This year, E3 did without Death Stranding , But not without her creator Hideo Kodzima – simply, instead of showing the game, he decided to bargain with T -shirts and covers for phones. It would seem that nothing remarkable, only now the Japanese game designer was still in the spotlight – they spoke about his product on the Internet almost more than some projects with E3 itself.
Although in recent years they have been difficult for Kojima, now he is almost the main star of the gaming industry, and Death Stranding is perhaps the most intriguing project. And although almost nothing is known about him, it is attracted by the “boom” created around: eminent actors in the main roles, cooperation with Sony , Scandals with Konami and the new Hideo-san status as a "martyr".
Many have a completely logical question: why so? Why kojima is so special? We will talk about this, only we will start completely from afar, from the very beginning. After all, Hideo-san's creative path was really remarkable.
ATTENTION! The text contains spoilers for games of the series Metal Gear. Who did not hide, we are not to blame!
The beginning of the path
The future game designer was born in Tokyo, August 24, 1964, in the family of two respected practitioners. Soon, however, the family moved to a small city in another part of the island. Which, perhaps, determined the future of Hideo.
Parents were always busy, and his new place of residence, unlike the noisy Tokyo, gave certain freedom. Little Cozym was left to his own, rushed through the streets and got into troubles: either he got off the angry dogs, then he was drowned in the rivers. However, the main hobby of the kid was not a search for problems, but cinema and books.
It was at watching foreign films and reading Hideo who ran away from the real world and loneliness. And when the parents had time, they arranged the film offender (this tradition, by the way, Hideo himself still observes and watches at least one film per day). Moreover, the Japanese raised their son scrupulous in a variety of adults of foreign paintings. So grew Hideo-san on Western militants, detectives, western, science fiction and even horror.
Hideo Kojima with his idol, Robert de Niro.
By his work, this is not difficult to notice, because the same solid Snape is a collective image of the characters from several films at once, starting with "Escape from New York" and ending " Deer hunter " with Robert de Niro (it was from there Hideo-san “borrowed” the bandana worn by the heroes of the Metal Gear Solid series). And in general, there are many references in the works of Kodzima: for example, to Roland Emmerich and the works of Stanley Kubrick.
Kodzima always emphasized his love for cinema. Moreover, a huge number of some stories, scenes, dialogs and details, he borrowed from there.
Perhaps this is how the main dream of the future game designer was born – to become a film director. And at first, the Japanese walked confidently to her, playing out the scenes in front of the mirror and removing short films on a 8-mm camera. Unfortunately, cinema in Japan even now – the lesson is not the most profitable and simple, so over time Kojima realized that he was unlikely to get to his dream.
And then he switched to more affordable hobbies – he began to write stories and draw. The young Japanese thought that it was the successes in the literary field that would become his ticket in a big movie, as Sylvester Stallone once came to success with his script for the film Rocky.
Moreover, the hobby was so serious that Hideo even sent several of his stories to different magazines – however, to no avail. Over time, the Japanese also had to discard this idea, especially since after the death of his father, the encirclement of the future game designer insisted that Hideo receive a “normal profession”, and not the most pleasant example of an uncle, who was an artist and barely reduced the horizon, ends meet.
For many fans of Kojima, it is worth saying thanks to his mother, who, even if she did not understand the ideas of his son, but supported him in everything and always. Even after years, she continues to do this: for example, at seventy years she passed Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Although this took her a little more than a year.
As a result, Kodzima entered the economic and even studied four courses. Only now everything has changed with the advent of Famicom in his life (or Nes, as it was nicknamed in the West). After that, another favorite pastime was added to literature and cinema – games.
The hobby, however, originated in childhood, with Pong And Space Invaders on slot machines, but precisely after the appearance of Nes and Super Mario Bros. Hideo-san firmly decided that he wanted to make games. After all, in them he saw the scope for self -expression: the opportunity not only to combine the strengths of literature, cinema and art, but also to interact with the audience, to allow it to influence the process, to participate in the adventure and play the situation unique for each player. So since the path to cinema turned out to be unrealistic, maybe to break into the young and such promising industry will be even easier?
