Hideo Kojima
Project Leader - Producer - Director
Gray font= Interviewer
White font= Kojima
Describe your initial concepts for the game?
I released Metal Gear for the MSX more than one decade ago, and I left out a lot of things that I would have liked to include. When the PlayStation came out with its specifications, I felt I could re-create the game so as to give the player incredible thrills, which could not have been achieved using the other system.
Who came up with the idea for a Metal Gear game on playstation?
The answer is me! It's easy to understand that when you display everything in a computer world in polygons, you are able to assume a character's persona. By taking on this role, you are introduced to many thrills and various levels of tension.
Did you initially want a 3D style, stealth-infiltration game, or did you want a graphically superior game that played the same as previous Metal Gear games?
Although I wanted to create something graphically superior, the most important aspect was to create and experience realism, which can only be achieved by this console. Another important element was whether or not visual reality is being achieved in the game. But as well as that, you as a player have to feel that you are actually there in Alaska. For me, the visuals of the game are just another aspect. If I wanted to do more visually, then I could have used rendering techniques or textures in a CG movie.
Do you feel as if you have achieved your initial objectives?
Probably around 80 percent of my objectives were achieved, and as for the other 20 percent, it just wasn't feasible on the hardware. For example, if Snake was to use a searchlight, with the current methods of light sourcing for the game, I feel the PlayStation would not have achieved satisfactory results. Technically, I probably could have done it, but it never would have come out the way I would have liked.
Do you feel as if you have retained the elements of the original that made it a classic?
Although the game is now 3D, the concept of the game has not been changed. But the reality of advancing through environments in a stealth manner has been retained. I didn't make this game into 3D using the idea that I had ten years ago. I created a game world that couldn't be expressed or achieved at the time, but now using this technology, it is at last possible. Of course, those who have played the MSX version will enjoy this Metal Gear, as will those who have yet to experience Metal Gear at all.
What percentage of the original players will play Metal Gear Solid?
As I look over the Internet, I can see a considerable number of people who wish to play. But I would say the majority of players would be those who have played the original. It's probably safe to say that a large percentage of the original players are definitely the most anxious to playMetal Gear Solid.
Once the project started, how soon did you manage to acquire your key team members?
The planning started about four-and-a-half years ago. About four years ago I was working on Policenauts and the initial plan was already there. There was a designer called Yoji Shinkawa, and at the time he was working on the design aspect of Metal Gear. But since I was so busy then, I didn't touch Metal Gear. I personally started gathering staff for Metal Gear in August 1996. Two years ago I had 10 staff members, 20 members last year and now currently 30 staff members are working on Metal Gear. In 1996, I brought over the Policenauts staff to work on the Metal Gear project. Prior to that, for one year, one programmer at Konami conducted polygon research for the game, because for the first time, we needed to show realistic motion in polygons. In addition, the polygon characters needed to interact with the game environment.
How did you go about selecting your team members?
The people in Japan called us the Kojima group. My location was in the Osaka area, and while we were creating Policenauts we would receive applicants, including general public and new gradutes of whom I thought would be beneficial for the company or myself. But this time we set up a company and selected those who wanted to create something really good. For example, Mr. Toyota and Shinkawa are old friends. Toyota got the job through Shinkawa
, but around one third of the staff was from friends of friends. For this project, we recruited many outsiders.
What kind of people did you have in mind for the Metal Gear team?
Of course, I will hire people that have passion, but the teamwork aspect of creators and the staff is much more important. Creativity is more important than experience. As far as hiring programmers, I don't mind selecting those who have not programmed before. I like a person who can think locigally and come up with ideas. By hiring those people, I let them learn along with the developement of Metal Gear. Speaking of the Metal Gear project, myself and Matsuhana and Uehara are theonly people who have experience and the rest of the team have not done anything before. But everything has gone well, because thanks to fresh thinking, we can make a great game.
Did you choose anyone from Konami's programming school?
Yes. A school student played an important role. This guy got this job last year. He designed a lot of the Metal Gear sounds himself. He did a great job.
Do you think that Konami's programming school is of benefit to Konami?
