In the Realm of the Senses:
Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Synthesis of Synaesthesia & Video Gaming
Part II: The Long and Winding Road
A trip to the Isle of Man to see the annual Tourist Trophy (TT) motorcycle race inspired Miziguchi’s next game, Manx TT Superbike, released in November 1995. Like Yu Suzuki’s 1985 “Taikan” (“Bodily Sensation”) classic Hang-On, Manx TT’s cabinets had arcade-goers straddle a replica motorbike and lean from side to side to control its on-screen counterpart in an attempt to simulate the white-knuckle sensation of taking part in the one of the world’s oldest and most dangerous motorcycle races.
As with Sega Rally, the development process saw the team meet with numerous vehicular accidents while pursuing authenticity, with the game’s lead designer “out of action for a short while.”
Though the game strove for realism, a hidden “Sheep Mode” inspired by the island’s famed Manx sheep could be unlocked:
Manx TT Superbike wowed crowds at the 1996 Amusement Trades Exhibition International in Earl’s Court, London, and saw distributors Deith Leisure selling out of their cabinets, with the Deluxe cabinets sold to arcades at £15,000 each.
An updated version of Sega Rally Championship, Sega Rally Special Stage was released in 1996 and saw Mizuguchi drawing on his simulator past, with the player controlling a “real” car:
“This is like total sensorama… You feel the vibration, the movement, the sound… but it’s very expensive. It was a quarter of a million dollars, and we only made four. But we learned a lot.”
GamaSutra, DICE: Mizuguchi Talks Artistry And Commerce In Concert, 8th February 2008
“Who are AM2’s biggest competitors?”
“AM Annex.”
Toshihiro Nagoshi, Next Generation, April 1997
During development of Manx TT in 1995, Mizuguchi watched a video of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM, German Touring Car Championship) for the first time. That same year, with AM3 now having over 100 staff members, Mizuguchi spoke to General Manager Hisashi Suzuki about forming a smaller team and assembled a group of 16: AM Annex. The team partially comprised developers who had worked on Manx TT and Sega Rally, with other members coming from outside Sega divisions, and set to work on Sega Touring Car Championship.
As had now become AM3 tradition, the AM Annex team took to the track, riding shotgun with professional drivers in Germany and Finland. Formula Japan driver Naoki Hattori provided assistance in getting the details of racing fine-tuned during the final stages of development. Hattori would go on to win the Japanese Touring Car Championship that year.
Development started in Spring 1996 and lasted for only four months, with Sega Touring Car Championship being released to muted reception in September 1996.
“That was terrible for me! We tried to make something professional. With Sega Rally there was a beautiful alliance. This was a circuit racing game, though, and we had no time to create it. It was only four months. For many reasons, after Sega Rally Championship, our mission was to make this new game in four months. That was very tough and crazy. I was so exhausted.”
While the short development time led to a product that was considered inferior to Sega Rally in many ways, one aspect that did get minor attention at the time was the sound and music, thanks in great part to advances in technology:
Sega Saturn Magazine: With Sega Rally and Manx TT, you worked very hard indeed to get the sound effects extremely authentic. What processes did you go through with Sega Touring Car to produce the best sound possible?
Mizuguchi: This time it was due to the development of the MPEG board. Up to now we’ve had to use computer programs to extract sound material that is built int ocomputer chips but we’ve discarded that. Instead we can take the sound recorded at a studio, enter it into the MPEG board and play it. Thus, we’ve been able to have outside musicians perform for us. That’s a big factor for one. We really wanted to do that.
Sega Saturn Magazine #18 (UK), Sega Touring Car Championship, April 1997
Along with original music composed by Sega veteran and frequent Yu Suzuki collaborator Hiroshi Kawaguchi, often credited as “Hiro”, Sega Touring Car Championship also featured licensed music from Avex Mode, then home to many Eurobeat artists.
Mizuguchi: We got in contact with a high level studio, AVEX TRAX who gave us songs from Belgium, Italy and also Japan. AS for the Trance Techno songs, they were from four Japanese musicians who participated with us. We didn’t use any popular bands. The Belgium and Italian musicians are fairly well-known but the others are just young musicians, who wanted to go on to do techno. We held some auditions various places but we didn’t have much time so it was only in Japan. By considering the future prospects of various musicians we auditioned we finally ended up picking these four people. From now on we’re going to regard the music as very important so, thinking about the future, we’d like to discover and raise new talent more. Up to now the music has been circulating around just the clubs and DJs. We’d like to use the wider field of games as well.
