Hideo Kojima Talks Past Decisions and how Gaming will Reflect a Variety of Media
Hailed as one of the greatest minds in the Video Game Industry, Hideo Kojima delivers his personal thoughts on the state of gaming. Speaking to Radio 1 Newsbeat at Tokyo, the legendary game creator answered several questions about expanding the scope of games. While currently in production of PlayStation 4 exclusive Death Stranding, his answers regarding that were bare minimum. Instead, he expressed his outlook, past decisions, and a little bit of method to his madness.
First off, Kojima mentioned that he operates on a certain premise, saying “games, novels and films will ‘merge into one type of entertainment’.” Hitherto, he’s fashioned all his games around compelling stories, as the fan will be aware.
“More and more people are looking at types of media that combine elements together […] [Death Stranding] is not like anything they’ve played before.”
Since Kojima’s hell-bent on innovating games and delivering a cinematic experience every step of the way, we contemplate what he means when he says Death Stranding will be different. We are left no choice but to wait with baited breath while the game’s facets remain a mystery.
On Sexualized Women
Since the gaming industry is no stranger to sexualizing women or the occasional misogyny, neither is Kojima. Among controversies of over-sexualization, Kojima took heat for his Metal Gear V character, Quiet. Thus, he felt compelled to explain the decision behind her appearance, as well as his overall thoughts:
“If I make characters that at first glance might look like this then they’ll have a deep background story to give a specific reason why.”
Quiet now represents a beloved character from the Metal Gear franchise, with an elaborate backstory unraveled over the course of Phantom Pain. For those who don’t know, her slightly nude appearance was derived by her body’s uncanny reliance on photosynthesis.
“What I really want to avoid is, like you see in some games, characters with big breasts with no back story.”
A method for madness if there ever was any.
On Virtual Reality
“I don’t think many titles are taking advantage of the potential of VR,” Kojima stated. While he’s gone on record saying he could make good use of VR, better than what is currently out there, he’s withheld his ideas for fear of being copied. He did have this to say, however:
“It has the potential to bring emotions that people haven’t experienced before, when playing a game or watching a movie.”
We are unlikely to learn anything more about Kojima’s ideas for VR until complete development of Death Stranding.
On Sequels
No two experiences can be the same. While certain titles like Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, and others might saturate the industry with sameness, repetition is not an option for Kojima. Hence, his work on past titles, current titles, and future games are all about variation in conjunction with innovation. “We want it so [that] every time someone plays one of our games they’re getting a new experience,” were his exact words.
As for right now, well, we can only wait for the next big name. Kojima’s Death Stranding won’t hit any shelves until 2018 at the earliest. We’ll keep you posted as more information comes along. Happy gaming.