Fez | Cheerful Ghost

FEZ Celebrates It's 5th Birthday Today & Coming To iOS This Year!

In celebration of FEZ 5th birthday today Polytron had a series of Tweets about the game and one mentioning that FEZ will be coming to iOS this year! The reveal trailer above doesn't mention much about how the game will work but if they get the controls just right it might be great.

FEZ is a special game that features one of the best game scores of all time and once upon a time was getting a sequel that was later cancelled. I hold out hope that FEZ 2 might still be coming or will come back in some form but at least we have FEZ, which is one of the best platformers i've played in quite some time.

https://twitter.com/Polytron

FEZ Soundtrack Is One Of The Best "Centering" Game Scores Around

So it's post election time in the United States and I think we can all agree that it's been a very rough season. Many years ago I started listening to more Classical music during another particularlly charged election year because I was drawn to music that had less of an agenda by not featuring words. Which is why I think I enjoy listening to amazing video game scores. Not only is the music great but it's also a more personal experience beacuse the meaning isn't often as obvious.

FEZ is a very special Indie platformer that I consider to be one of the games that kicked off the Indie revolution. FEZ packs a bunch of charm and has a special kind of magic to it as you make... Read All So it's post election time in the United States and I think we can all agree that it's been a very rough season. Many years ago I started listening to more Classical music during another particularlly charged election year because I was drawn to music that had less of an agenda by not featuring words. Which is why I think I enjoy listening to amazing video game scores. Not only is the music great but it's also a more personal experience beacuse the meaning isn't often as obvious.

FEZ is a very special Indie platformer that I consider to be one of the games that kicked off the Indie revolution. FEZ packs a bunch of charm and has a special kind of magic to it as you make your way collecting Tetrominoes. One big part of the whole experience is the score by Disasterpiece that is a nearly perfect collection of 26 tracks that weave the game together. Initially FEZ launched on the XBox 360 but I first played it after it came to PC. I picked up the score in a later Humble Bundle that had it as part of a download and it's been in constaint rotation on my iPhone and in nearly every playlist of albums i'm listening to. This might seem a bit strange but if I need to center myself or need to focus on something I put on the FEZ score. During my first Hearthstone fireside brawl I played the FEZ score during my matches to help as it contains some really moving pieces like the track Compass that seems more a series of notes meant to have you exist in the moment than draw you to any particular goal. I find that lack of agenda to be one of the best places to play Hearthstone from as its often easier to come to a good series of plays naturally than overthink something.

As we come out of this particularly hard election season I encourage you to find things that can bring you better to a centered place and for me one thing thing that helps is listening to the soundtrack to FEZ. But you know if blasting demons in Doom helps that's fine too. Hit me up in the comments love to hear what people are into.

You can listen to the whole FEZ score in it's entirely on Spotify for free by hitting the link below:

https://play.spotify.com/user/1263129891/playlist/2ERpj9ihXLG43UoBjxeTdM

Watch Vulajin Blast Through FEZ in 28:30

Recently FEZ got a huge new update and developer Renaud Bédard mentioned in his blog post that he was inspired to work on the new update by the speedrunning community. At this years Summer Games Done Quick Vulajin ran through FEZ at an impressive 28:30. FEZ is one of the more chill games I can think to watch so if you have a handful of minutes, checkout the run!

http://cheerfulghost.com/jdodson/posts/3084/fez-gets-huge-new-1-2-update

FEZ Gets Huge Final 1.2 Update

http://theinstructionlimit.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/1080p_pixel_perfect.png

FEZ was one of the games that some consider to have started the new Indie gaming explosion. Originally launching on the XBox, it was later ported to PC and some time later Mac and Linux as part of the Humble Indie Bundle. In my opinion FEZ is an incredible game and one of my more moving experiences. FEZ designer Phil Fish dropped some news that FEZ 2 was being developed to only later scrap it and sort of disband his company in a sad snowball of events. It was a sad time to be a fan of FEZ as it seemed the future and present of the game wasn't very clear. But as it turns out FEZ is getting a fresh update from it's original developer Renaud Bédard.