Yes, I think so. I would say that it is a mutual relationship since we are all creators and we get creatively stale if we don't work with the younger generations. Those kids from Konami's school are a stimulant to us.
As developement continued, did you draw any inspiration from other video games?
Although the direction of the game is different from Biohazard (The Mad Jackyl's note: when Kojima speaks of Biohazard here, he is referring to the Resident Evil game, because that is what the series is call in Japan.) or the Final Fantasy series, I was quite interested in those two games. However, I haven't developed Metal Gear in a rival capacity. But by looking at those game engines I was disappointed because I wanted to be the first person to do those types of things. While I was happily pondering the outcome of Metal Gear, using my own new techniques, the other games were already implementing these same techniques. Overall, we have solved every possible aspect of the engine that has been previously used, and I don't care about the other games - only Metal Gear.
Presumably, even if you see a feature in another game, you still have to work out how to do it yourself.
Well, yes. This can be said to any person working in a creative environment. It is really difficult to htink and create, but it's not that difficult to re-create after seeing something that is already developed. This can be said to any software developer. In Biohazard not everything is polygonal, and if I wanted to use that kind of approach in Metal Gear, the game itself would be different. So that was the direction that I didn't want to follow.
How long did the development take?
It's difficult to say, as I mentioned before, but four-and-a-half years ago the design started, planning and scenario were already created, so if you were talking about just the development, I would say around two-an-a-half years.
When you started, did you think it would take two years to complete?
Let me see. I thought it would be much quicker. I thought we could pull it off in one year.
What was the main reason it ended up taking three years?
First, we had to make the development tools. All the staff had to learn everything from the beginning since using existing tools would not achieve what I desired. So we had to create our own tools. We also made a tool for polygon editing, which took us half a year. We had to also teach the staff how to create the tools in the first place, and we had to deal with much trial and error. This process exhausted us! After finishing the game, we learned every aspect of making this kind of game, so producing a similar game would now be much easier.
How many staff members were utilized for the project?
About 30 people total toward the end of the game development, including rookies. Too many to e specific, but around six programmers, 10 designers, four motion capture guys and two or thre sound programmers. Plus, four guys that managed to get everything linked up and put it over the map.
Is it unusual for this kind of game to have so many designers?
It is not unusual at all. In the case of Konami, we have much less designers, compared to other developers who usually have about 50 to 100 designers. I think it is enough to have 15 to 20 designers. I think it is enough to have 15 to 20 designers. However, to make a game like Metal Gear, it takes time, so it is difficult to decide how any desingers we want to have as the initial stage. To be honest, to get the high quality, it is best to have fewer designers and then spend a larger amount of design time with what we've got.
Once the designers have finished their designing, do they have any other input into the development?
Well, until the end, for example, Shinkawa did the mechanical and character design, the he sent it to the 3D design team and constructed a map. Then we received those maps and then finally put it into the game. During the process, we always got undesirable results. Things like the door is not clear enough for the player to see or the thickness of the door is not what I wanted. So, in that case, we had to give feedback to the designers and re-create it. The process might look like it's smoothly flowing, but that's not always the case. However, everybody sticks together until the end of the game development.
Can you give one example of a major problem you encountered during the development of the game, and how you overcame it?
Well, let me see. For example, the game is very polygon intensive, so the rendering process is tedious. Of course, it is more interesting fot the player to have many different enemies in the game, but if you have a lot of enemies, is slows down the gameplay. The key was trying to find a balance in the gameplay. In Metal Gear, what we did was use different textures on the same models. In a particular scene, for example, containing five enemy characters, we used a 100-polygon character, then we mapped that character. When you see the first-person-perspective view, you can see that character really close to you. At this time, the character is made up of more polygons giving more detail, but, in contrast, when the character is further away, it's made up of fewer polygons. My job is getting those ideas working, and, of course, as it is of the programmers.
When did you come up with the names and look and feel of all the characters?
