Rez Ingame Screenshot

Rez, developed under the codename K-Project, is a video game released by Sega in Japan in 2001 for the Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. The Dreamcast version was also released in Europe by BigBen Interactive in 2002. It was later released in greater numbers and only for the PlayStation 2 in the United States. The game was developed by Sega's United Game Artists division, which contained several former members of the disbanded Team Andromeda, the Sega development team behind the Panzer Dragoon series. It was conceptualized and produced by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, well-known for recent games such as Lumines, Lumines Live! and Meteos. Although Rez was critically acclaimed, it did not get much commercial attention in the United States, partly due to its esoteric gameplay experience. The game received an award from The Agency for Cultural Affairs Media Art Festival in Japan. Q Entertainment announced at a pre-show for the 2007 Toyko Game Show that it would be bringing a high definition version of Rez to the Xbox Live Arcade sometime in 2008.^[2] Video games are categorized into genres based on their gameplay. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A music video game, also commonly known as a music game or rhythm game, is a type of video game where the gameplay is oriented almost entirely around the players ability to follow a musical beat and stay with the rhythm of the games soundtrack. ... In computer games and video games, single-player refers to the variant of a particular game where input from only one player is expected throughout the course of the gaming session. ... The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that applies and enforces ratings, advertising guidelines, and online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States. ... The Dreamcast , code-named White Belt, Black Belt, Dural, Dricas, Vortex, Katana, Shark and Guppy during development) is Segas final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ... “PS2” redirects here. ... Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners and from late 2007 to Games for Windows - Live users [1]. The service was first launched in late 2004 and offers games from about US$5... GD-ROM is the proprietary optical disc format used by the Sega Dreamcast. ... The CD-ROM (an abbreviation for Compact Disc Read-Only Memory (ROM)) is a non-volatile optical data storage medium using the same physical format as audio compact discs, readable by a computer with a CD-ROM drive. ... Image File history File links Rez_ingame. ... Image File history File links Rez_ingame. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The Dreamcast , code-named White Belt, Black Belt, Dural, Dricas, Vortex, Katana, Shark and Guppy during development) is Segas final video game console and the successor to the Sega Saturn. ... “PS2” redirects here. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... SEGA AM9 was a computer and video game second-party developer for SEGA. In 2000 AM9 became United Games Artists or (UGA). ... Team Andromeda was one of Segas internal development teams during the Sega Saturns lifespan, known for its Panzer Dragoon series. ... Panzer Dragoon is a series of video games by SEGA, created first by its internal Team Andromeda and later, the Smilebit development team. ... Tetsuya Mizuguchi Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Japanese: 水口哲也, Mizuguchi Tetsuya, born May 22, 1965 in Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a video game designer and founder of the video game developer firm, Q Entertainment. ... Lumines ) is a video game created by game designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. ... Lumines Live! is a puzzle game for the Xbox 360. ... Meteos (Japanese: メテオス (Meteosu)) is an action puzzle video game for the Nintendo DS portable gaming system. ... Company Logo Q Entertainment (also known simply as Q?) is a video game developer. ... Generally, high-definition refers to an increase in resolution or clarity such as in: High-definition television (HDTV), television formats that have a higher resolution than their contemporary counterparts High-definition video, which is used in HDTV broadcasting, as well as digital film and computer HD video file formats HDV... Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners and from late 2007 to Games for Windows - Live users [1]. The service was first launched in late 2004 and offers games from about US$5... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Storyline

In the future, the computers of the world have formed a supernetwork, which is becoming infected by hacker viruses and is on the verge of a meltdown. To control the problem, a supercomputer named K-Project was created, controlled by the AI Eden. Eden, the most advanced AI ever, could process the network information nearly simultaneously, and use the information to process independent thoughts as well, evolving her and expanding her knowledge and some even say, her consciousness. Soon, she became confused by the vast and growing amounts of data and began to question her existence and debate the effects of her decisions. All too aware of the paradoxes that exist in the human world and by her autonomous nature, she began to shut herself down as a suicide, flooding the network with the problems that existed before, only this time, the problem was worse than before.