"Since I shipped FEZ... Read All FEZ was one of the games that some consider to have started the new Indie gaming explosion. Originally launching on the XBox, it was later ported to PC and some time later Mac and Linux as part of the Humble Indie Bundle. In my opinion FEZ is an incredible game and one of my more moving experiences. FEZ designer Phil Fish dropped some news that FEZ 2 was being developed to only later scrap it and sort of disband his company in a sad snowball of events. It was a sad time to be a fan of FEZ as it seemed the future and present of the game wasn't very clear. But as it turns out FEZ is getting a fresh update from it's original developer Renaud Bédard.

"Since I shipped FEZ 1.11 I had little intention of making additional fixes or features to the game because I simply don’t have the time with a kid and a fulltime job… and working on FEZ is getting old after 9 years. So I did want to address problems that people have with the game, but I don’t want to do it for the rest of my life. I had spent enough time away from the game that I was somewhat enthusiastic about coming back to it, especially if it’s at my pace, and that it’s my last time doing so.

So I didn’t announce anything, I didn’t announce a date, and I slowly chipped away at making this humongous update to FEZ. It’s been in beta-testing with an army of fans, speedrunners and friends since late January 2016 and over 120 bugs have been reported and fixed."

You can read Renaud's full post below for a ton more details than I can cover here as well as the full changelog. FEZ 1.2 is out now on Steam for PC, Mac and Linux and is being well received by fans. As with any new development some new bugs are being found and it seems Renaud is looking in to fixing some of them. FEZ is a special game and it makes me happy for it to get fixes for some of these issues that should give it a much longer lifespan. I consider FEZ one of those games that really should always be accessable so I hope Renaud can come back from time to time and make sure it's playable on modern systems. It's really cool that Renaud was able to find time for this and I want to thank him and Ethan Lee for making this happen in their free time.

http://theinstructionlimit.com/fez-1-12
http://theinstructionlimit.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Changelog.txt

I Completed Fez

I completed Fez on Mac after the Mac port came to Steam yesterday. The game plays beautifully and picks up my controller such that the game feels just as polished as the Windows version. Another rad feature is that Steam syncs your saves. I started the game on Windows and played it a bit on Linux and completed it on Mac.

You can unlock the final area with 32 cubes collected and I achieved that in about 6 hours of total play. I have many more cubes to collect and plan on doing that here and there over the next bit. The ending sequence was really interesting and I don't want to say much to spoil it but I will say that it was unique and thought provoking.

After you... Read All

Fez Is A Magical World Of Exploration

After news that Phil Fish decided to halt Fez 2 development, in a fit of angsty sorrow, I decided to play Fez for the first time. From the intro screen to the first swaths of gameplay and score, Fez is magic. So magical that if video games can be art, Fez pushes that discussion forward. How much higher praise can a game get than it gave me genuine feelings of joy and exploration?

I am not sure what I can say more about a game that was featured in Indie Game: The Movie as well as reviewed and Let's Played as much as Fez. The rotating camera gameplay coupled with gorgeous retro graphics are a delight. Each new area offers new rich visuals and the unique gameplay Phil... Read All

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 08/14/2013 at 03:16pm

I picked this up recently after having seen Indie Game: The Movie. It's one of the few games I keep Windows installed (although the settings hint at a Humble version soon). I have only just begun playing but in the first ten minutes alone, the game brought several spontaneous smiles to this cranky gamer's face.

Fez is another of those games where screenshots fail to accurately capture the magic occurring onscreen. They fail to capture the depth that is revealed when transitioning between 2D planes. Nor do they show off the amazing level design when platforms that seemed so far away take on new form when shifted 90 degrees.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/15/2013 at 12:00am

Yeah, great point. Occasionally i'll just spin the world to get the depth of things and how it all works together. The lighting of Fez is also really good and I think its usage of shadows in later levels is something I haven't really experience much of, even in triple A shooters.

gmlawton wrote on 08/25/2013 at 01:35am

The fake glitches at the beginning and end blew my mind. Fez really is something special. The meta-puzzles are way over my head, but to me that just adds to the feeling that something really big is going on in the world.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/25/2013 at 06:47am

Agreed. I came to the part with the obelisk that repeats back your controls and wrote those down. Took me forever to realize you have to do the codes from look at them from the right.