Whenever it comes to the design of a character, I usually write down details about what the character will be like. What kind of weapons, belongings, etc. After deciding everything, I usually hand it over to the designers. But, with Metal Gear Solid, I didn't have as much time, so there are some characters that I had little involvement in. After giving the characters to Shinkawa, he is a bit rebellious - he designed a totally different one! Especially the Otacon character: I wanted him to be heavier, wearing a cap, and programming while eating a chocolate bar! But he came out as a slender, smart character instead. It turned out to be good, though. Also, the ninja was not in the original concept, but Shinkawa had created the character by himself because he said it would be nice to have a ninja. Plus, it looked really cool, so I had to go into the scenario and try to incorporate it.
Tell us more about the influence for Metal Gear Solid. What books or films did you take inspiratinon from?
Everything I have ever seen including films, novels, cartoons, and animation influenced me.
Were there any films in particular?
A movie? Well, we went to see The Rock, maybe that's it. It was a lot of fun. For example, all of the staff like to watch movies, and they do so frequently, but my generation and their generation are kind of apart. For example, if I quote something like a Sam Pekinpah movie, the younger generation staff members do not understand it! I ha to spend more time explaining one particular movement in the game. I was definitely influenced by the movies, but novels also played a big part of my inspiration - especially adventure stories.
Japanese?
No. Foreigners like Jack Higgins, Desmond Dublin. I like sci-fi too. Basically, I like everything, including movies, TV and music. I don't watch or listen to many Japanese ones. I'm in that bracket. let me see. I watch a lot of movies but lately I don't have the time - about four movies per month. I used to watch videos at home every day. Mow I have a son at home, and he scolds me for doing it! But I do read about four to five books per month on the way to work.
Tell us more about Solid Snake. How does he differ from previous incarnations?
Solid Snake is totally different from the old one. I asked Shinkawa to create an older, hard-boiled, dandy character, but he said it's better to have a younger character. So Solid Snake became about 20 to 40. I asked him to make the charcter nimble and muscular, with the body like a Van Damme.
Like Jean Claude Van Damme?
Yeah, that's right, that kind of body movement and build, which give you the impression of weightlessness in his movement. Regarding the face of the ccharacter, I wanted it to be something like Christopher Walken. The result came out to be the one you will see in the game. It's not like a Schwarzenegger at all. He has to perform espionage, so I wanted the character to be like a cat but still have a strong presence.
In the game there are Solid Snake and Liquid Snake. What does the "Snake" term refer to?
Yeah, Snake is inspired by Snake Plisken. You know the movie by John Carpenter, Escape from New York? I like the film. I kind of drew from that character, because he's in the espionage business. It is Solid Snake rather than Smooth Snake.
How much development time was spent researching the weapons?
Let me see. Well, it was really hard work while we were developing the game.
We started weapon research when we started planning the game. While we were playing Policenauts we would come up with new ideas every day. Also from the resources of the Internet and newspapers. After going over those weapons, we went into more detailed research.
Were you able to experience shooting guns?
I went to the U.S. using the personal connection of an advisor named Mr. Mori. I then participated in SWAT practice and I also went to the Mojave desert where I could see a tank practice maneuvers conducted by the National Training Center. There I hopped on the M1 Abraham and the Bradley M2. I got inside and talked to the president of a tank company and also chatted with some military personnel. Of course, most of the equipment we idn't know how to use - especially the heavy weapons - so we went to a place and had a chance to shoot them.
How many people in total went to America?
Four of us. We took a lot of pictures of warehouses and tanks that were beneficial for creating textures in the game. After returning to Japan, we went to the military bases in Yokosuka and Yokohama. And, also, I attended every self-defense demonstration.
What was the role of Mr. Mori on the project?
Mr. Mori gave us expert advice on weapon systems, but the most important aspects he showed us was motion. We asked Mr. Mori to correct the stance of the characters in combat. Mr. Mori has written a novel, and he also gave us some ideas for the game, too.
Why the decision to go back and forth between stages?
If we had used a "stage clear" type of game, there would have been no thrilling feeling to it. Don't you think so? You go into an entrance but you cannot come back out. I wanted more freedom to make you feel like you are in a base in Alaska. By having more freedom in the game, it will be much more fun. You will get a great sense of suspense, which was myt real aim. As in shooting games, it's not like clearing each mission. I designed this game to have players enjoy and get a taste of each game world.
