If you play Gran Turismo, you must watch Kaz.
My first introduction to video games was on the PlayStation One. It was 1998. My mum got it for us for Christmas. At least I think it was Christmas. Well it certainly felt like Christmas as we sampled the the demo disc that came with the game. I still remember the games on the demo disc. Gran Turismo, Tekken 3 and Crash Bandicoot. I think there was a fourth game. But I forget the name. I only remember the hero in that game was voiced by Phil Hartman (Yes, I am an old kid).
Anyway, my fate could have been different had we chosen a Nintendo 64 as our first console. But as luck would have it, we ignorantly chose the PlayStation. Maybe because it looked cooler? Who knows. We chose it and it imprinted on us from then on. We've been fans of the PlayStation for as long as our teenage careers.
One game that stuck out to was Gran Turismo. The demo alone was so damn good, we had to get the full game. And wow were we hooked. Gran Turismo is unlike any other racing at the time. For a 32bit system, the level of details the developers managed to squeeze out of the PlayStation for the Gran Turismo franchise gave pause when considering that the Nintendo 64 was actually a physically superior console. The game was a TON of fun. We were simply addicted. We spent time building up our cars and customizing them just to race them. It was a true labour of love. The amount of time and effort invested should have been shameful considering that it was just a game. And that was made it so AWESOME! It was a really really good game. The ridiculously detailed game physics for each car, was truly convincing.
Gran Turismo has become such a massive franchise. And honestly that should come as no surprise to anyone. The game is the perfect racing game. It is objectively perfect. Is got lots of cars. Hands down the best and most realistic gameplay graphics for any racing game. A physics engine so accurate that it has actually bred actual race car drivers. I mean sometimes I wonder if Xbox's Fortza fans are in denial or simply lack the ability to see.
For all its awesomeness, nothing quite blows me away like the fact that the maker of this mind blowing game, is also a badass race car driver. And no, he wasn't a professional race car driver initially. I mean the guy was hired by Sony to design games. He was just passionate about racing. So he set out to create a realistic racing game. He actually learned to race cars from his own game. Isn't that awesome? For those of you that don't know, his name is Kazunori Yamauchi (Kaz for short).
Kaz is a documentary about this unassuming badass and his awesome racing game. Please watch it! Even if you are a Fortza fan, watch it and understand what you are missing. If you are an ambitious mind, watch it and see what a person who's realizing his ambition looks like. Kaz is a 90+ minutes of inspiration and awesomeness Souffle.
You can watch it for free in glorious HD on Hulu or view it now at https://www.reelhouse.org/granturismo/kaz/kazpushingthevirtualdivide