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Fez 2 Cancelled, Sadness Ensues

"It's with a heavy heart that we announce that FEZ II has been cancelled and is no longer in development. We apologize for the disappointment"

That wasn't something I had expected to hear this morning. But yeah, Fez 2 has been cancelled. It seems this has been brewing for sometime and recently came to a head for Phil Fish, creator of Fez. I don't want to outline the series of events here, there are plenty of gaming websites dedicating themselves to cataloging each bit of information. If you are interested in reading more, i'll provide a link.

That said, it seems Phil Fish is leaving gaming entirely and I find that sad. I saw Indie Game: The Movie and he seemed like a... Read All

Travis Admin wrote on 07/29/2013 at 02:38am

First of all, I'll say that I *really* hope he changes his mind. Fez is awesome, and I'd love more of it.

I'll also say that Marcus Beer seems like the last person I'd want to have a beer with.

I'll also say that criticism is far too rampant. He doesn't deserve at least half of what he gets. So I'm sad that I'm about to add some more...

Phil Fish's ego is incredibly fragile. This has been a problem for him since Fez was first shown. He can't handle any kind of criticism. There are some comments you ignore, and others you respond to, and when you respond you do so in a way that doesn't invite more trolling. With Phil it's just one shitstorm after another.

He went so far as to tell a man to kill himself, this is not how adults act, especially adults in the public eye.

That said, in general I'm sympathetic to him, and the reasons he and Blow were called out were ridiculous. Jonathan Blow, who's (correctly nor not) notorious for being arrogant, handled this very maturely. He made a dig at the absurdity of it without getting insulting, etc.

So come on Phil. We love your game, and we'd love to see more from you. Just stay off Twitter and let the other employee at Polytron handle the PR.

Travis Admin wrote on 07/29/2013 at 02:42am

I think a secondary point that may be as important is:

Game journalism sucks!

Seriously, the coverage from most outlets, and the original "journalism" that started this mess are a decent indicator of the problems in journalism.

Journalists asking "hey would you like to comment on this thing we don't know all the details about yet?" enough times for Fish and Blow to get annoyed shows this pretty well.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/29/2013 at 04:38pm

I agree with your point on game journalism lacking. Beer's entire rant was that Fish and Blow suck because they didn't respond to some XBox story in the way he wanted. It seemed for him that was a horrible situation that needed to be called out.

His priorities are messed up.

And I also agree with you about not calling for people to die in an argument. Lets all stay alive out there.

hardeyez wrote on 07/29/2013 at 11:52pm

I'd also have to add (having shipped several games myself), that you just have to toughen up. Someone always hates what you make, and you just hope someone else loves it. The worst thing possible is for people to not care at all.

And really, with every title I shipped, the external critics were *way* more tolerant than we were to our own creations. Shipping a game (shipping any product) is incredibly hard. It never meets your expectations, it's never what you had envisioned and could always be made better with a bit more tweaking. Shipping involves putting a stake in the ground and saying, "here's what we have" and releasing something good enough that a group of people will love it. It's painful. The compromises are painful to even get to that point. There's never enough time/money/resources to get it perfect, so you shoot for great and limit scope. There's always the goal you had in your head sticking around poking at you when you get the critique to start rolling in.

But, every dev I've known wants people to care about their creations and that means taking the hate along with the love...

Travis Admin wrote on 07/30/2013 at 02:42am

"Shipping involves putting a stake in the ground and saying, "here's what we have" and releasing something good enough that a group of people will love it."

I've heard it said that you never finish any creative work, you just know when it's the right time to send it out into the world.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 07/30/2013 at 04:07am

Good summary hardeyez. I think developing a thick skin is important.