What military stealth techniques are actually in use and which did you make up?
Half were real and the other half were fake, but around twenty-five percent imaginary. However, it's not form fantasy, it is based on reality.
How important was Mr. Mori's advice in preventing the made-up portion from becoming too unrealistic?
There are not many aspect of the game that are too unrealistic. I think Mr. Mori though about it, but he also has a taste for the entertainment industry, so he didn't think of the game as being too realistic. For example, when Snake enters a room with his gun, the barrel is pointing at the ceiling, which is in fact technically incorrect.
Are all tanks and stealth helicopter based on real-life counterparts?
Regarding the modeling of the tanks, we actually went to see them and also we made various kinds of plastic models. Weapon wise, two-thirds are real, and one-third unreal. For example, the remote-control missile: Although in real life a larger version exists, there in so version as small as this one.
Did you include the fictional weapons because you wanted to do something exciting in the game, or because you needed that weapon's capability for the scenario?
Yes, I made those to increase the enjoyment, because this time the game environment is in 3D. I tried to make the game world much more enjoyable. For example, you can zoom in on any object using binoculars and remote-control missiles, and also without moving the camera to zoom in on some area to knock down enemies using the sniper rifle from a large distance. Those are the elements neccessary for making the game enjoyable.
Earlier versions of the game featured CG cut scenes. When and why were those replaced by real-time sequences?
From the beginning, I wanted it to be in realtime, with full polygon. Regarding the CG part, we had to put something together to show for promotional purposes. It wasn't that we switched from CG to polygon. CG scense were released just to enable us to show someting with images of the game when we had no polygon material to show from the actual game. It is very popular to put CG movies into games from a sales point of view.
Were you under pressure to put CG movies into your game as well?
I didn't think much of it. However, people around me were persistent about it. I personally like to shoot movies and edit those movies as well, but there are several reason why I did the game with polygons. Firstly, the environment quality will be different between the one you see in the game and the CG. It would be all right to have smooth surfaces, but I tried to get rid of the transition betwen the two different sytles of environmetns. Also, I wanted this game to be seamless. There was not reason to use the labor time and programming for the transition between game and CG. I wanted the game world to be ported to the demo party smoothly. But to tell you the truth, I wanted to make a movie, because the Hollywood CG is great, but that would have restricted the gameplay if I had spent the time creating that level of CG. It takes a lot of manpower just to do the movie part, which would be difficult, and then there was an idea of assigning a production comany to do the job, but I didn't like it. It is the most delicious part of the game, so I wanted to do it myself. Also, the reason I wanted to do a polygon demo was that by using find CG such as realistic hair flowing, I felt that visual representation of the game would suffer. although in the game the faces of the characters should be polygonal, I wanted to express those in a correct yet perfect way, because some user think that when the camera is close up on the faces of the charcters, it might look pixely. But those things go away as you play along, and I tried to make it atmospheric rather than graphically superior.
What are your opinions on the hardware?
When it first came out, I was pleased with it, but I wish it could handle more polygons. So far the PlayStation is the best at handling polygons, and it does make me want to do more.
Did you design MGS with hardware in mind?
In my case, I first planned and then tried to divide into parts what the programmers could either do or not do. I planned the game to be as flexible as possible, so in the event that something unexpected occurred, I could manage to deal with it.
Are there any custom tools you used yourself?
Let me see. There is one for mouth movement, which analyzed the wave data of voices, and then the tool would create the correct movements of the lips. The MGS tool advances day by day, so next time you ask me, it will be changed!
What is a typical day like for you, during the time you worked on MGS?