Although Kodzima never became film director, in the world of the cinema he was nevertheless recognized as “his own” (in the pictures of Hideo with directors Nile Blomkamp and J. J. Abrams). Over the past twenty years, he played several small roles, like a bandit in the film Azumi 2003, and also made many friends in this area, including Guillermo del Toro and even now the sisters of Vachovsky.
Although all friends then twisted a finger at the temple (the profession of a developer was considered too premature), Kojima nevertheless made a bold decision and joined Konami in 1986, which then engaged in games for the platform MSX. So Hideo parted with his dream to become a film director, but stepped on the path, perhaps even more interesting.
Raises and falls
At first, his business in Konami, however, went not so good. Kojima had scarce skills of a programmer, besides, he lacked experience with such things as a game balance. So his first steps in a new role turned into failures. As assistant director Hideo made a lot of mistakes, his first independent project Lost Warld __ (such a combination of words World and War, although, according to another version, the project was still called The Lost World) was completely closed, and the future star was even fired.
And yet the Japanese received another chance when he was asked to make a "modern action movie". In the process of Kodzim, I still ran into difficulties and even wanted to leave the project, quitting everything, but, fortunately, Konami director persuaded him to continue his work. And in 1987 he came out Metal Gear -Real hit and ancestor of the Stlax Excel genre.
Already in this game, the majority of things appeared, for which the fans will later love Metal Gear Solid: taking hostages for the purpose of interrogation, and conversations by walkie -talkie unique to each location, and even such chips as the “demolition” of the fourth wall: when the chief of the main the hero and, as it turned out later, the main villain turned directly to the player and demanded to turn off the console.
The foundations of the future universe were also laid here here. The plot talked about how the protagonist named Solid Snake went to the state of Outer Heaven mercenaries in order to destroy weapons of mass defeat called Metal Gear. And along the way he not only learned about the plans of the villains, but also talked with the characters, and also became a victim of betrayal – his boss named Big Boss. And although the story was woven from a variety of cinema stamps, for games in 1987, such a scenario was considered outstanding.
However, the most important thing, it was in Metal Gear that Stlas debuted – the main "feature" of the entire series. Hideo also borrowed this idea from the cinema: after watching the film "Big Escape" He wondered: what if it were possible to recreate the scene of Steve McCain from the Nazi camp, only in the form of a game? So, in fact, Snake learned to evade opponents, avoiding armed clashes.
This, however, was dictated by other factors. Firstly, the MSX2 computer, for which the project was originally developed, was not very suitable for spectacular battles. I had to come up with a new combat system based on hide and seek. Secondly, the education of Kojima contributed. His parents were doctors, and also found nuclear explosions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. So Hideo's violence sought to avoid even in games, and the plot was twisted around the confrontation with nuclear weapons.
The first Metal Gear was a real breakthrough, and its creator at once turned from a nuclear-nuclear unit into an ascending star. Having left in 1987 on MSX2, the game has achieved success in Japan and Europe, and a year later appeared in the USA in the version for NES. And since then, Kojimu was no longer stopped.
So legends are born
True, for some time he was not going to continue the series, but instead he took up a curious, but still not the most successful visual short story Snatcher In the style of Cyberpank. And later more than once was distracted by a variety of projects, like a cosmic adventure Policenauts or "robotic" action Zone of the enders. But the real success of Kodzima was still inextricably linked with the best soldier in the world under the call sign Snape, so the game designer still had to continue the series.
Although the other games of Kojima are bad to call the language, they rarely recall them.
TO Metal Gear 2 He was prompted by a random meeting on a train with a colleague who turned out to be a fan of the first part and, moreover, the developer of the sequel Metal Gear. Communication with him was so inspired by Hideo that the gamemerator immediately set about the “real” continuation. As a result, two of them came out at once: one from Kodzima, for the Japanese market, the other from third -party developers for the West. And it is logical that it was the creation of Hideo that went down in history, developing the already interesting ideas of the first part.