The player plays the protagonist hacker, logging into the K-project system with one mission, reboot Eden while destroying any viruses or firewalls that happen to inhibit progress. The K-project system is divided into 5 areas, with the fifth being the core, where Eden resides. The other 4 areas must be cleared and analyzed before access can be gained to the core to reboot Eden, and ultimately, save the network from catastrophic meltdown.

According to the manual, the game is set in a vast computer network where a female AI program named Eden begins to doubt her very existence and purpose, dropping into a state of unconsciousness and must be found and awakened by the player by navigating through a series of levels. However, this plot only really appears in the manual, rather than being an important part of the game itself, and "Rez", like other rhythm action titles, cannot be appreciated in terms of narrative. The K-Project name and much of the game's visual and synesthesia inspiration comes from the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, whereas the Rez name was inspired by the Underworld track of the same name.^[3] Garry Kasparov playing against Deep Blue, the first machine to win a chess game against a reigning world champion. ... Wassily Kandinsky (Russian: Василий Кандинский, first name pronounced as [vassi:li]) (December 16 [O.S. December 4] 1866 – December 13, 1944) was a Russian painter, printmaker and art theorist. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Rez is a non-album track by Underworld, originally released in 1993 in the UK. It became one of their biggest club/live anthems despite the fact it could not be found on an album. ...

Gameplay

Marketing information for the game at the time of its release focused on its qualities of "synesthesia," the association of different senses and stimuli with each other, which is a sensation experienced naturally by some people, and reported by many users of LSD and other hallucinogens. In Rez, one's character soars over psychedelic, abstract, futuristic vistas to the hypnotic beats of electronic music. The game is tightly integrated with sight and sound; a thumping vibration in the Dual Shock 2 controller or Dreamcast rumble pack keeps time with the music, and literally every onscreen action, from missile locking, firing, and exploding to the pulsing of the landscape and the player's avatar themselves, synchronizes with the beat. As the player progresses further into a level, the music becomes more layered and intense, as do the visuals. Synesthesia (also spelled synæsthesia or synaesthesia, plural synesthesiae or synaesthesiae)—from the Ancient Greek (syn), meaning with, and (aisthēsis), meaning sensation—is a neurologically based phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... Hallucinogenic drugs or hallucinogens are drugs that can alter sensory perceptions, elicit alternate states of consciousness, or cause hallucinations. ...

Rez is an on-rails shooter similar to Panzer Dragoon, with the player portrayed as an onscreen avatar travelling along a predetermined path through the levels. The controls are very simple, with the analog/directional pads controlling an on-screen targeting reticle. The player can either tap the shoot button to fire, or hold the button while moving the cursor over enemies to "lock-on". A maximum of 8 enemies or missiles can be locked onto, and many enemies require multiple hits to destroy, usually requiring one, two, four or eight shots to take down. The player cannot affect his movement at all, aside from choosing a few minor branching paths by shooting specific targets in one level. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Panzer Dragoon is a series of video games by SEGA, created first by its internal Team Andromeda and later, the Smilebit development team. ...

In Rez, the number of player lives is expressed through player forms; players can gain increments to their evolution bar, and every 8 increments results in the player upgrading to a higher form, while getting hit by an enemy downgrades the player to a lower form. The various forms have wildly different graphical and audio effects. With each upgrade, the player shoots faster. Getting hit at the lowest form ends the game.

There are three types of power-ups in Rez. The first is an overdrive, which, when triggered, releases a drone which fires continuously at all enemies on screen for a short period of time. The second is a health/evolution power-up, which adds 1 or 3 increments to the evolution bar. The third is a score bonus, which only appears in Beyond or Score Attack modes. Power Up, the Professional Organization of Women in Entertainment Reaching Up is an organization with the stated mission to promote the visibility and integration of gay women in entertainment, the arts, and all forms of media. Power Up provided funding and assistance to the 2003 short film . ... High score of the Commodore 64 game Great Giana Sisters. ...

