The Death Stranding creator wants to go to space to make games, but is also unhappy with the current state of big-budget games. Hideo Kojima is well known for sharing his opinions on game development, along with a desire to make unique titles that stray from mainstream genres, and while not everyone may be a fan, he does perhaps hit a proverbial nail on the head in regards to something many other gamers have commented on in recent years. How many have checked out a trailer, or demo, or played a game only to notice how its assets and/or textures look overwhelmingly familiar, or noticed a near identical story arc or character design, only to get bored and stop playing?
While game engines such as Unreal Engine vastly dominate the game developer ecosystem, there are various publishers who use their own in-house solutions, like EA’s Frostbite, Capcom’s RE Engine, Ubisoft’s Snowdrop, and Rockstar’s RAGE, to name a few, but it still comes down to the developer to create a unique vision with the tools they have on hand. However, similar to the dilemma a filmmaker may encounter as distributors and higher-ups force their own agenda into a project, developers of AAA games have faced publishers’ demands and sometimes must also deal with a studio’s internal decision-making processes, which can lead to a more homogenized-looking final product. However, regardless of the reason, the end result can end up being a game that’s more of a clone to which some will quickly identify and avoid. That being said, Kojima shared his thoughts about the current state of the gaming industry with SSENSE (via VGC), including how games shown at this year’s Summer Game Fest have essentially settled into a few overused backdrops, ranging from titles focused on fighting against aliens or medieval monster bashing.
“Even the visuals and the systems are pretty much the same, and a lot of people enjoy this, I understand, but it is important to put something really new in there for the industry.”
-Hideo Kojima
When asked if he plans to play Konami’s upcoming remake of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, a short reply of “No, I won’t” was all that was said on the matter. A not too surprising answer given that he hasn’t shown any real interest in returning to the franchise which helped launch his career, but Kojima Productions is working on its own action/espionage styled game. Another project is OD, which has had little revealed thus far. A few weeks back, Kojima seemed to borrow a page from Tom Cruise’s strategy book (the famed actor once said he wanted to be the first to film scenes in space), and said he’d like to go to outer space to be the first to make games there. Hideo shared the following (via The Guardian) at the Sydney Film Festival:
“I want to train properly, learn how to do the docking, go to the International Space Station and stay there for a few months … I’m not a scientist, but I could probably make games in space. I want to be the first. There are a lot of astronauts over 60, so I guess it’s possible.”
-Hideo Kojima
Kojima added, “It’s ‘Tom Cruise disease’,” and that “Tom Cruise finds out his worth when living with his life on the line.”