In it, Kojima advanced in all directions: he taught the Snake to crawl and sneak, added new gadgets, like a radar, complicated a system of anxiety and conversations on a codec, and more importantly, made enemies more vigilant and sensitive. They now knew how to look around and even respond to sounds, went not only in a straight line. The script has become more complicated: with the advent of some philosophy, as well as the deepening of the world of the game.
So the project, invented almost by chance, turned into an even more loud success (though, outside Japan, the sequel appeared only after many years). In the future, it’s funny, the desire to “stop” and not to make the game of the Metal Gear series will become a kind of kodzima chip. He will try to leave after the third part, and then after the fourth, each time saying that this Metal Gear Solid is certainly the last. But constantly something kept him.
The same first Metal Gear Solid was born under the impression of the capabilities of Sony PlayStation (although the project was originally held as Metal Gear 3 for the 3DO platform), because it offered a full-fledged 3D and a chance to create a truly cinematographic adventure, about which Kojima dreamed all his life. And this chance did not miss-the debut MGS really became the first one of the way a blockbuster game, relying not only on the gameplay, but also on directing.
In the process, however, Kojima and his team experienced many difficulties – the transition from two -dimensional space to the full 3D was especially difficult. Prototypes of gaming levels had to be collected using Lego, as the tools suitable for this at that time simply did not exist. But the brilliance team – Metal Gear Solid, overcame its problems, albeit, in fact, the three -dimensional remake of Metal Gear 2, made a deafening effect on the players. And Hideo Kojimu now, without any discounts, could be called a real star – to recognize and love him not only in Japan, but also far beyond its borders.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty For PlayStation 2, this success has only developed. Moreover, this time Kodzima was torn off in full: he invited the Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Wilems, even more complicated the script, and also allowed himself several very bold solutions. The game designer changed the main characters on the go (which greatly disappointed the fans of Solid Snape), did not hesitate to frankly confuse players and affect almost all possible topics from politics to memes (which again not everyone appreciated). Yes, and Stlas-Hampley became truly deep, up to the point that enemies could smell the main character.
In the second part of the fans there were many surprises, and not always pleasant. So, the story seems overly confusing and abstruse to many, and someone still cannot forgive Kojimu for the fact that the main character Sons of Liberty was not Solid Snape, but a young Raiden.
The second MGS has become one of the most highly appreciated in history, now and then flickering in the most diverse lists of “best games of all time”. Even Hideo’s mother, even if she supported him, only after the success of the second part ceased to lie to friends about what her son is doing. Well, the army of Metal Gear Solid fans grew so much that the series became a real phenomenon. And thereby locked her creator in a kind of “trap”-no matter how Hideo-san wanted to end the story on the second part (despite the open finale) and do something else, he was still forced to do the third. Fortunately.
Boss-big-boss
It is Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater still the best creation of Kojima. In it, he decided on experiments and distanced from the first two parts as much as he could.
Firstly, unexpectedly for all MGS 3 turned out to be a prequel, talking about the times of the Cold War (and openly flirted with Bondiana, which Kojima always adored), and the sandbox offered almost a “sandbox” to replace the tight corridors. What included open spaces and survival in the jungle with the need to eat in time, bandage wounds (each individually) and, of course, hide from numerous opponents.
Although there were a lot of interesting ideas in Snake Eater, the main thing is that it was forever remembered by the fans of the series, is history. Unlike previous games, the third part rushed into a frank kitsch: there were Russian colonels who shoot lightning and enemies who control bees, and tons of the selected “cranberries”.
But all this fit very organically into the chosen setting, and most importantly, against the background of this circus, a beautiful and tragic story of a woman under the pseudonym Boss and her student, Neikida Snake, unfolded. Which, as it turned out literally at the very end, under the influence of these events in the future will become the main villain of the franchise – Big Boss.
