Development Fez (video game)

fez s five-year development cycle known protracted length , amount of public exposure. nathan grayson of vg247 likened rocky history indie duke nukem forever , , polygon reviewer arthur gies noted standing reputation underdog darling of indie game scene . designer, phil fish, became renowned in way unusual game developers due prominence in 2012 documentary indie game: movie. apart fez, released wide acclaim, fish himself became known outspoken , acerbic public persona.

fez began collaboration between canadian indie developers fish , shawn mcgrath. worked on mcgrath s idea puzzle game in 3d space viewed 4 2d angles. though partnership broke down due creative differences, entirety of fez s design, story, , art descends game mechanic. fish continued work on project in spare time , solicited programmer on deviantart, found renaud bédard. fez first announced in july 2007 on independent gaming source. nominated 2 awards @ 2008 game developers conference independent games festival (gdc igf). when fish s employer did not permit him time off attend awards, quit. fish later recalled moment when [he] became indie . game won excellence in visual art , , presence created surge of public interest in fez rode concurrent swell of interest in indie game development whole. fish received canadian government loan open polytron corporation startup company , began full-time work on fez. in july 2009, polytron announced fez launch in 2010 xbox live arcade exclusive. development continued experimental spirit until company ran out of money. fish borrowed friends , family keep company open , considered canceling project before nearby québécois developer-publisher trapdoor offered help. fish felt trapdoor partnership rescued game.

—simon parkin of eurogamer on 2012 game of year

fez won multiple awards in 2011 , pax 10 selection @ 2011 penny arcade expo. fish shown preparing fez s booth @ pax east 2011, earlier show, in 2012 documentary film indie game: movie. film chronicles game development stories of several indie developers. subplot, film presents fish amidst legal dispute former business partner jeopardizes fez s future. game informer called fish film s memorable developer , , rock, paper, shotgun wrote fish portrayed theatrical in way exacerbates outspoken reputation. eurogamer said part when fish resolves kill himself if not release game film s startling moment . near end of fez s development, fish told gamasutra reporter had received positive feedback igf chairman brandon boyer , braid designer jonathan blow, felt burnt out . final game included none of original work first 2 years of development. after several delays, fez submitted certification in february 2012.

fez development team @ 2012 gdc igf (from left): composer rich vreeland, designer phil fish, sound designer brandon mccartin, programmer renaud bédard

fez released on april 13, 2012, , sold 200,000 copies during yearlong exclusivity xbox live arcade platform. fish rebuked polytron s co-publisher, microsoft studios, botching game s release way of lackluster publicity. several months later, polytron entered high-profile dispute microsoft on cost of patching fez. year after fez s launch, fish announced windows pc port release on may 1, 2013. os x , linux ports debuted on september 11, 2013, , playstation 3, playstation 4, , playstation vita ports blitworks debuted on march 25, 2014. ouya , ios ports announced; ios release scheduled later in 2017, announced on game s fifth anniversary. bédard stayed port windows release before joining toronto s capybara games. credited polytron s long development cycle own inexperience in game development (compounded team s small size , difficulty in setting reasonable milestones), game s scope, , fish s perfectionism. fish had hoped players discuss fez s nuances online after release. players collaborated online week solve final monolith puzzle using cryptanalytic attack known brute force. ars technica described apparent end fez s harder puzzles anticlimactic , fish told eurogamer in march 2013 hidden in-game secrets remain found.

more 3 years after digital launch, fez received physical release designed fish , limited signed edition of 500 in december 2015. deluxe package included soundtrack , stylized red notebook gold foil inlay. though bédard had moved on company, continued work on game in secret. in august 2016, released final patch computer releases of fez included performance improvements, result of unified codebase under open source software library, , features such speedrun mode.

