A new project from Tetris Effect's and Rez Infinite's Tetsuya Mizuguchi is in the works, and it's going to make the most of new-gen consoles' sound and haptic feedback possibilities.
Mizuguchi spoke about what's next for him and his company in an interview with Famitsu, as translated by VGC. He confirmed that Enhance has a few next-gen projects right now, and while he didn't offer more details, he did confirm that the Area X stage introduced in Rez Infinite (which was otherwise a VR-enabled remake of the 2001 original) showed off some of what he wants to do in his next game.
"In particular, Area X in Rez Infinite was developed as a 'prologue' to the next game, and we hope to use that concept in the next generation of games," Mizuguchi said. "With the concept and XR [extended reality] technology, we'd like to increase the overall resolution and create a more detailed game."
Mizuguchi meant both image and sound resolution, as he explained how spatial audio has expanded the way we think of sound in games. The advent of 3D audio "shakes or changes the experience" itself by giving players more spatial awareness of the game world, and it's easy to imagine a number of ways he could put that to work. Mizuguchi is also excited to work more with the next generation of haptic feedback - who needs a Rez trance vibrator when you have a DualSense?
"When haptics (tactile technology) is added to the mix, the total integrated experience of visuals, sound, and tactile sensations is not just multiplied, but multiplied by a factor of several. When that happens, things start to happen that in the past would not have felt like this in a game. We believe that we can make it happen, and we're climbing the stairs one by one."
Tetris Effect is one of the top picks in our guide to the best VR games, and there's a good chance Mizuguchi's next game will join it.