It would seem that such a loud final in the style of “I am your father!»I would perfectly fit as the end of the series, but here it was not possible to leave the world Kodzima – fans and publisher demanded a fourth part, and now he did not want to give" exactly the final of history "to the end of history. So in Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots He tried to close all the topics, shove all possible characters, “posted” the clock scenes and even eared by the main character. Well, so that he was probably dead and the story could not continue. Only now with all this Kojima was somewhat overwhelmed.
Yes, the fourth part received excellent ratings, and it was good with the game, but later many fans, and Hideo-san himself will repeatedly critically speak about the shortcomings of Guns of the Patriots. So, the MGS 4 came too close to the movie-the project was ten hours of KAT scenes and the same is the same of the same gameplay that it did not really allow you to really feel the game. At the same time, many videos were excessively stretched (after all, an hour and a half-this is too much!) and frankly tired. The script also suffered, in which too much was seen sewn white threads. But the series on that seemed to be finished, and in general it ended beautifully.
Divorce in Japanese
As we now know, after some time the portable parts of Metal Gear Solid, like PEACE Walker , And Metal Gear Solid V , and even "paid demo" Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes. For some time, the gamed-designer tried to distract from the series and, together with his friend, Guillermo Del Toro took up Silent Hills , However, the final of this story for fans of horror and Kojima himself was a tragic.
What the result would be Silent Hills, we, unfortunately, will never know. But free demo p.T. showed that the project had a giant potential.
It is still not known what exactly caused the discord, but by the end of the development of MGS V, Konzima’s relationship with the Konami leadership has seriously deteriorated. The long -awaited Silent Hills was closed, Kojimu himself was fired, and Metal Gear Solid V came out a good but incomplete game. Yes, there was an interesting and variable stealth explosion in the "sandbox", where it was possible to experiment and go through it as it pleased. Only now it seemed in places that whole pieces were pulled out of history, and after some time many tasks began to simply repeat themselves. Apparently because they simply did not have time to do something new.
Announced MGS V with pathos, having given out for another project, and there were many different news around the game, real and fictional. After all this show, the drama right before the release was a real surprise.
Given that the end of the development really came out problematic and full of scandals, all this is not at all surprising. At some point, from the boxes with Metal Gear Solid V, the name of the game designer disappeared, and rumors went about Kojisim that he was completely locked in some room and did not let them see the team. At the same time, some Japanese media reported that the atmosphere in Konami was greatly deteriorated. Until the fact that the employees followed the cameras-suddenly, God forbid, someone spent five minutes more during lunch.
Only now, it's funny, all these events were not at all reduced by the army of fans of Hideo. On the contrary, as a result, he, like an offense from "Star Wars" , "He became stronger than could be imagined".
Genius's handwriting
However, this whole track record, albeit impressive, still does not explain why Kojima calls the genius so many people. After all, nevertheless, revolutions in genres, and good stories and flirting with cinema allowed themselves relatively many, but only Kojima achieved such success. So why is the Japanese game designer so distinguished among the rest? Where did he get this cult status?
It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question, but, it seems to us, the reason is Hideo-san’s thrust to experiments and to do everything “not like everything”. He loves to realize different mechanics bypassing the usual way of things, even if it means that playing will become inconvenient. Or use non-standard techniques to disclose history: for example, provide the opportunity to change angles during the KAT scenes. And he also loves to demolish the fourth wall, right in the game, discussing some conventions.
In the fourth part, for example, a partner of the protagonist at some point could say that it was time to insert a second disk, to which Snape himself answered with a calm voice: they say, the game is for the PlayStation 3 and no second disc is already needed. Or the same Snake could have a dream with memories from the past, and these memories were a level from the very first part of Metal Gear Solid with the same design of the 90s and angular graphics.
One of the bosses of the first Metal Gear Solid Psycho Mantis pretended to read the player's thoughts. He talked about what games we took place before (analyzed the conservation on the console), predicted our actions (watched what buttons the players pressed), “broke” the player’s console and even controlled the gamepad for us (using vibration). And the elderly sniper The End from the third part could simply die from old age if the game was turned off during a fight with it and did not launch for a long time.