After playing Fez quite a bit I can say that Fish really released a great game. I have found a few rotating game bugs where I end up dying, but since there is no negative for dying its not a huge deal. So, yeah they did ship with a few bugs and the game is on 1.0.7 and still have a few. Again, not a huge deal, the game is beautiful.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 08/01/2013 at 10:44pm

After watching "Indie Game: The Movie," I hope Phil got enough from sales of Fez to live the rest of his life in peace. The guy seems like he could really use it. In fact, I'm considering picking up a copy even if I can't play it.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 08/02/2013 at 12:52am

Fez is currently being ported to Mac and Linux as we speak by one of the dudes that does the Humble Bundle porting. So, you will be able to play it on your platform of choice.

My guess is that this is part of some future bundle, but we shall see :D

I decided do go ahead and play it on Windows and all I can say is WOW, the game is incredible.

beansmyname Supporter wrote on 08/02/2013 at 04:52am

That is great news. I wonder if the ports will be in Steam or standalone as has been the case with several of the Bundle titles. Either way, I'd be pleased just to play it.

I'm willing to take the chance it'll run under Wine. If it doesn't, I wait for the port or run it in Windows, which I'm going to have to install to play Saint's Row IV. Then, when it does appear in one of the Bundles, I allocate more to Child's Play.

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Fez Launches on Steam, GOG & Humble Store

Fez is now available on Steam, GOG and the Humble Store. Very interested in picking this up and trying it out. Are you interested in picking up Fez and if you have, how does it play on Windows?

The creator of Fez recommends you pick the game up on the Humble Store as they get more of a cut that way. Humble Store buy comes with a Steam key too, so win/win.

http://polytroncorporation.com/buy-fez
https://twitter.com/PHIL_FISH/status/329651376152006656

Travis Admin wrote on 05/03/2013 at 05:02pm

OK, Humble Store it is! I wish it had more platforms, but maybe soon. I definitely plan on picking this up this weekend.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/03/2013 at 05:07pm

Me too. I have been so busy this week haven't had time to get Fez much less play it! I imagine it will be ported to Mac and Linux soonish am just dropped it on PC soon.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/04/2013 at 03:20am

I picked this up on Steam, and had issues with crashing. Curious if you guys (anyone) are having similar issues.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/04/2013 at 05:44am

Where was it crashing? There are some people talking about starting it the first time with a lower resolution if it crashes on launch.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/04/2013 at 05:45am

Also I'm assuming you don't, but if you have Intel integrated video, you should try updating your drivers.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/04/2013 at 06:20am

It crashed a couple times right at the beginning, when you get your fez. I have a Radeon card. I'll give it a try with lower resolution, see if that helps.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/05/2013 at 03:30pm

So yeah this game is a bit buggy. I haven't had the launch crash, but it has other problems-- crashing frequently for no apparent reason, stuck animations that require restarting the game to get them moving, etc. I think I'm going to give them some time to work those bugs out first. It's too frustrating.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/05/2013 at 03:47pm

Maybe ill wait to buy it then.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/05/2013 at 06:01pm

This game has little history with bugs, so I'm not completely disappointed. They did this on the Xbox, and were good about fixing the bugs, eventually. Granted, it should be in a lot better shape than this at the onset, but it is only two guys developing.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/05/2013 at 07:02pm

True, but its been out for a bit now. But, it seems waiting might be a good thing here.

scrypt Supporter wrote on 05/06/2013 at 12:34am

Might as well.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/06/2013 at 02:13am

When in doubt, pause.

Travis Admin wrote on 05/06/2013 at 03:28am

Actually, they have already fixed the worst bugs apparently. There have already been 4 patches for the PC version since release.

jdodson Admin Post Author wrote on 05/06/2013 at 05:19am

Ill hold out for patch 16. That's my lucky number.

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Fez hits Steam May 1, OS X version planned

Probably fed up with XBLA; and spying a bright, shiny, Steam-Box-powered future; Fez is slated to come available on Steam with a Windows release in May. [Insert obligatory missed deadlines joke.] However considering XBox -> Windows port, it's probably not that much of a brainer, and wouldn't expect it to take terribly long, so May is probably pretty realistic.

In any case, being console-less, I'm excited to finally get to play this game.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/03/get-excited-brain-bending-platformer-fez-finally-coming-to-steam-and-os-x/