The game features five main levels (Areas or Subsections), each of which has a unique musical track and visual style. The first four main levels have similar structures, each with 10 completion sub-points (Layer Levels) and a boss (firewall) at the end, and must be completed to unlock the fifth. Before engaging the boss at the end of each level, a console opens, displaying a series of incomprehensible lines of code; however, the player can easily note the name and subtype of the boss. The bosses for levels 1, 2, 3 and 4 are Earth, Mars, Venus and Uranus, respectively. Also, the player can note a subtype of MEGA, GIGA or TERA. This subtype reflects a player's shot-down percentage (for example, a Tera subtype requires above a 98% shot-down) and affects the difficulty of the boss, Mega being the easiest, and Tera being the hardest. This sliding scale of difficulty was employed by Sega to keep Rez enjoyable for those who played the game with a light hearted mindset, and to keep the game difficult for those who were more adept at the game. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Level five, unique and separate from the first four, has many sub-points, mini-bosses, and adds a narrative story line. Upon completion of the levels in the main mode, additional "Score Attack" and "Beyond" modes are unlocked. Beyond Mode is similar to Panzer Dragoon's "Pandora's Box"; a special stage select of sorts. Other unlockable features include the ability to play levels with different graphical themes, different beam types, and different character levels. Beyond Mode also contains two sub-stages, the Lost Area (a new stage unlocked by beating level 5 in main mode) and TranceMission (unlocked by getting more than 150,000 points in Lost Area). TranceMission is a repeating series of patterns with psychedelic visuals and sound. Additional graphical game themes are unlocked by beating Direct Assault in Beyond with the themes on. Once the player beats the game with all of the new themes, Immortality mode is unlocked. Score Attack is self-explanatory, and must be played up to 30 times to unlock different beam types. Also, the player unlocks different views by getting 1st in each stage. Boss rush mode is unlocked by getting 95% shootdown in main levels 1-5. Placing first in Boss Mode unlocks infinite overdrives. All special options, such as infinite overdrive and immortality can only be used in the Beyond modes, and are unavailable to the main game. Panzer Dragoon is a series of video games by SEGA, created first by its internal Team Andromeda and later, the Smilebit development team. ... For psychedelics, see psychedelic drug. ... It has been suggested that Boss Rush mode be merged into this article or section. ...

Although the original Dreamcast version now reaches inflated prices on eBay, the differences between it and the PlayStation 2 version are slight. It is thought that the Dreamcast version offers cleaner visuals free from the "jaggies" that are present in the PlayStation 2 version, as well as the ability to play the game via a VGA monitor via the optional Dreamcast VGA box. Rez on the PS2 benefits from a frame rate increase (~30 to ~60), although it has times of slowdown. The core game experience remains the same, and the tangible difference is minimal. jaggies are those sharp edges that you see in all the wii games Jaggies is the informal name for aliasing artifacts in raster images, often caused by non-linear mixing effects producing high-frequency components and/or missing or poor anti-aliasing filtering prior to sampling. ... Video Graphics Array (VGA) is a computer display standard first marketed in 1987 by IBM. VGA belongs to a family of earlier IBM video standards and largely remains backward compatible with them. ...

As with any video game, and in fact television or video in general involving flashing images, Rez may adversely affect anyone susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy, as it contains many flashing lights and images, and could trigger a seizure. This warning is explicitly stated in the instruction manuals and boxes for all video games. Photosensitive epilepsy is a form of epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by visual stimuli that form patterns in time or space, such as flashing lights, bold, regular patterns, or regular moving patterns. ... This article is about epileptic seizures. ...

Trance Vibrator

A "Special Package" version of the PlayStation 2 release of the game was sold in Japan only, including a USB device called a Trance Vibrator, which pulses in time with the music. While not explicitly marketed as a sex toy or masturbatory aid, it has reportedly been used as such.^{[4] [5]} The devices are available from various aftermarket retailers for (as of 2006) approximately $35 USD. The trance vibrator is also compatible with Space Channel 5: Part 2 and the Japanese version of Disaster Report. Note: USB may also mean upper sideband in radio. ... Mulher sentada de coxas abertas (Woman Sitting With Open Ties), 1916 drawing by Gustav Klimt Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation, especially of ones own genitals and often to the point of orgasm, which is performed manually, by other types of bodily contact (except for sexual intercourse), by use of... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Disaster Report (known as SOS The Final Escape in Europe, 絶体絶命都市 (Zettai Zetsumei Toshi in Japan, and 절체절명도시 in Korea) is a survival action adventure video game created by Irem. ...