Although this battle would be even insulting – the sniper hid in the jungle and arranged a real hunt for the player. He had to look for him among the foliage, hide himself and attack from behind. And all this is at a spacious level. So the battle with The End is still considered one of the best in the history of games.
A separate topic – how the familiar, seemingly gaming elements and conventions were already habitual, were already beaten here. The main character could slip on a bird litter and break, the enemies detected a Snake if he lit a cigarette, or even could smell him by smell, and his hungry hero of the third part shook his hands during aiming. Even the escape from prison in the very first MGS could be arranged very original. All that was needed is to pour ketchup on the floor, and then lie down on top and pretend to be dead. The guard was conducted!
A separate topic – how developers tied a certain functionality for conversations in a walkie -talkie. For example, the same preservations. It was not enough for the player to just go to the menu and press the Save button – you need to contact one of the mission curators and ask to record the game, and each preservation was accompanied by a unique dialogue. In the third part, for example, Snake in a joking manner discussed a variety of films with his partner. And such conversations created a special atmosphere.
What else likes Kojima is to intrigue and flirt with the players, leaving them only riddles and images instead of specifics. Here are just one example.
Having called the authorities at some point, you can hear their comments on almost any topic, and most often they are tied to a specific game situation. In the second part, for example, at a certain moment, the player got the opportunity to discern the underwear of one of the heroines or was under the “successful” time -to -the -basis of the hourly floor above. And if you think of contacting the authorities in these situations, then in response you can hear a lot of sharp jokes.
And, of course, what has always been great in Metal Gear Solid, it is attention to details and variability. As such, there was no non -linearity here, but many gameplay problems could be solved by many ways, from hide and seek in a cardboard box (these boxes, by the way, became a kind of symbol of the game!) and the arrangements of traps before shooting by tranquilizers and distracting maneuvers, like a magazine left on the ground Play Boy. And although close levels interfered in the first parts of the creative flight, it was still interesting to experiment to experiment.
In a quiet whirlpool ..
However, despite all his talent, it is still impossible to call Hideo Coidzim a positive character and genius. At least, according to the many rumors, who now and then pop up here and there.
So, the actor of the voice acting David Hater, who gave Solid his voice his voice, more than once complained about the not quite ethical attitude of the gameplay towards other employees. Some did not even fall into the credits, despite the fact that the name of Kodzima itself can be seen already on the cover, and in the game it appears more than once or twice! And Jeremy Blaushtein (was responsible for the excellent localization of the first MGS) accused the game designer of inability to recognize mistakes, adequately perceive criticism and complained to the totalitarian control style of the Japanese.
In addition, some argue that it was Kodzima who took the Konami leadership so much that they made every effort to get rid of it as soon as possible. Say, the cause of disagreements was the unfounded expenses of the game designer and its unwillingness to work on the project. For example, the same Kififer Suserland, whom Hideo invited to voice Big Boss, asked for so much money that the budget has grown, and the number of replicas of the protagonist had to be reduced to a minimum. Yes, and Kojima himself, according to the same rumors, was too carried away by Silent Hills and simply did not want to continue to work on MGS V. And it is for this reason that the talented Japanese was locked in the room-to force him to at least somehow finish the long-suffering project.
Is it true all this, we are unlikely to find out in the near future. Well, relying entirely on rumors – not that a grateful occupation. But there is a claim to Cozym and without this, more reasonable. So, for example, many consider his scenarios not just overvalued, but, to put it mildly, delusional and mediocre. And the plots of Hideo are really ambiguous things.
Yes, his games were always famous for raising many philosophical topics, and the characters often had interesting characters and remembered. But at the same time, Kojima often made controversial decisions, resorted to “creative borrowing” from the cinema, dragging almost entire scenes, sometimes not very competently diluted serious topics with something ridiculous, and sometimes even rolled up into outright nonsense.