I would get up at 6 a.m., leave home at 7 a.m. and arrive at work at 7:30 a.m. After arriving, I spend 30 minutes to check my e-mail, then I attend a meeting at 8 a.m. This meeting is a digital conference connecting all over Japan. The meeting is about company strategy, such as which kind of game we are going to work on. The meeting usually take up 1 hour, and from 9 a.m. there is the management level meeting and then at 10 a.m., the development staff start to appear at the company. From 10 a.m. we have meetings for MGS and I spend most the time in the morning on meetings and scenario writing. From mid afternoon, I would spend time on writing scenarios and maps, try to adjust the games until 10 p.m. I get back home at 11 p.m. and my son will be sleeping So, it's off to bed before the start of another day.
Is that just from Monday to Friday?
Weekends, too. If I don't show up, I get scolded! Of couse, I get time off to spend with my family, but none the less, when the time is really crucial and I am busy, my wife and son come to the office and play games or play with Lego blocks right next to me. With my job, personally, I can do better on weekends.
Do you have a bed in the office as well?
At the company, there is a Japanese-style room, but I usually go back home. Mostly, the job as a creator starts from the early evening and I have to do some documentation, write settlement schedules, meet with somebody, produce other projects and so on. I usually do this in the morning.
This is quite a departure from Policenauts. Was it easy to transfer your abilities to this sort of project?
Well, everything has gone quite well. Ultimately, what we create is the same thing. Here, the player is in one particular world, and this time Snake's player will experience the life of Snake, as compared to Jonathan in Policenauts. It depends on how you express it, whether in action or adventure. This time the reason I chose an action game is that I can really hit it off well with these types of games. I like the unique parts of actions games, like when you press a button, the character will jump, which also implies direct interactivity. I consider this highly important.
What portions of the game are you technically impressed with?
The polygon demo. The demo is calculated in real time, so I am proud of the technical achievements in the part. I fyou compare this with a CG movie, it would be worse in visual quality, but when you consider future development on different hardware, I could use that technology to expand into different directions. So, there is criticism of the polygon demos, but I don't think I made any mistake choosing it. Think about it: if the gameplay and CG parts are really completely seperate elements, then the experience wouldn't be as real. Hopefully, people should understand my intentions.
Do you think that with the Dreamcast you will now have an environment, where real-time scenes will be as good as CG movies?
Yes, should we adopt this system. There will be no need for making a movie. Although the movie may have to use actual film to create specific effects, it will still remain in the future, but it will depend on how you use it. But with the current way of inserting CG movies into a game, then it will be unnecessary. In real time, if you can produce that many polygons which also create the images without rendering available, then game players who get impatient will not notice the difference between the CG and the gameplay.
What are the differences between the Japansese and American versions of the game, aside from the translation?
There are definitely differences, but that is a secret!
Are there problem areas that you have been forced to fix?
There are differences between the two audiences that need to be addressed. I fixed certain areas in the game in order for players in the States to enjoy it. Currently in Japan, many casual gamers have purchased alot of PlayStation titles, so we need to make it easier for the majority user base. The American version will be a little harder to play. [Editor's note: The U.S. version has different difficulty levels, and the EASY mode is equivalent to the Japanese version. The other levels are NORMAL, HARD, and EXTREME.]
Will you release this again in Japan as an international version?
The American version is really good. I wanted to release it in Japan, but I am not sure yet. Currently we are working on the American version, and when I first saw it, I thought it sounded better with English voices.
Do you think that the American version is better than the Japanese version?
Let me see. The American version was developed after the Japanese version, although we're concurrently working on both versions, but mostly the staff working on the Japanese version moved over to work on the American version. Fine-tuning was made possible in the American version.
What new director techniques have you learned while developing MGS that could be carried over to a sequel?
The production team consists of a group of people, so it is the same as the movie production business. One has to try and be blessed with a good team and now that the MGS job is finished, I try to retain the experience of those staff that worked on the project.
Why has a lot of your work after the original Metal Gear appeared on the PC?
That's because I worked for the MSX and personal computer division. I joined Konami because I wanted to create arcade and Famicom games, but I was told to join the MSX and personal computer division. I was disappointed, but it was a good experience for me since I could develop the software package specifically for the personal computers. If I had joined the arcade division, I would be creating different games.
Would ou like to make a PC game again?
Yeah, I think so. I came from that divison and I would love to make games for personal computers. I like all the PC games from the U.S.
