New Hideo Kojima interview in OPS2 (UK) #59
Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:25 pm
OPS2 have just done an interview with Kojima, which raises questions about his "raw" game idea, MGS4 and how he feels about Raiden's reception. Worth a read for some interesting answers.
I was gonna scan this, but there's too much footnotes and unfunny bollocks that will piss off fellow fans. So i'll just start with the questions.
"OPS2- If you had to boil down MGS3 to one section that represented your vision for the game, what would it be?
Hideo- When Snake is battling his enemies in the Jungle. Look around and you will see frogs leaping, birds flying and fish swimming. Everything abounds with life. There is no other game which gives you this sense of wrongness, because the animals are getting on with living while the humans are killing each other.
OPS2- You previously told us you wanted to make a 'raw' game, where if the player dies then the actual game self-destructs. Is this still something you would like to do?
Hideo- Yes, some day. I included some simular elements in MGS3. You know, I think the whole concept of 'continues' in games is totally outdated and unnecessary on home consoles. It all came from arcade games, where you throw in a coin where the game ends. I don't want to imprint children with the idea of virtual worlds where you can just play and die with infinite lives. Even if it is a virtual world, I want people to value their own lives. In that sense, a 'raw' game would be perfect.
OPS2- We've always loved the playful moments in the MGS series, like the way the food rots if you leave it in the new game. What can we expect on the next generation of hardware?
Hideo- Most games only let you play using the TV and a controller. But I think the experience also includes the packaging, the room you're in and everything else. In one of my games, Snatcher, there's a sequence where you have to pump up the volume of your TV. I'd like to include more things like this in my future games.
OPS2- You must have guessed the inclusion of Raiden in MGS2 was going to cause a stink? Did you enjoy poking fun at Raikov in MGS3?
Hideo- The masterplan with MGS2 was to take MGS1, destroy everything and rebuild it from the ground up. That was the concept and it was why I introduced Raiden - this pure, white, empty character - instead of Solid Snake. I guess it was like M Night Shymalan's approach with 'The Village'. Raiden was actually quite popular in Japan and Korea, but people in the United States and Europe weren't big fans. That's why I put the mask of Raiden and the character of Raikov into MGS3. So people who like Raiden can wear the mask throughoutthe game, but the people who hate him can beat the hell out of Raikov! At the beginning of MGS3, if you select the dialouge that says, "I like MGS2 very much" then you will start out wearing the Raiden mask. I really wanted European gamers to do that and say "Oh my god, not again..."
OPS2- Were you disappointed that people in the West hated Raiden? We thought it was a great twist, but people didn't get the joke...
Hideo- I put my career on the line with Raiden! [laughs] I did it to entertain people, by totally destroying what I had built up, earned and achieved with MGS1. I really wanted people to be amused by that, but they started bashing him and I guess I wasn't happy. But I shouldn't be saying that... It's for the fans to judge.
OPS2- We understand that you only directed MetalGear because nobody else was brave enough to take it on. Now that you're moving away from the series, what do you think the new director, Ken-Ichiro Imaizumi, will bring to MGS4?
Hideo- I want to keep a distance from MGS4... [laughs] I will still be involved, as will Yoji Shinkawa, and the team that has been making the series for the last ten years. But, as I said before with the Zone of the Enders series: even if you have the same recipe or the same ingredients, if you have a different chef, the meal will be prepared differently. That's what I'm hoping for. We have a great recipe and great ingredients and I'm sure this new chef will maintain the goodness of the MGS meal [at this point everyone looks at Mr Imaizumi who makes a terrified face]. But you probably won't find so much wasabi in MGS4."
I was gonna scan this, but there's too much footnotes and unfunny bollocks that will piss off fellow fans. So i'll just start with the questions.
"OPS2- If you had to boil down MGS3 to one section that represented your vision for the game, what would it be?
Hideo- When Snake is battling his enemies in the Jungle. Look around and you will see frogs leaping, birds flying and fish swimming. Everything abounds with life. There is no other game which gives you this sense of wrongness, because the animals are getting on with living while the humans are killing each other.
OPS2- You previously told us you wanted to make a 'raw' game, where if the player dies then the actual game self-destructs. Is this still something you would like to do?
Hideo- Yes, some day. I included some simular elements in MGS3. You know, I think the whole concept of 'continues' in games is totally outdated and unnecessary on home consoles. It all came from arcade games, where you throw in a coin where the game ends. I don't want to imprint children with the idea of virtual worlds where you can just play and die with infinite lives. Even if it is a virtual world, I want people to value their own lives. In that sense, a 'raw' game would be perfect.
OPS2- We've always loved the playful moments in the MGS series, like the way the food rots if you leave it in the new game. What can we expect on the next generation of hardware?
Hideo- Most games only let you play using the TV and a controller. But I think the experience also includes the packaging, the room you're in and everything else. In one of my games, Snatcher, there's a sequence where you have to pump up the volume of your TV. I'd like to include more things like this in my future games.
OPS2- You must have guessed the inclusion of Raiden in MGS2 was going to cause a stink? Did you enjoy poking fun at Raikov in MGS3?
Hideo- The masterplan with MGS2 was to take MGS1, destroy everything and rebuild it from the ground up. That was the concept and it was why I introduced Raiden - this pure, white, empty character - instead of Solid Snake. I guess it was like M Night Shymalan's approach with 'The Village'. Raiden was actually quite popular in Japan and Korea, but people in the United States and Europe weren't big fans. That's why I put the mask of Raiden and the character of Raikov into MGS3. So people who like Raiden can wear the mask throughoutthe game, but the people who hate him can beat the hell out of Raikov! At the beginning of MGS3, if you select the dialouge that says, "I like MGS2 very much" then you will start out wearing the Raiden mask. I really wanted European gamers to do that and say "Oh my god, not again..."
OPS2- Were you disappointed that people in the West hated Raiden? We thought it was a great twist, but people didn't get the joke...
Hideo- I put my career on the line with Raiden! [laughs] I did it to entertain people, by totally destroying what I had built up, earned and achieved with MGS1. I really wanted people to be amused by that, but they started bashing him and I guess I wasn't happy. But I shouldn't be saying that... It's for the fans to judge.
OPS2- We understand that you only directed MetalGear because nobody else was brave enough to take it on. Now that you're moving away from the series, what do you think the new director, Ken-Ichiro Imaizumi, will bring to MGS4?
Hideo- I want to keep a distance from MGS4... [laughs] I will still be involved, as will Yoji Shinkawa, and the team that has been making the series for the last ten years. But, as I said before with the Zone of the Enders series: even if you have the same recipe or the same ingredients, if you have a different chef, the meal will be prepared differently. That's what I'm hoping for. We have a great recipe and great ingredients and I'm sure this new chef will maintain the goodness of the MGS meal [at this point everyone looks at Mr Imaizumi who makes a terrified face]. But you probably won't find so much wasabi in MGS4."