation of the original Rez is especially important as we create the all-new, original content we teased at the end of our debut trailer: “Area X.” We aren’t ready to talk about this just yet, but hopefully the image says enough on its own.

Keep in mind this is concept art and not actual screenshots; right now we’re deep in experimentation, unsure of exactly where we will end up, but thrilled at the possibilities — just as it was with the original Rez all those years ago.

[Aardvark_DK]

Wow! That looks insane.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

VR unlocks the true vision of Rez Infinite

Originally Posted by Lucas Sullivan

Rez has the power to make me geek out like few things can. Ask just about anyone who's played and loved this cult classic on Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, or in HD on Xbox 360, and they'll likely gush about its glorious fusion of techno music and arcade shooting. To Rez radicals like myself, the way it blends spectacles of sight and sound make it feel more like an experience than a plain ol' game. Rez is rife with irresistible rhythms, energetic action, and a deceptively deep narrative, all of which are preserved, enhanced, and built upon in the forthcoming PlayStation 4 version, entitled Rez Infinite. And when played in PlayStation VR, where you're enveloped by full 3D sound and 120fps visuals, the transcendent experience that is Rez transforms into something almost otherworldly. As veteran game designer and esteemed auteur Tetsuya Mizuguchi describes it, the VR version is what he and his team at United Game Artists (a former studio within Sega) originally envisioned when making the game. After 15 years' worth of technological advancements, VR is bringing us Rez in its truest form.

"Rez, in my mind and the minds of my staff, was like virtual reality," says Mizuguchi. "If we had the virtual reality system at the time, looking around with 360 degrees - we wanted to create like that. But we had to create in just a square monitor. So that was so frustrating... so frustrating." Mizuguchi speaks with a humble passion for his work, determined to create games that can transfer his vision (or the closest thing to it) directly to the player's brain.

If you've not yet known the sensory stimulating joy of the Rez journey, it's an on-rails shooter representing a hacker's deep dive into a futuristic computer network, erasing and eliminating viruses in an effort to purify and reboot the system. Each downed firewall brings you closer to Eden, the AI trapped in the network's core. Everything you do - locking onto targets, destroying enemies, collecting power-ups - creates a distinct noise, and levels are divided into layers pulsing with their own variations of an overarching, escalating beat. With each action, you're adding another sound to an intensifying rhythm that keeps all the chaotic noises in sync, building up and up until it peaks in a boss fight crescendo. It's a gameplay loop that blasts your dopamine receptors repeatedly, and is meant to induce a feeling of synesthesia, which Mizuguchi defines as "the expression or impression of cross-sensational feelings...hearing the colors, seeing the sound."

Strapping in for Rez Infinite's completely optional VR mode is an absolute trip. When you've got abstract cybernetic voids or wireframe pyramids surrounding you on all sides, stretching as far as your eyes can see, the unforgettable Area stages take on an entirely new dimension. The controls are as simple as ever: X as the primary button you hold down to establish up to eight target lock-ons and release to fire, and Circle deploying the 'nuke absolutely everything on-screen' bombs. The PS VR headset adds an interesting wrinkle, letting you look to aim - but you're still able to move the crosshair with the left stick, as in the classic control scheme. The latter is my preferred method of play, as it's the most familiar to my muscle memory, while still allowing me to giddily gaze around in pure awe of my kaleidoscopic surroundings. And though looking in one direction and moving in another has been known to trigger nausea in some VR games, the steady, constant movement in a singular direction seems to completely counteract any would-be motion sickness.

What's amazing to me is just how fresh Rez Infinite feels, despite the fact that I've played through these levels at least a dozen times before. But then, Rez was designed to be replayed time and again, with the hope that each voyage might evoke a new sensation within you. "[With some titles], you play the game, you clear the game, it's over," says Mizuguchi. "We wanted to create a game you want to play more and more and more and more, feel good, feel good, feel good, find something, feel [other, unfamiliar] things. We believed the game should be like a new media form; the game is an experience." The trance state that Rez invokes in its most devoted players lends itself to some degree of introspection - not just of new point-scoring strategies, but also story elements you might never have considered, or new rhythms you find yourself tapping out purely for your own musical satisfaction. In VR, it's even easier to lose yourself to the Rez groove, as your senses become fully encased in this hypnotic rendition of cyberspace.

