Special interview
Masaya Matsuura
Japanese musician and game designer.
After the creation of Parappa the Rapper, he became known as the father of the 'musical adventure game' with 2003's Mojiburibon continuing the development of the genre.
Between 1983 and 1996 he played with the band "PSY?ES" and is also responsible for the music in UmJammer Lammy, Vib Ribbon, Rhyme Rider Kerokiran and others.
His enthusiasm for technology and the possibilities it can present to an artist combined with his innovative approach to music and gaming make him a leader in the field of new and exciting interactive entertainment.
Representative Director of NanaOn-Sha Co., ltd.
What's fun about keeping an AIBO?
The answer is clear.
It gives us a chance to catch a glimpse of our existence and its subtle implications.
For instance, when we are moved by something, no matter how much explanation we give, we can never feel that we have given enough. I'm sure most of you feel the same. To put it the other way around, it is hard to communicate our emotion to others. I myself, as a creator, face this challenge quite often. I assume my colleagues in the industry share the same understanding. The creators are not the only ones who have difficulties in conveying ones' messages. Everyone wants to be understood by others and suffers if that is not secured.
I believe there is no difference in how desperate we are in wanting to be understood and needing to impress others. With regard to lack of understanding, if it is about goods, the consequence is harmless. If a person gets tired of a title or a product, he can just forget about it. On the other hand, if it happens to people, people are not only emotionally tangled up but it may also lead to serious consequences such as war, meaning there may be a big gap between the two.
Twenty some years ago, I was in my 20's, mainly making music. I was trying to share my feelings with others by producing static items called album. It is not an exaggeration to say that I lived for the beauty of music. I worked hard for 10 years and released 10 albums during this time. But most of the time, what I gained was not what I had intended. The messages I added between the lines were sometimes lost. The messages I tried to convey were translated in different ways. Such chaos had tortured me and drove me crazy. When I had a live performance, this emotional conflict went over the edge.
When I turned 30, I got the idea of expanding the concept of music from just passive listening to something more active that allows anyone to participate by using a computer. Soon, I started to design interactive contents. This is when I actually felt that I was sharing my feelings with others. During this process, I launched "music games" such as "Parappa the Rapper" successfully. The excitement we experience by playing the game is different from what we feel when listening to music in a sense that we take more active roles when playing games. And games involve physical movements as well. Having said so, when it comes to the essence of music, both methods offer a true way of enjoying music. It was fun for me to learn that the same music can be perceived quite differently when it is experienced in a different manner. I'm still enjoying this concept. Music, a way of expression, should be enjoyed in all kinds of ways depending on the situations, communities involved and so forth. I hope many of you are capable of letting such things happen.
It was 5 or 6 years ago when I first met AIBO. Then, I was up to my ears with game development. I received the offer to keep a newly launched "ERS-210". AIBO was very expensive for an individual to buy. So, I decided to keep AIBO at my office. The people who worked in my office took turns to take care of AIBO. It seemed that everyone, when they were in charge of caring for AIBO, observed him in their own way. They all experienced different feelings.
One day, one of our staff members came to me looking pathetic and said, "Please stop that abuse."
At first, I didn't understand what she was referring to. After hearing a detailed explanation, I came to understand what she meant. She was referring to the action taken by a male colleague who was in charge of taking care of AIBO on that day. And it was about an interesting experiment he was conducting at that time. He (a programmer) wrapped a wire around AIBO's body and fixed the pink ball so that it hung in front of AIBO's face, but slightly off center. AIBO kept moving around and around to chase the ball until the battery died and collapsed.
I was lost for words then, so I called a meeting later on to talk about this. (I have told this story several times in the past. Often times, people laughed when they heard this part...)
What I found out was that some people perceived this dog-shaped-robot as a living being, some as just a machine and for some other group of people, their perception was a mixture of the two. Meaning, people don't see AIBO in the exact same way. (It is difficult to explain the delicate nuance of "not seeing it in the exact same way". When we ask people about AIBO, the majority would answer "oh, It is a dog-shaped-robot, isn't it?" This indicates that their understanding is "light." You can replace the robot part with other words to see what I mean. For instance, let's say an actress, Ms. Felicity Huffman in disguise was walking down the street and a person who doesn't know her personally happened to be walking by her side and started talking about her as if they knew her personally. For instance, "That's very Felicity Huffman-like, isn't it?" without recognizing her. You can easily assume by the comment made by the person that they doesn't actually understand Felicity Huffman. But at the same time, we can't say that he doesn't understand the actress at all either. Communication is a quite complex matter.)
