Rez Creator Leaves Sega

[IntvGene]

This was from yesterday's news in GamesIndustry.biz. It's a shame that Sega let him go. Rez has to be one of the most creative games to come out in the last couple of years.


"One of Sega's most innovative game creators has announced his decision to leave the company following the dissolving of his in-house development team.

Tetsuya Mizuguchi was the man behind cult classic titles such as Rez and Space Channel 5, both of which are considered to be sterling examples of innovation and creativity in modern gaming despite enjoying limited commercial success.

His internal team at Sega, United Game Artists, was a casualty of the recent development reshuffle at the company - with the team being broken up and the staff being merged with Sonic Team.

Mizuguchi-san now plans to pursue new opportunities in game development, and speaking to a Japanese radio station yesterday, he expressed relief at being free to explore new ideas following his 14 year tenure at Sega. Fans of Mizuguchi's innovative fusions of audio and graphics are bound to watch keenly to see what one of the greatest creative minds in the Japanese videogame industry does next."

[ManekiNeko]

Mizuguchi... looo-ses.

JR

[Kid Fenris]

As much as I disliked Space Channel 5, this is disheartening news. Sega put out some excellent titles in recent years, and Mizuguchi's Rez was an amazing game. I'd be very interested in seeing what he does next.

Then again, Mizuguchi's creative fire didn't really seem to favor gameplay so much as it did audio/visual immersion. Rez was great, but it played like a pared-down Panzer Dragoon. If Mizuguchi could devise a deep concept around which to wrap an engrossing musical atmosphere, he'd be one of the best designers in the business.

[Needle]

This is sad news. Despite anyone's opinions on the gameplay of Rez and Space Channel 5, I think it's universally agreeable that Mizuguchi was at the very least responsible for bringing some new ideas to the table, something that the industry solely lacks these days.

I enjoyed Rez a lot, but it's obviously a very niche game that isn't applicable to a broad audience. I think, in time though, Mizuguchi would have been able to apply his techniques in a way that could make us all happy. Let's hope someone else gives him the second chance he sorely deserves.