Many images and scenario decisions of Kojima to the Western player may seem wild. Well, or something brilliant.
So, in the scenarios of Kodzima, one could often see very strange moments: amputated, and then sewn by other people, hands here were able to capture the mind, terrorists could try to kill the hero, so that at the end it suddenly became clear that they, it turns out, was very needed alive. Deadly viruses almost disappeared after contact with another deadly virus in a time. Some facts from one part contradicted the events of another. And almost half of the plot holes of the fourth MGS was explained by just one word: “Nanomashins”.
From all this, a serious, it would seem, the atmosphere often disappeared, leaving the Circus Shapito. The heroes just discussed important political topics, philosophized and found out difficult relationships, as a strange and even stupid character, struggling with diarrhea, has already appeared on the screen. And all this, of course, is accompanied by bare buttocks and corresponding sounds. It will probably be funny to someone, but someone will seem strange and somewhat inappropriate for someone.
And this is all Kodzima, who has been managing to call completely opposite emotions for years now.
Thrown ashore
Yes, people are different about Kojima: many consider it a genius, someone is a narcissistic and overestimated character. But be that as it may, the fact remains: after more than thirty years of his career, Hideo Kojima became a real legend. And the answers to all questions regarding his overvaluation, I want to believe, give Death Stranding – the new project of the Japanese, which the game designer himself considers his greatest creation.
Now, after a painful gap with Konami, the quarry of Kojima seems to have gone up the mountain. Having become a “martyr” in the eyes of the public, he not only received the support of millions of people around the world and patronage by Sony, but also the opportunity to do what he had long dreamed of is something new, without “Metal Gear” in the name. And most importantly, with complete creative freedom. So from Death Stranding it can be obtained by both a masterpiece and something completely awkward.
While in Konami recent months of work have been for Kojima torture, his new office is a real dream. Moreover, everything is designed there so that the team is easier to communicate and feel part of the team.
Already now, when nothing is known about the project, the head is dizzy from the ambitions. He attracted the most famous actors, like Norman Ridus or Mads Mikkelsen (they say that Idris Elba, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds are “standing” next in line). And in the press he already managed to say a lot of loud words, calling Death Stranding something that we "have never seen". Almost a real revolution.
Is it so for now it is only to guess – information about the project is quite vague. It is known that it will be an action in the open world and with network elements, and it will be released no later than 2019. Even Death Stranding will have some kind of revolutionary “thread system” that binds all around, the variability of the passage, several playable characters of different sexes, as well as the ability to configure the hero’s appearance, drive vehicles and furs. And of course, there will be a traditionally twisted plot and such a tricky idea at the basis that the same Mads Mikkelsen did not understand anything from the explanations of the game designer.
However, the lack of information about the Hideo-san project compensated for the hype raised around him. Almost the whole world watched how Kodzima was fighting with Konami, how it works on a new office and represents the talisman-mask of the studio-the astronaut Ludens with the eyes of Norman Ridus. In the news, information about the cooperation of Hideo with Sony and with Guerrilla Games , who literally gave the Japanese their engine so that he could finally create a project of his dreams.
And I really want to believe that this time he will definitely succeed. Moreover, the news is only optimistic. According to Sean Leiden, one of the main people in the Sony game unit, there are already working prototypes Death Stranding, and all promises about the revolutionary project – “even more than the truth”.
Although the disputes about the “genius” of Kodzima are still relevant, Hideo-san himself is in the best position in many years. The scandal with Konami turned into his favor, the audience loves the Japanese, and on free breads and under the auspices of Sony he had the opportunity to do almost everything that the soul wants. For example, sell the same shirts on E3.
And it is unlikely that something will change to Death Stranding, and we will wait for it with great impatience. And it is not so important than he will end up: a failure or masterpiece. The project will be significant in any case. If only because it will allow (hoping!) finally answer the question: what kind of person is this, Hideo Kojima?..