How does a PC differ from a PlayStation?
In Japan there are a lot of casual game players, so it is different from America. For example, looking back on an old game, I remember how much I enjoyed the fact that there were specific game genres, such as the player being able to perform surgery in the game. But after the PlayStation became dominant in the market, all the game development direction went towards the genre where players just timely press buttons - the shallow game became dominant. I like th games where you sit down and relax and work on it. That's why I like PC games.
How did you join the world of video games?
I initially wanted to create a movie, but it's difficult to get involved because the Japanese movie industry is very traditional. That's why I wrote a novel. My intentions were to go the route where your novel becomes famous and is then made into a film. I was hoping for that. When I was a university student, the Famicom came out and I played it, and spent a lot time on Super Mario, and as I played along, I started to think that I could do something I wanted to express in game form. So I went around to game companies and then I got an offer.
What are the key elements to being an excellent video game producer?
I am often asked that question. Of course, the passion and the potential talent as a creator must first exist. Even if you have talent, you have to keep studying plus you've got to have energy to implement your ideas. You always have to do your best and create things from scratch. So that is why the basic common quality for being a creator is the same as those who create movies and cartoons. Plus, the game industry is based on interactivity; you can't just be an artist. People call us craftsmen. Craftsmen have to be concerned with both looks and practicality. The game sits in the middle of these two concepts. Although it is artistic, it has to be accessible as well. It's like a car. If the design is appreciated by lots of people, then it will be artistic. We have to be able to make the car functional as well. The difference between other creeators is that you can put your own idea while thinking about the users.
Have you played any games that you feel are similar in concept?
I rarely find time to play games. I'm thinking about playing games after I finish all my jobs. I want to especially play N64's Goldeneye. SInce I get 3D sickness from playing 3D games, I cannot finish the first-stage bungee jump! But people have told me that the game is really well mad, so I want to play it. Metal Gear is sort of like 007, and since I grew up watching 007 movies, I have always enjoyed the charming, tuxedo-wearing, Cold War spy.
What types of hardware research did the team undertake before programming got underway?
FIrst of all, we tried to display in polygons, which was three years ago. Thre years ago there was no game that used full polygons. I tried to work on this and tried to make it happen. At the time, I created a 50-polygon soldier, and then got a light effect, but I was just experementing. It was in 2D, but I was just a bit scared of the outcome when I made it in 3D. There was a time when everybody got excited when we managed to move a 3D character. When the character was noticed by an enemy character, the eyes would sparkle. But since then, several games have come out such as Biohazard, so the concept is not as new as it was before.
What kind of cooperation did you get when researching the military aspects of teh game?
We never received any, since Shinkawa and Hirano, including me, liked that sort of thing. The things we didn't udnerstand we could ask Mr. Mori. Mori showed me a variety of things including the classified item only seen in a SWAT team. He also had documents against terrorism that cannot be revealed in public. Since he is an instructor, after we had seen those, he asked me not to use them in the game.
Did you visit anywhere in Japan to get ideas for the buildings and places in the game?
Yes I did. For example, Yokosuka Base, Yokota Base and the radar room on the battleship of the Self Defense Forces. The rest, such as warehouses, are everywhere.
Is it difficult to take videos and photographs in such military-sensitive areas?
No. There are places we can shoot the videos and photographs. But, of course, there are places that do not allow this to happen. So we got the staff to take the shot of restricted areas secretly. But we couldn't get permission to do so at other places that I really wanted to see.
How did you come up with the title, Metal Gear Solid?
"Metal Gear" is as it is, and "Solid" has a deep meaning. Let me explain. This time Metal Gear is displayed in full polygonal form, and I used "Solid" to describe the cubic structure. also, the "Solid" means to the third power mathematically. Also, most of the people don't know that there is a Metal Gear 1 and 2 for the MSX, and I wanted it to be the sequel for those. And, of course, Solid from Solid Snake.
MGS uses almost every button on the controller. Were you worried that you wouldn't have enough buttons?
