Science News

Playstation Sensation - Synaesthetics Heaven

A new playstation sensation has been announced this week called Rez. This new offering has been developed by the Japanese company United Game Artists and promises to "overload your senses with a mix of psychedelic visuals and pulsating dance beats". The inventors claim that it creates a sense of synaesthesia, literally a crossing of the senses, so that you can "see" sounds or "taste" colours. The game takes place in a virtual world inside a computer and you play a hacker flying through cyberspace in search of the artificial intelligence at the heart of this world. And there we were thinking that this was a new game ! But there is a twist to the traditional shoot-em approach that makes Rez stand out. Every time you destroy one of the insect-like enemies, a sound is generated. Destroying enemies in patterns results in more elaborate sounds and effects, with the sounds then becoming patterns on the screen as you fly along. The inventors also claim that playing Rez can also be a group experience because whilst one person is plays the game, the others can watch the visuals and listen to the music. <Sounds a bit dodgy to me to be honest. "Anorak invites friends round to watch him play computer game...">

10th Mar 2002