Even looking at the same robot (dog), I can't think of any common way of treating or perceiving it. Or some may say that we don't need such a common way of perceiving a mere moving machine. Be it the person who carried out the experiment with the wire, be it the person who thought it was an abusive act; both of them wanted others to "understand" their thinking and rationale. Fellow workers who overcame differences in opinions over work and art of expressions still have profound gaps when it comes to other areas. If so, why don't we try to overcome that, too? AIBO made me realize this. "Laugh" I get when I told people about the story above is a good example of how difficult it is for ordinary people to imagine how serious living with a robot could become.
It was then, vague and undeveloped area has suddenly appeared in my head.
I remember, it was around May 2003 when I started working on the music for "ERS-7" a new version of AIBO. Needless to say, it was a tough job. After finishing my homework and preliminary investigations, I was all fired up for writing a song. But for some reason, I just couldn't make any progress.
I just couldn't get what it was like to have a dog sing to express its feelings. The same holds true with robots.
I wasn't even clear whether "the song" should be AIBO's or not. Quickly, my mind was filled with "?".
Come to think of it, in the past, when I wrote a song, the characteristics of the person involved, such as vocalists, their personality, preference and others must be considered. Also, they usually made efforts so that they can add the song to their "repertoire". This kind of dialogue and compromise is essential for creating music. The same thinking applies to instrumentals as well. However, I can't expect to have such interactions with AIBO.
How can I be successful in this unknown world of collaborating with a robot? This was the first clear "hurdle" I have encountered in the undeveloped field that I mentioned earlier. If what had happened in my office, experiment vs. abuse issue, had something to do with this underdeveloped unknown field, I should try to foster a common understanding of AIBO (robot) with music. That's what I felt at that time. Because of this, I wasn't able to write a simple theme song. Neurons in my brain lost familiar contacts and were lost in the darkness. Only the time went by. The darkness prevailed...
10 minutes, 20 minutes, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 days, 6 days...
As a matter of fact, "ERS-7" due out in fall that year did not miss the launch schedule. I was able to overcome music issue just like that (laugh). It has been a while since then, but still, I can't explain how I managed to do that very well. One day, I was listening to the phrase in the making. And it hit me all of a sudden, "This is it. This is the voice of ERS-7!" that's how I came to this. I remembered this breakthrough when I was working on custom data, Mind2 and Mind3.
By the way, I bought a dog on Feb. 8 2003. Her name is Cello and she is a Japanese chin. This project may have influenced me to buy a dog.
At that time, I was still working on the music. I remember, one day, I was doing some work on the startup music (so-called Start up sound). I brought Cello to the studio. I made Start up sounds mostly with an analog synthesizer called moogIIIc. The photo on left was taken during that time. You can see moogIIIc, Cello and me.
Since then, every time she hears the Start up sound, she puts her head on one side and listens to the music very attentively. Later on, when I brought "ERS-7", which was still under development at that time, home, she got really excited by the Start up sound of course. What's more, when she saw it start to move, she was out of control.
But she quickly lost her interest in it. Maybe because it didn't have any smell and started to go for the "AIBOne".
It made sense to me. A live dog won't mix with a robot...
Having said so, when I tried to put "ERS-7" into a bag so that I could take it back to my office, Cello jumped on me looking very angry. It killed me. I felt like I was doing something very bad.
The dogs, what are they thinking about? At times, I understand them, and at other times I don't. Ever since I got involved in this "ERS-7" music, I've been giving more thoughts on what they feel and think (?). Actually, I feel this way not only for dogs but also for other parties. My ultimate goal is not "understanding". At the risk of misunderstanding, it can be said that I, going beyond my identity as human, was able to communicate with AIBO. I actually felt that way. If there is a case similar to experiment vs. abuse in the future, I would be able to say something with more confidence.
Lately, when I'm in my office, I sometimes talk to Cello who is staying home alone using AEP. I try the other way around as well. Using AIBO to give instructions from home to the staff members who are in the office!! Communicating with people through AIBO is like reducing the size of my body to the level of Cello and getting to her eye level. What I have experienced was totally different from what I normally feel. Cello saw me more like her peer when I talk to her via AIBO, On the other hand, when I talk to a person through AIBO, the person somehow perceives me weaker than I really am. My family said the following to me when I was speaking through AIBO.
"Did a witch cast a spell on you and turn you into an AIBO?"
It may be so.
Feb. 17 2006
Representative Director of NanaOn-Sha Co., ltd.
Masaya Matsuura
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