Matsuura said that music was a previous global language. “I feel proud to be part of an industry that’s truly without borders.” The games industry, he says, has brought him lasting relationships with people from many territories.?
?Looking at the collision of music and games, the head of NanaOn-Sha says that music is something “in which we can all take an active role”.
“Right from the start, music was something that spread socially,” he said. “Humans are strange creators who feel the needs to express themselves”. In that sense, he continued, the spread of rhythm action games makes sense.
He expressed his interest in games like AudioSurf, which can be made by single authors rather than large teams. “Innovation in music games will never end,” he stated. In fact, rhythm games are “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“So what kind of music can give us a hint for future games?” he asks. First up there are micro-level details, moments when the music interacts with gameplay. Matsuura cites Mario, saying it isn’t a music game at all, but people report that the music affects the way they play because of tempo, and players find themselves moving in time with the music.
Matsuura also ponders unexplored areas, such as ethnic music games. “As a Japanese, I’d be so pleased if someone could make a game using traditional Japanese music, or perhaps Buddhist prayers.”?
He also sees potential in games in which you can perform with actual musicians, such as in The Beatles: Rock Band. “What about a game that lets you conduct the London Philharmonic?”
Or a game using “anything and everything” as musical instruments is possible. Using a systemic open-world, players could pick up any items and make music from whatever sounds the item produces.
“I feel that music games as a genre is outgrowing itself,” he continues, bringing in the relationship between music and sociology. A video clip of African native children shows them playing a game by chanting in time and running in place to a 1-2-3-4 beat and cites a phrase from the world of zoology, postural echo, which refers to creatures mirroring each other’s actions, much the way humans do when dancing in groups. “With games, surely we have almost reach the point where we can share these experiences in real-time,” he says.
Such new forms of content require new business approaches, however, and Matsuura believes they “can’t happen fast enough” for the good of the industry. It’s a way, he says, “to let our global audience fulfill their dreams and wishes”.
Closing the talk with a note about Singapore, Matsuura says he’s going to seek out new business collaborations. He closes the first session of DICE Asia by commenting: “I hope this event serves as a catalyst for years to come.”
Words: Evan Van Zelfden