Editing Rez (video game) (section)

===Art design and scenario===
The game's art director and lead artist was [[Katsumi Yokota]], noted for his work on ''[[Panzer Dragoon Saga]]''.<ref name="NGrez"/><ref name="RetroRez"/> Kazdel, who worked on ''Space Channel 5'', was on board as a character artist and graphics co-designer with Ryutaro Sugiyama.<ref name="Kazdal2"/> One of the game's earliest visual inspirations was the work of [[Wassily Kandinsky]], a 19th-century artist whose abstract work made a profound impression on Mizuguchi and his work.<ref name="GCDrez"/><ref name="1UPinterview"/> The original name "Project K" was a homage to Kandinsky,<ref name="EuroInterview"/> and Mizuguchi dedicated the game to him.<ref name="VGD"/> The early plans had levels directly inspired by Kandinsky's artwork, but Mizuguchi decided against this.{{sfn|Infinite|2017|p=29-30}} Other early versions drew direct inspiration from [[hip hop]] culture and the [[evolutionary history of life]].{{sfn|Infinite|2017|p=18-27}} One of the principle inspirations was Kandinsky's theories on [[synesthesia]], sensations created by the combination of different sensory inputs that had already inspired Mizuguchi's work on ''Space Channel 5''.<ref name="EuroInterview"/><ref name="1UPinterview"/>

A major decision for the team was using wire frame graphics for everything from character models to environments, paying homage to early video game graphics such as were seen in the [[Star Wars (1983 video game)|1983 ''Star Wars'' game]] and ''[[Missile Command]]''.<ref name="RezKobayashi"/> The decision to use this style was described by Yokota as "quite interesting", as his work on ''Panzer Dragoon'' had been aiming for the highest realism possible.<ref name="RetroRez"/> The graphics mirroring the music drew direct stylistic inspiration from the [[Winamp]] media player display.<ref name="GamaKazdal"/><ref name="Kazdal2"/> All but Area 5 were created using the same methodology; the wire frame was in the level foreground, while any particle effects and other visual elements were placed in the background area. This was the only feasible way to synchronise the music and visuals.<ref name="RetroRez"/> The first four levels had different visual themes and two key colors each. The first area drew from Ancient Egypt and used red and orange, the second used Indian culture with blue and purple, the third used Mesopotamian designs and the colors green and cyan, while the fourth area drew from Chinese culture and had a yellow and green color design. Each stage boss had a name taken from one of the planets.<ref name="RezAreas"/> The final area had a design influenced by the natural world.<ref name="PSBlogRez"/> Kazdel described this last area as Yokota's "personal trip out level".<ref name="GamaKazdal"/>

Mizuguchi's first ideas for the game's plot, which is delivered through "sensory" means rather than being driven by text and narration, was to form a connection between life and music.{{sfn|Infinite|2017|p=45–49}} While presented as a cyberpunk plot, Mizuguchi envisioned the narrative as a metaphor for the journey of life.<ref name="gdc2"/> Mizuguchi has suggested that the questions during the game's climax are intended to provoke the realization that the player is "not a [[hacker]] but a [[sperm]]", that ''Rez'' is a story of conception set against the backdrop of an emergent AI. The awakening of Eden at the game's end is a reference to the theoretical [[technological singularity]].{{sfn|Infinite|2017|p=45–49}} According to Kobayashi, their journey to awake Eden allows the hacker experience elevation to a higher existence within cyberspace, achieving something similar to [[Enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]]. This was visually referenced through the various forms the hacker can take as they raise their level.<ref name="RezKobayashi"/> To achieve this fusion of themes with the visuals and score, Mizugushi worked with Yokota and team musician Nobuhiko Tanuma so the art design and musical progression would illustrate these themes.{{sfn|Infinite|2017|p=45–49}} The narrative poem shown during Area 5 was written by Yokota.{{sfn|Infinite|2017|p=58-59}} The English text was written by Kazdel.<ref name="GamaKazdal"/>