Without a specific career field in mind, Tetsuya Mizuguchi majored in media aesthetics. While seeking possibilities in film, music and writing, he entered the field of interactive arts and entertainment.
Mizuguchi is perhaps most revered for creating the gaming odyssey that is Rez. It was here back in 2001 that he challenged himself to merge Kandinsky’s theory of the synaesthesia experience. To achieve this breakthrough, Mizuguchi blended trance and electronic music with the rich visual textures on screen to create a unique and highly popular music-based game. This quantization system provided something that was considered a completely new musical-gaming experience. As an outcome, the innovative title collected many awards worldwide, including an honorary mention in Prix Ars Electronica 2002 Interactive Art Division. Recent creations include the critically acclaimed music and luminary action puzzle game series Lumines which was first released worldwide in 2004 for Sony’s PSP (PlayStation Portable). The game was envisioned to provide an “interactive audio and visual experience” in which the player would be “playing a Walkman”.
Beyond gaming, Mizuguchi has helped establish his own audio-visual hybrid band Genki Rockets, a concept brought to life through story-telling based on lyrics. Using a truly special holographic performance, the band made its debut on July 7, 2007 at the Tokyo venue of Live Earth, a global music event initiated by former US Vice-President Al Gore.
In 2006, Mizuguchi was selected as one of the top “Digital 50” by the Producers Guild of America and The Hollywood Reporter, in which they acknowledge him as the top 50 new media producers and innovators in the realm of digital storytelling.