There are two models of the Trance Vibrator: The Sega one, which they included in the Special Package release, and a third-party one made by ASCII. Both are compatible with the Japanese version of the game, though international compatibility may vary. The ASCII-branded one is also known to be compatible with the USA version.

Reverse-engineering efforts to allow the Trance Vibrator to attach to and be controlled by a PC have been successfully executed in Japan, resulting in a device driver for Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000. Instable drivers are also available for Unix -based operating systems. Windows XP loading drivers during a Safe Mode bootup A device driver, or a software driver is a specific type of computer software, typically developed to allow interaction with hardware devices. ...

Music

A soundtrack was released with the following track list:

• 1 Keiichi Sugiyama - Buggie Running Beeps 01 (5:20)
• 2 Mist - Protocol Rain (7:08)
• 3 Ken Ishii - Creation The State Of Art (Full Option) (6:33)
• 4 Joujouka - Rock Is Sponge (7:31)
• 5 Adam Freeland - Fear (Rez Edit) (5:06)
• 6 Coldcut & Tim Bran - Boss Attacks (Remix) (7:15)
• 7 EBZ - F6 G5 (7:48)
• 8 Oval - Octaeder 0.1. (3:22)
• 9 Ken Ishii - Creative State (6:20)
• 10 Oval - P-Project (5:38)

Dramatic morning mist Mist is a phenomenon of a liquid in small droplets floating through air. ... Ken Ishii (Japanese: ケンイシイ) is a successful Japanese techno DJ and producer from Tokyo. ... Joujouka is a a Japanese psychedelic trance project formed by Takeshi Isogai and Tsuyoshi Suzuki. ... Adam Freeland is a UK-based DJ and producer specialising in nu skool breaks. ... Coldcut: Jonathan More (left) & Matt Black Coldcut is a duo comprising English DJs Matt Black and Jonathan More. ... Oval is an electronic music group founded in Germany in 1991. ...

Sequel

According to Electronic Gaming Monthly's October 2006 issue RUMOR SECTION, Tetsuya Mizuguchi is working on another Rez, to come out for either the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or Wii. He had previously expressed interest in doing another Rez game. However the game's rights belong to Sonic Team due to the 2004 merger. Rez HD! Every Extend Extra Extreme (Q Entertainment) was announced for release on Xbox live Arcade by Microsoft during their pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference held in September 2007 Electronic Gaming Monthly (often abbreviated to EGM) is an American video game magazine. ... Tetsuya Mizuguchi Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Japanese: 水口哲也, Mizuguchi Tetsuya, born May 22, 1965 in Otaru, Hokkaidō, Japan) is a video game designer and founder of the video game developer firm, Q Entertainment. ... It has been suggested that Xbox 360 Elite be merged into this article or section. ... The PlayStation 3 , trademarked PLAYSTATION®3,[3] commonly abbreviated PS3) is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment; successor to the PlayStation 2. ... The Wii (pronounced as the pronoun we, IPA: ) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. ... Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is an online service operated by Microsoft that is used to distribute video games to Xbox and Xbox 360 owners and from late 2007 to Games for Windows - Live users [1]. The service was first launched in late 2004 and offers games from about US$5...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Official Rez website
• Rez at MobyGames
• Rez at GameFAQs
• Hardcore Gaming 101 Rez page
• Software for controlling Trance Vibrator, with instructions
• Area 5 game footage on Google Video (100% Shot Down, Support Item and Analyzation)
• Gamasutra article with Jake Kazdal, the only American to work directly on the game, with various behind the scenes insight
• Game Girl Advance article on using the trance vibrator for sexual stimulation
• Rez The Ultimate Audiovisual Experience - by BrunoF
• Rez shrine