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Fez (video game)

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Fez
File:Fez cover.png
Fez cover art by Bryan Lee O'Malley.
Developer(s)Phil Fish
Publisher(s)Microsoft Studios
Trapdoor
Polytron
Composer(s)Phil Fish
Platform(s)Xbox Live Arcade
ReleaseApril 13, 2012[1]
Genre(s)Puzzle/Platformer
Mode(s)Single-player

Fez is a puzzle/platform game developed by independent software developers Polytron. The game was initially announced by its creator, Phil Fish, on TIGSource.com on July 17, 2007.[2] It was later announced that the game would come to the Xbox Live Arcade in early 2010, but it was pushed back.[3] The game was released on April 13, 2012 for Xbox Live Arcade.[1] More platforms are being considered.[4]

Plot

In Fez, you play as Gomez, a 2D being who lives in a happy 2D world. That is until one day when Gomez encounters a strange and mysterious artifact; a Hexahedron. The Hexahedron gives Gomez a magical fez hat that allows him to perceive a third dimension. Gomez must use his new ability to save the Hexahedron before his world is torn apart.

Gameplay

File:Fez Rotation.jpg
A level shown before rotation, during rotation, and after rotation

Fez features 2D/3D perspective shifts in a manner similar to Super Paper Mario and Crush. The use of Escher-like optical illusions also predominates gameplay in a manner similar to Echochrome. Fez’s 2D gameplay consists of mechanics typical to platform games, such as jumping and climbing. Fez’s unique 3D trait is the ability to rotate the world 90° around the y axis. The rotation allows the player to change the perspective, realigning platforms. Since depth is not a factor in the 2D gameplay, certain actions that would be impossible in a 3D world are still possible in 2D, from the right perspective.

The goal of the game is to collect 64 cubes and anti-cubes[5]. Cubes are visible and placed around the world for the player to collect. The player must figure out how to navigate their way through the environment to each cube. Anti-cubes are invisible and revealed only after the player has solved a puzzle. Many of the puzzles require some form of cryptanalysis.

File:Fez videogame.jpg
Concept art of a Fez level.

Pre-release attention

Fez is noteworthy for the long delay from its initial announcement in 2007 to its release in spring 2012.[6] Its protracted development was featured in the documentary film Indie Game: The Movie.[7]

A demo of Fez was shown on 31 January, 2012 at the International Game Developers Association Montreal DemoNight.[8] Fez also won the Grand Prize at IGF 2012.

Music

The soundtrack in Fez was written and produced by chiptune artist Rich Vreeland under the name Disasterpeace. It was released on April 20th, 2012.

Fez Soundtrack track listing
No.TitleLength
1."Adventure"3:18
2."Puzzle"2:14
3."Beyond"3:05
4."Progress"4:16
5."Beacon"2:33
6."Flow"3:47
7."Formations"2:20
8."Legend"1:18
9."Compass"2:43
10."Forgotten"2:34
11."Sync"2:19
12."Glitch"3:25
13."Fear"3:32
14."Spirit"2:52
15."Nature"4:10
16."Knowledge"1:49
17."Death"3:31
18."Memory"1:16
19."Pressure"4:00
20."Nocturne"2:13
21."Age"2:58
22."Majesty"3:22
23."Continuum"2:35
24."Home"1:35
25."Reflection"9:02
26."Love"1:09

Reception

Upon release, Fez received widespread praise, with IGN giving the game 9.5/10.[15] Video review site GameTrailers gave the game an overall score of 9.0.[13]

Awards

Fez won the "Excellence in Visual Art" award at the Independent Games Festival in 2008, where it was also nominated for the "Design Innovation" award.[16] It appeared at PAX Prime 2011 as one of the PAX 10,[17] and won "Best In Show" at IndieCade in 2011.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b "FEZ FRIDAY THE 13TH". Polytron Corporation. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  2. ^ fish, Phil (2 July 2009). "FEZ IS COMING TO XBOX LIVE ARCADE EARLY 2010". Polytron Corporation. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  3. ^ fish, Phil (2 July 2009). "FEZ". Polytron Corporation. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
  4. ^ Fish, Phil (5 July 2009). "WILL THERE BE A PC / MAC / WII / PSN / LINUX / JAGUAR VERSION?". Polytron Corporation. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  5. ^ Woods, Eric. "Fez Review". Retrieved 2012-05-02.
  6. ^ Rosenberg, Adam (March 29, 2012). "Fez Release Date Announced". G4tv.com. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  7. ^ "Indie Game: The Movie".
  8. ^ "January 31 - DemoNight!". International Game Developers Association. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  9. ^ "MetaCritic".
  10. ^ "EDGE Review".
  11. ^ "GI Review".
  12. ^ "GameSpot Review".
  13. ^ a b "Fez - Review HD". GameTrailers.com. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  14. ^ "IGN Review". Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  15. ^ "IGN Review". Retrieved 13 April 2012.
  16. ^ "The 12th Annual Independent Games Festival - 2008 Finalists & Winners". Independent Games Festival. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
  17. ^ "The PAX 10". PAX. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
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