Speaking of story elements, Mizuguchi's postmortem’s talk at GDC 2016 reveals an interesting insight into the narrative that drives Rez forward. Not only is Rez a representation of a hacker seeking out and revitalizing Eden - it's also an allegory for the universal odyssey that brought about our existence as individuals. That is to say: our humble beginnings as a singular ***** seeking out an egg, hoping to unite and create new life. Suddenly, so much of the abstract imagery in Rez makes sense. The hacker's subtly male-shaped avatar contrasting with the distinctly feminine Eden; the lowest and highest evolution forms resembling a single cell; the fact that you can morph into a chrome fetus during the finale of Area 5.

And that narrative is being expanded for Rez Infinite, in the form of an entirely new sixth stage named Area X. "If conception is the theme of the original Rez, then in Area X, what we're envisioning is what happens after the conception, which is going to be birth," says Mizuguchi. Developed by Mizuguchi's newest venture Enhance Games, in conjunction with independent studio Monstars, this mysterious region is currently "deep in experimentation". Mizuguchi has only offered brief glimpses into Area X, but the concept art and split-second of trailer footage shown depicts a strikingly unique aesthetic, where seemingly millions of bright particles take the place of the familiar wireframe world.

Much to my chagrin, the impressive full-body 'Synesthesia Suit' that Mizuguchi proudly wore for Rez Infinite's announcement won't be entering mass production any time soon. The (what I can only imagine to be) overwhelming sensations brought on by wearing a Daft Punk-looking jumpsuit with two layers - one for the haptic feedback of 26 vibrating pads, the other for a matching LED lightshow - are reserved for Mizuguchi alone. But by God, he deserves it. Rez Infinite, especially when experienced in VR, has reenergized a game that was already vivid and vibrant enough to be the stuff of legend. "I think the combination of game and music, those elements combined and coming together in various, new, experiential ways is something that is healthy for our industry," says Mizuguchi. "Not every game will get that type of experience across." A monumental understatement, to be sure - and when you dive the full embrace of VR in Rez Infinite, it's like experiencing this sublime synesthesia trip for the first time all over again.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Rez Infinite Gets a Physical Release, Vinyl Soundtrack, Art Book, T-Shirt & More

Originally Posted by Tetsuya Mizuguchi

I’ve talked before about the reasons I decided to resurrect Rez for our upcoming PS4 game Rez Infinite: the chance to remaster everything to razor-sharp, 1080p fidelity and crisp 3D audio; to add new content in the form of Area X (more news on that soon!); and especially to give PSVR owners the bonus option to play the game like never before.

But another big reason I wanted to revisit Rez is maybe the simplest: the original game is really hard to find!

There’s no easy way to find and play any version of Rez currently—and no way at all on any of the current gaming systems. So while I’m super proud that, over the last 15 years, Rez’s fan community has grown along with its reputation, as more and more players have discovered its integration of graphic design, sound, and shooting action, at the same time I regret that fewer and fewer people have any way to play the game!

All that will change on October 13th, when Rez Infinite launches digitally at PlayStation Store. But that’s not all! Today I’m proud to announce something else our fans can look forward to this fall: a whole new line-up of cool Rez Infinite goods! As with the game, the original Rez soundtrack, T-shirts, etc. have become harder and harder to find over the years, so we’ve teamed up with the awesome folks at iam8bit to fix that.



First is our most-requested item: a physical disc version of Rez Infinite for PS4 / PSVR. It’ll be a limited edition, not sold in stores—only online at iam8bit, with pre-orders starting on August 19th at 9am PST along with all our goods. (Just keep in mind that we can’t promise that these physical goods will reach players by our PSN launch date, but we’re planning to ship them as close as possible to that date in October!) This physical disc costs a little more than the digital version will, of course, but we hope fans and collectors will agree it’s worth it. I’ll be honest: a big reason we’re doing this is I wanted to have one of these for myself!

