MGS Creator Says "Next Level" Of Gaming Not Possible With Current Technology

[Andy Chalk]

MGS Creator Says "Next Level" Of Gaming Not Possible With Current Technology

Metal Gear [http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/metal-gear-series] mastermind Hideo Kojima says the "next level" of gaming can't be reached with the current generation of gaming technology.

In an interview with the BBC program Click [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm], Kojima claimed that the future of gaming doesn't lie with improvements in graphics and audio quality, but rather in immersive gameplay elements that may not be immediately apparent to gamers. "We will keep on making games for consoles and the graphics and sound quality will get better and better," he said. "But I think no matter how much we improve the quality, there is only so much we can hear or see."

"The next level will be when we start improving the backgrounds, the things you don't instantly see but enhance the experience," he continued. "For example, there are leaves in the background and when you water them they grow. Instead of the backgrounds being pre-programmed, they actually respond to what a player does. This is not possible right now but maybe in the future it will be, and that is when we will have entered the next era of gaming."

Kojima has numerous game credits to his name but is best known for the Metal Gear franchise, which first launched in 1987 and has continued over the years through various iterations, leading to the most recent release, backtracked [http://www.konami.jp/mgs4/en/] on those comments somewhat, saying in May that he will remain involved in the franchise, albeit it most likely in a "scaled back" role.



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[sammyfreak]

The creator of MGS should be locked up in an asylum for claiming that gaming needs more detailed backgrounds...

 

[Jumplion]

What about the foreground hmmm? Isn't that where most of the action takes place? jeez, nobody gives the foreground a chance.

 

[Skrapt]

The creator of MGS should be locked up in an asylum for claiming that gaming needs more detailed backgrounds...

You know he's right, right? Foreground detail has almost gotten to the height of what you can achieve based on current 3d rendering techniques and there aren't many new directions to go unless you count being able to read the scraps of newspaper floating around in the trash in Half Life 2. Immersion is what made Bioshock so great, wouldn't have been so interesting if when you looking out of the windows you saw a flat building staring back at you, instead you have a city with walkways, neon lights, fish and the occasional whale.

Actual game play again hasn't got as many places to go as it did 10 years ago, so you have to start looking at what you can do to improve that gaming experience. Immersion, better graphics, better AI, more lifelike animations are what people do, as I've said graphics are about as good as they are going to get with current 3d rendering techniques, animations are again about as good as they are going to get with motion capture. Ok AI still needs a hell of a lot of work but immersion is much easier then a competent AI, I wouldn't describe increased immersion as 'the next level' of gaming, but it's certainly a step in that direction.

 

[Stammer]

I wonder how many years it will be before gaming becomes so outrageously high-tech that every little thing you do affects the game differently. Like he said, watering plants and then coming back later to see that they've grown. Or for another example, killing one bad guy and then later on in the game having another one say "You killed my brother! Die, scum!" At which point you would have the option of killing him, or helping him overcome his sadness.

Maybe through your actions, show the "final boss" a bunch of things that would change his mind and turn his life around. Doing all sorts of good for the world and having him realize that not everything is as bad as it should be.

When a game becomes this in-depth it will be actually "virtual reality", even if we're still using controllers, keyboards, and mouses. Imagine how awesome and immersive a game like that would be.

PS: I know the plural for the animal is "mice", but I've always referred to the hardware plural as "mouses".

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

I also think Kojima is talking about it being "Dynamic" - having detailed background without having to pre-script every single thing that will happen (i.e. give everyone a vengeful family and make plants have the ability to grow) - Mass Effect is the last game that tried to do that, and it sure as hell didn't fall flat on it's face but it didn't meet it's own expectations (what a surprise!) either, it's trying to do it with ME2 also but I also think Bioware will shoot too far past it's budget.

I think Naturalmotion Euphoria [http://www.naturalmotion.com/euphoria.htm] physics engine is pretty good, but only GTA IV and Force Unleashed are able to use it right now. Still, that takes all the ragdoll business out of the way, Cryengine and Tech5 make it easy to build a huge open map in a few hours, etc. etc. - so with this games will be able to progress without having the people designing it have a nervous breakdown at work, and won't force the company to charge 100 dollars for a game (and I bet in Australia it would be 150 because the games industry hate's you guys for whatever reason).

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

I'd rather see an fps game that actual has good human lifelike ai for a change, something other then basic stuff like "take cover and shoot". People that feel fear, have personality, can't shoot at you from behind a bush perfectly accurate, people afraid to actually get out of cover when pinned..etc. Alot of games have tried, but I'd rather see that then the everlasting focus on graphics or these plants that grow in the background..

 

[m_jim]

I was a bit taken aback when I read that the future of gaming is a leaf-watering simulator. Graphics are approaching the uncanny valley, but I think that the revolution will be in terms of input (a la Wii or Rock Band), rather than output (i.e. nifty graphics or realistic, but ultimately pointless, details).

 

[stompy]

I don't agree. I believe that the future of gaming should be going towards better story and gameplay, refining what we have, but also focusing on things like better AI, better narrative, smoother and easier-to-use controls... and yes, I'm a raving madman.

 

[ElArabDeMagnifico]

I don't agree. I believe that the future of gaming should be going towards better story and gameplay, refining what we have, but also focusing on things like better AI, better narrative, smoother and easier-to-use controls... and yes, I'm a raving madman.

We're always working on that - those are the basic things you need for games, so we work on it and refine what we have. what I think Kojima means by "bigger background" isn't "bigger maps with more resource sucking power" - but "more background" - I think the plant example is just fine, and hell with games like Fallout we should know that having a world with a lot of focus on what happens in the background and not what happens just around you and only you (of course you push the Narrative forward).

We're always working on controls, story, gameplay, etc. etc. - the basic stuff - but without more resources it will be really hard to get to that "developer's dream game" - Mass Effect wanted to try and make it to where your actions affected an entire universe but in the end it was either "do you want renegade or paragon points?" - no one came for revenge, the council may have bitched at you, but overall choic had little to do with the majority of the game (of course choice did have a lot to do with it but since I say "Majority" for a, 50 hour game, you get the point), only in about 5 areas did it matter (and then "special" choices...) - now if Mass Effect had some kind of engine or program that affected how the AI reacts to your moral choices and not just to the physics around them, it could probably put "better story and gameplay" and it will have less tedious work on the creators part - it was easy to do in the "Fallout" age, games weren't so tough so experienced developers could experiment all they want, but now costs are through the roof and games are getting even more realistic (intentional or unintentionally).

I't easy to say "make story and gameplay better" - that's the obvious stuff and the main focus of every game made (or at least either one), but I think Kojima is trying to say that the way games are now it's going to be harder to achieve that "developers dream" with the technology we have - and with people's demands this generation it's no surprise that developers are really trying hard to innovate.

 

[shatnershaman]

How about instead of growing leaves (uber fun time!) make the games more fun.

 

[Dommyboy]

The MGS games story line is always mad house shit anyway. Next year with the Nehalem CPU it will be impossible not to be able to have good enough technology for gaming. But graphics are really minor compared to game play. Super Mario 64, Donkey Kong 64 and the Banjo Kazooie games were outstandingly perfect, if they want a good game, bring them out again with done up graphics.

 

[shatnershaman]

Next year with the Nehalem CPU it will be impossible not to be able to have good enough technology for gaming.

Nothing is enough when it comes to gaming though.