We recently had a chance to quiz Minimal House Music Producer and Graphic Designer, Baiyon. Better known with in the games industry as the man behind the music and visuals in a game succinctly known for it’s unique audiovisual style, Pixeljunk Eden. We find out about cut features of Eden, what Baiyon would love to move onto and the possibility of a second encore expansion for Eden.
Click the jump for the interview…
Nidzumi: How did you come involved with Dylan Cuthbert and the team at Q-Games?
Baiyon: I first met Dylan at a friend’s party. Dylan also knew the host and we just connected there!
Nidzumi: Pixeljunk Eden has a very unique visual style that is incomparable to other games. What inspired these graphics (outside and inside gaming)?
Baiyon: There are many works that have influenced and inspired me. There is no specific genre I can limit it to – I was inspired by the image of plants in water, or paint being allowed to flow and splash on a canvas, these simple things were my inspiration for Eden.
Nidzumi: Eden’s music is also incredibly unique. What has influenced the soundtrack and are there any similar minimalist music artists you would recommend?
Baiyon: I created the music for Eden purposefully not thinking about ‘game’ music. I’m glad it fits the game so well, I wrote the music as I felt it would be apt for the images I was creating and I’m glad I was able to create something new.
I dont know if this helps, but this is the top 10 of what I was listening to in July 2009:
- M.in & Bastian Schuster/ jazz me please / Merkesdir
- Mihai Popoviciu, Markus Homm, Jay Bliss / Bis Co / Diynamic Music
- Mendo, Danny Serrano / Coconuts / Clarisse Records
- Baiyon / Evening glow of a river
- Mark Broom Vs Brothers’ Vibe / Mind / Feeling(YouANDme Hirsch Edit) / PLATZHIRSCH
- Cabin Fever / Cabin Fever Trax Vol.5 / Rekids
- Einzelkind / El Pianucho / Love Letters From Oslo
- Unknown / balada conducatoruli / beee
- Nick Curly / Play / Cécille Numbers
- Alexxei N’ Nig / Coming To Town(Lorenzo Chiabotti remix) / Exprezoo
Nidzumi: Encore came out quite recently but we’ve noticed there is a lot of empty space in the hub world. Are you finished with Eden or are you still working with Q-Games?
Baiyon: Encore has just come out so I’ve not really had a chance to think about that. If a good project comes up and Q-Games and I decide it’s a good fit – and the reaction to Eden Encore is a positive one – then I can’t think of a reason why not. But for that to happen, we need people to enjoy Eden Encore!
Nidzumi: How different is the experience of designing for games compared to traditional graphic design?
Baiyon: First of all, this is a world of movement. Secondly, the user takes a journey through this world. Combinations and variants change all the time, so I worked with the staff of Q-Games on hundreds of run-throughs to make sure it worked in the way that I envisaged it. Also the roles of the spectra and the crystals made their visual appearance very important. It was important that spectra didn’t stand out too much, we had to maintain a visual balance at all times.
Nidzumi: Would you like to carry on designing for video games, if so what would your ideal project be?
Baiyon: Yes, of course. My dream would be to make an RPG.
Nidzumi: Are there any ideas that you would have liked to have seen in Pixeljunk Eden that couldn’t be made for whatever reason?
Baiyon: Well I would have loved to have drawn a 100m-tall plant and have that scanned into the game as a playable artifact, but the director put his foot down and said that couldn’t happen.
Nidzumi: Where could fans of the music in Eden pick up the tracks and will the new Encore tracks be released (if yes will they see a vinyl release)?
Baiyon says: I’m really happy that people are enjoying the music – imagine it being available on vinyl, that would be way cool! But the truth is I don’t know what the plans are for the soundtrack at the moment.
Nidzumi:Are there any future projects lined up (gaming or not)?
Baiyon says: I’m always passionate and eager to involve myself in new projects. In order to make good games I think it is important to be able to express yourself in a variety of ways.
Nidzumi: Anything else you would like to say/plug?
Baiyon says: Thanks to all of you out there that are enjoying playing Eden!!
We at Nidzumi would like to thank Baiyon and Duncan of Q-Games for their time with this interview.
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