But next is what I’m personally most excited for: the vinyl record set. This is why I knew we had to go with iam8bit: music is an essential part of Rez Infinite, so when they sent a sample of their previous gaming vinyl work up until now, the decision was easy. iam8bit certainly didn’t disappoint on Rez Infinite, either—we were in love with their vision for this from the very first mockups we saw.



The vinyl record set includes 2 LPs of music from the original Rez, completely remastered for vinyl, plus an extra bonus 7-inch record featuring music from our new “Area X” content (as I say, more on this very soon, I promise!) There’s even a special limited edition, with prints of the player avatar right on the discs…



Of course, Rez is about more than just music, so we wanted a place to show off the visual side of the game as well. So, we thought, why not bundle an art book with the vinyl—48-pages of giant Rez images, along with quotes from the dev team?

And when I say giant pages, I mean GIANT PAGES: the two-page spreads are 24 inches wide (!) and really make an impact. The book is actually sewn into the binding of the vinyl jacket—a totally custom package that iam8bit is creating just for Rez Infinite.



What started as an idea for a simple art book has evolved into much more—it’s become a retrospective of sorts, from the people who made the original Rez, as well as members of the Rez Infinite team (and some of us who worked on both).

The team at iam8bit, working with author Nick Hurwitch (The Hohokum Almanac, So You Created a Wormhole: The Time Traveler’s Guide to Time Travel) and designer Cory Schmitz (check the link because there’s too many things to list!) interviewed me and several other members of the original dev team, including art director Katsumi Yokota, programmer Osamu Kodera, artist Jake Kazdal, and Takashi Ishihara, the artist on our new Area X content (did I mention more news on this soon?). What we ended up with was hours and hours of stories about the inspirations behind Rez and its unique development process—stories we all realized were just too good to waste.



In the same way, we couldn’t help but create a few other items we wanted for ourselves, like this excellent t-shirt design from my friend (and super Rez Infinite supporter) Phil Fish, creator of Fez and the upcoming SUPERHYPERCUBE, plus a couple of cool collectible pins that iam8bit whipped up.







So? What do you think? Please let me know in the comments (I may not respond since we’re all really busy finishing the game right now, but I’ll be watching). Hopefully all Rez fans will find something here that they like, including those future fans who’ve never played before but will give Rez Infinite a try on PS4 or PSVR starting this fall… all without having to go to eBay or hook up a dusty old Dreamcast to enjoy it!

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Rez Infinite will be playable in 4K on PlayStation 4 Pro

Originally Posted by Michael McWhertor

Enhance Games' remake of Rez will support Sony's new PlayStation 4 Pro console with 4K resolution and 60-frames-per-second refresh rate for the original areas of the game, the developer revealed at a pre-Tokyo Game Show event last week.

Rez Infinite will also have unspecified benefits when playing the game's new Area X level on a PS4 Pro, both in 2D mode and VR mode, though Enhance Games says we'll have to wait closer to the game's launch on Oct. 13 to learn more.

We saw Rez Infinite running on a 65-inch 4K television during a demo at Enhance Games and the sharpness was impressive. The game's textures have been vastly upgraded over the 2001 PlayStation 2 original and its 2008 HD remake for Xbox 360. (Enhance Games says it has also fixed a tonal audio issues that bothered some fans who played Rez HD.)

Rez Infinite does not currently support HDR lighting, though the company says it may consider adding it if there is "sufficient demand."

For a look at Rez Infinite in 4K resolution, check out the screenshots below.

[Show spoiler]Wait a minute...those screenshots don't look 4K...POLYGOOOOOON!

[aurian]

My physical copy arrived today. I didn't even receive a shipping notice. I am in the Southeast United States.

[Talal86]

is this worth it without the VR?

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Originally Posted by Talal86

is this worth it without the VR?

As if it wasn't in the previous iterations. Hell yeah, this game is worth it.

[Nerdkiller likes BD]

Well, I got my physical copy. Appears to be in better shape than many others are pointing out with theirs.