The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) announced yesterday that acclaimed videogame designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi will visit Australia in September. The creator of popular titles Child of Eden, Rez and Space Channel 5 will visit ACMI for the Game Masters exhibition and to participate in public programs:
In a one-night-only event An Evening with Tetsuya Mizuguchi audiences will get an insight into the game developers career and inspirations, understand his unique philosophy for designing games and hear his vision for the future of entertainment. During his visit, Mizuguchi will also participate in an Intermix session, an opportunity for young game developers to hear what it is like to work in the games industry from one of the pioneers of gaming in an intimate setting. His visit coincides with the Freeplay Independent Games Festival also at ACMI, where he will participate in a panel discussion as part of the Developer Program.
Starting his videogame career with SEGA designing more traditional games such as the influential arcade racing title Sega Rally Championship (1994), Mizuguchi’s intention is for gaming to be a multi-sensory experience, involving sound, colour, movement and drawing emotion from the player. Famed for his pioneering application of music and visuals, Mizuguchi uses music not simply as an accompaniment to a game, but as an integral part of its gameplay. His music-fusion titles include Space Channel 5 (1999), Rez (2001), Lumines (2004), and his latest opus Child of Eden (2011), which sees him continue to explore this vision. With a soundtrack composed by Mizuguchi’s own band, Genki Rockets, Child of Eden is a motion controlled experience, where sound and colour are controlled by the player’s movement as they traverse the landscape saving Eden from a virus attack in order to bring new life to the world.
Mizuguchi will be the third of the exhibition’s featured game designers to visit from abroad after Tim Schafer and Warren Spector attended the opening in June. Mizuguchi will also meet with representatives of the local games industry during his visit.
Game Masters features a display devoted to Mizuguchi’s creations, including playable versions of Sega Rally Championship, Space Channel 5, Rez and Lumines, as well as a large-scale immersive 3D version Child of Eden.
ACMI’s Game Masters exhibition showcases the work of leading local and international videogame designers with over 125 playable games from the arcade era through to the latest console and mobile game technology. Over 30 game designers who have made a significant and ongoing impact in the field are profiled throughout the exhibition, including well-known international, independent and Australian game designers. The designers’ work is explored through a combination of rare concept artwork, newly commissioned interviews and playable games, turning the gallery into an interactive playground for all ages and abilities.