I didn't want the game control to be too complex. Because it is an action game, I wanted it to be intuitive. In RPGs, you press a button and a window opens and you can choose an item. But I wanted to avoid this. Just one click activates some action. As a result, we ended up using every button on the controller, but once you get used to it, then it will be convenient. However, I do thik there are too many button with current controllers, making the gameplay dificult. Eventually I would like to see a voice recognition controller to make things easier.
How difficult is it to balance the realism of espionage with a game simple enough for everyone to enjoy playing?
It's difficult. The opponent soldiers aren't clever, are they? That was intentional. Initially I made the soldiers really clever, but you couldn't escape from them, so I made it that when the soldier is not alert you can sneak up behind him. Of course, even a real spy, I believe, couldn't sneak in that easily. But in the case of a game, I have to make it playable, so I placed much emphasis on the gameplay. The player can smoothly sneak and alos it would be difficult to create the sense of suspense or fear. Players cannot simply shoot their way through - they need to use stealth, avoiding enemies at most times, I want to know that when they get killed they will have to re-think their strategies. I worry about the people that don't know MGS, because they will probably die on the first stage trying to face each enemy every single time. The game will be similar to Rambo if they force themselves into the next level without thinking. In that case, there will be no feeling of tension or adventure. So in the beginning of the game, I created something like when you would have to wait for an escalator longer than usual.
Many players give up when they cannot get into the game quickly. What did you have to do to help the players get used to this different kind of gameplay?
At the Tokyo Game SHow, I asked the staff to explain the game to the players, but most the players still improperly forced themselves into enemy lines. At the time, the staff told them that the game was a stealth game, so they were told to play it accordingly. The players would finally follow the advice of the staff. At the time, if they noticed the enjoyment of the game, then we had accomplished what we had set out to do.
Is Metal Gear Solid a difficult type of game to promot?
Yes, especially because it is the kind of game where you have to hide. This is a game where you understand the concept after playing it. It's even difficult to portray it properly if we broadcast or show it in a video. This is especially difficult in a magazine media. If we are to show it in pictures, a game such as Biohazard will be more visually pleasing.
Did you set any special AI (Artificial Intelligience) for the enemy characters?
Yes, we spent a lot of time from the very beginning. They might look stupid, but they do many clever things!
Do the guard think independently, or are they working together?
Things like yawning, that is data. I mad it in order to be more understandable to users. Once the player memorizes the patrol route, the player can perform their tactics. Ragarding this point, the guards can be said to be stupid. However, if they find you or you make some noise, they react to it intelligiently. This part is AI intensive.
Did you get any advice from an AI specialist?
The routine I made the first time was really intensive. If I emphasized thinking routines, then the AI would be really heavy. I could have made superior ones, but to make it work within the game, id depends on where you fit it in. We have to make it really smart, although we take some of the programming out of it. It is a very difficult task to make if possible in real time. It all depends on the idea.
When you are designing the building and locations, which is performed first: is it the image of the actions, or is it what you want to perform there?
It depends on the initial planning, but this time we are pursuing reality in the game. although we create a map and give it to the designers, we still interact together, and make changes to the maps. We created a test map, then a container fell down from the side, and it was a big mistake, so we went to purchase a demo block and tried to re-create the map that was suitable for the changes. Since the designer creates everything, the result will always be influenced by them.
Do you have a message for your American audience of gamers?
This is the game created by Japanese, but without being caught by the idea. I want them to enjoy the game. After playing the game I would be happy to hear that they would think that this is a Japanese game. My generation has been influenced by American stuff such as music, books and especially movies and television. when I was a kid, when I turned on the TV, programs such as Bewitched and I Dream of Genie wre broadcast on prime time. I used to watch those, so American refrigerators are huge and people keep dogs, with beautiful gardens, and husbands kiss their wives. I have absorbed American culture through TV and publications, so that kind of person added some Japanese essence to the game, which resulted in Metal Gear Solid. I want American players to enjoy the game.
Thank you, Mr. Kojima
*All above interview is courtesy of the Millenium Metal Gear Solid Official Mission Handbook in association with KCE Japan Copyright&C 1998 and believed to be of public domain.*