design

indie developer shawn mcgrath (pictured in 2011) contributed game s core mechanic, left in development

bédard wrote fez in microsoft visual c# express , xna game studio express. coded level editor , game engine, trixel, converts 2d tiles ( triles ) four-sided 3d voxels ( trixels ). fish made 2d pixel art in photoshop each side of trixel, bédard s custom software compiled 3d game assets. fish design levels in level editor extruding surfaces, process found overwhelming akin playing lego blocks. in workflow, fish first proposed ideas bédard implement. 2 discuss , fine-tune addition—they worked together.

the game came adopt metroidvania mechanics, secret passages, warp gates, , cheat codes . fish cited myst inspiration , compared open world, nonlinear narrative, , obtuse metapuzzles fez s own alphabet, numeric system, , unfairly hard ... second set of collectibles . inspired nintendo entertainment system games of youth (particularly of super mario , legend of zelda series), hayao miyazaki s signature open blue sky , feel-good atmosphere, , fumito ueda s ico. fish sought emulate ico s feeling of nostalgic , isolated loneliness, , ueda s development philosophy wherein nonessential game elements removed ( design subtraction ). fish made personal challenge of designing game without relying on established mechanics . such, fez peaceful game never contained antagonist.

music

composer rich disasterpeace vreeland, 2012




trail , medley disasterpeace fez soundtrack remix album fz: side z

rich vreeland, known disasterpeace, composed game s chiptune-esque electronic soundtrack. despite background in chiptune, vreeland limited use of genre s mannerisms in score. worked soft synth pads , reverb push score closer 1980s synthesizer sound. reduced reliance on percussion , incorporated distortion techniques bitcrushing , wow. vreeland opted slower passages varying tempos ebb, flow, , breathe player . left portions of fez without music. vreeland worked on soundtrack @ night 14 months while scoring shoot many robots, , brandon mccartin of aquaria contributed game s sound effects.

vreeland s first composition game ( adventure ) became soundtrack s first track. wrote after meeting bédard before discussing soundtrack fish, , based composition on fez audio created prior arrival. vreeland wanted use tape recorders distinctive sound, potential audio synching issues method led him employ digital recording. portions of soundtrack dynamically change between several dozen constituent elements , react game environment. example, puzzle track s elements change musical key based on in-game time of day. tracks intended imitate real-world sounds, such of bats, thunderstorms, taiko, , water falling stalactites. other tracks expanded improvisations. vreeland inspired lord of rings shire theme, 1980s horror media, soundtrack of demoscene game jasper s journeys, legend of zelda dungeon music, mass effect soundtrack, tangerine dream, , steve reich. continuum synthesized rendition of frédéric chopin s prelude, op. 28, no. 4. instruments used in recording include sonic charge synplant, minimoog, synthetic flute , , boomwhacker.

the soundtrack released in digital format on april 20, 2012. pre-orders soundtrack topped bandcamp charts. kirk hamilton of kotaku wrote fez s sound effects evoked jim guthrie s superbrothers: sword & sworcery ep audio. janus kopfstein of verge called work fantastic , described cross between 1980s vangelis synth odyssey , submerged vinyl record arcade. game informer s matt miller wrote soundtrack contributed fez s 80s nostalgia vibe . eurogamer described music lush, spooky, , electrifying , , edge compared holst put through mega drive . oli welsh of eurogamer wrote music matched game s themes of hidden depth . welsh heard influences of 1960s english psychedelia (pink floyd, soft machine), 1970s krautrock (tangerine dream , kraftwerk), 1980s synth (jean michel jarre, vangelis), , erik satie. added soundtrack s contribution fez incalculable . damian kastbauer of game developer used vreeland s soundtrack show retrogaming aesthetic in sound , visuals both futuristic , nostalgic , provide right voice support game s design intentions .

game developer listed vreeland in 2012 power 50 work on soundtrack, described atmospheric, pensive, , maybe little bit melancholy . in keeping fez s theme of secrets, images visible through spectrogram embedded soundtrack audio. vreeland released remix album, fz: side f, year later on april 20, 2013. features tracks other artists, including jim guthrie. vreeland later released remix album, fz: side z, , 3 albums included in august 2013 game music bundle 5.

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