Sega Saturn Magazine: What particular themes did you have in mind for the music?
Mizuguchi: Our first image was a good drum-bass. By drum-bass, I mean it’s got a unique rhythm but the sound of the drums and bass need to be simple so that it’s right for playing the game. At the time when we were thinking about music that could help the player concentrate on the game. We really wanted to have that kind of music. However, after talking to the director and others we came to the opinion that this alone was a little too dreary so we included the songs as well. In addition, we chose it so that everyone could select their own favourite tune whilst driving. That’s the way it all came about.
Still, Mizuguchi dreamt of taking the video game aural experience even further:
Sega Saturn Magazine: Do you think that realistically, the quality of music and sound effects can be improved in the future? For example, could any form of surround sound work in the arcades?
Mizuguchi: Yes I do. You have to keep improving! For the current arcades, I think that the one thing that is lagging behind is the sound. I’m convinced that sound has a major influence on people. Therefore, I personally think that I’d like to see people enjoying more games with higher quality sound where both the device and the contents have been brought closer together. Thus, if surround sound was available I’d probably use it, if 3D sound was available I’d probably use that also. If it’s good and makes better sound then I’d really like to make an effort to use it.
Soon after its release to the Sega Saturn in November 1997, gamers at home could take advantage of the console’s modem add-on and online service (14.4K SegaNet in Japan, 28.8K NetLink in the US); while players could not race head-to-head like the Plus editions of Sega Rally, Sega Touring Car Championship was host to World Wide Time Attack competitions, where players would race on special tracks and then upload their scores to an online leaderboard.
1997 also saw Mizuguchi as producer of a CD of remixes of music from various Sega games titled Club Sega:
Besides a remix of a track from Mizuguchi’s own Sega Rally Championship, the CD also included remixes of music and sound effects from games such as AM2’s Virtua Fighter 2:
Development on Sega Rally 2 began soon after the release of the first game, when AM Annex went as a team to see a WRC race. Mizuguchi then went to the Monaco Rally, but it was an AM Annex trip to see the Thailand Rally that led to a decision to try and bring its more distinctive Asian image to the sequel to Sega Rally. While the scenery ultimately proved unsuitable for the game, the new Model 3 arcade hardware allowed AM Annex to improve upon the previous game’s sound and graphics.
In a March 1998 interview with Next Generation magazine, Mizuguchi highlighted one addition to the game’s visuals designed to enhance the sensory experience:
“The better the player drives, the more flashing cameras they’ll get. In this way, the game becomes more intense.”
While new mechanics such as a side handbrake were introduced in Sega Rally 2, it was the sound and music to which Mizuguchi devoted special care and attention. Spending an increasing amount of time in Tokyo’s burgeoning techno scene, Mizuguchi saw that two speakers were built into each side of the seat in the arcade cabinet, creating the surround sound effect he had wanted for Sega Touring Car Championship. The sound of the car’s engine would also send vibrations throughout the player; Mizuguchi was getting closer to his goal of developing a total sensory experience.
But none of this came close to Mizuguchi’s lofty ambitions of where the medium could go:
“I was so excited to make the first Sega Rally. But Sega Rally 2 — I felt it was more like engineering. What is there that’s creative, that’s the future of the racing game. After I finished Sega Rally 2, I felt I should say goodbye to racing games. I’d produced four or five, but I had no self-confidence in making more. There was a big big future for the racing game, but hand on heart, did I want to do that? No, it’s not my job. You know Yamauchi-san [creator of Sony’s Gran Turismo series], he’s doing a great job. He’s the right person! I’m not like Yamauhci-san. He’s so car obsessed. I’m not!”
Next-Generation: What are your plans for the future?
Mizuguchi: We want to make something radically different. But it does not mean we are going to stop making racing games. If I tell you what I have in mind you will immediately understand… We are presently on two different projects in the AM Annex. One day, I hope, we will make some consumer games. For a long time I’ve wanted to create a real bridge between the arcade and the consumer games.
Sega Rally 2 was released in Japan on the 18th of February 1998 and to international arcades throughout the year. Soon after, Mizuguchi left AM Annex and the team disbanded; Sasaki and a few members would go on to form Sega Rosso, who would develop arcade instalments of the Initial D racing series, a Game Boy Advance port of Sega Rally Championship, and most notably the cult wireframe tennis/Breakout-inspired Sega NAOMI arcade and Dreamcast title Cosmic Smash.
For Mizuguchi, this was just the beginning of his career: the next two games to come from Mizuguchi would define his life’s work.
