Kojima: I'm Jealous I Didn't Think of Breaking Bad

[Pink Gregory]

Think most of you might be putting words in his mouth. Kojima doesn't seem like he's actually bitter, and I'm not sure where anyone's getting that impression from. Just an interesting bit of fluff regarding what he is currently enjoying and appreciating.

Plus, y'know, translation.

Also, why is it that I should be frowned upon for unironically enjoying Metal Gear, precisely *because* it's quite silly?

 

[Buckshaft]

"You can make a lot of money selling crystalmeth."
"CRYSTALMETH?!?!"

 

[Buckshaft]

"You can make a lot of money selling crystalmeth."
"CRYSTALMETH?!?!"

In all seriousness, I'm seriously fucked off with all of these people doing nothing but criticising Kojima's stories. They definitely leave a lot to be desired and the dialogue ranges from wooden to horrible, but at least he tries original ideas, no matter how insane they are.

 

[shiajun]

I think Kojima isn't getting the idea either. Breaking Bad came out of a smaller network with huge gambles. You would not see such a series coming out for ABC, CBS, NBC or all other big, public networks in the USA. It's "indie-like" it its existance, and in the gaming industry it's mostly the same. The big ideas and unorthodox games rarely come from the bigger publishers/developers. So, Kojima thinks he would like to something Breaking Bad in quality and pushing boundries. First, assuming he can get over his "huh?" storytelling quirks, he'll have to go somewhere not "big" (unlike Konami) to develop it.

 

[daibakuha]

Jesus H. Christ. Kojima is an insane person. Only an insane person would say something like this.

There must be a lot of insane people then. All he's doing here is expressing admiration in something he likes. He then goes on to make a point that a game like Breaking Bad would be hard to make. That's it.

 

[Grach]

"Heisenberg, I can read your mind! I see you like Macross Plus and Malcom in the Middle! You play Fei Long in Street Fighter! La li lu le lo! Your drugs are laced with nanomachines, mixed with a psychoactive injection rendering your missing clone brother susceptible to a heart attack! Your drug money has helped fund the next war on terror: the Metal Gear Meths!"

METAL GEAR!?

But saying that you're jelous because you didn't write Breaking Bad is like saying you're jelous of the guy that discovered x-rays.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Hideo Kojima is the David Lynch of video games. If he made Breaking Bad it'd be a lot more like Twin Peaks. Which would be fucking awesome.

 

[AzrealMaximillion]

Kojima could learn a hell of a lot about writing a good story from the Break Bad writers.

How many of the Metal Gear games have you actually played? Crazy antics aside, the story of MGS is actually pretty good. The anti nuclear war/anti war message is pretty well conveyed. The crazyness is mainly in the ridiculous boss characters and even then it made the games more interesting than most games with a military backdrop.

I think a lot of the "MGS' story is bad" comes from people who didn't play the games fully.

 

[SporkySpork]

Kojima could learn a hell of a lot about writing a good story from the Break Bad writers.

How many of the Metal Gear games have you actually played? Crazy antics aside, the story of MGS is actually pretty good. The anti nuclear war/anti war message is pretty well conveyed. The crazyness is mainly in the ridiculous boss characters and even then it made the games more interesting than most games with a military backdrop.

I think a lot of the "MGS' story is bad" comes from people who didn't play the games fully.

^ Agreed. It's easy to make fun of something on a surface level without actually bothering to see if it's deeper than you originally thought.

 

[ThatDarnCoyote]

Jesus H. Christ. Kojima is an insane person. Only an insane person would say something like this.

The beautiful thing about your comment is that it can basically be copy-pasted into any article about Kojima and it will fit.

 

[ThatDarnCoyote]

The anti nuclear war/anti war message is pretty well conveyed.

Yes, in much the same way an anvil dropped on your foot is pretty well conveyed.

 

[DOOM GUY]

And the Escapist gets more stupid and hatred spewing each day.

Kojima basically complimented Breaking Bad and half of these comments are just criticizing him.

Yeah, well, that's The Escapist for you, and I seriously don't get all the MGS hate going on here, I mean, yeah, it's fucking insane, but it's also awesome.

 

[Zipa]

Kojima could learn a hell of a lot about writing a good story from the Break Bad writers.

How many of the Metal Gear games have you actually played? Crazy antics aside, the story of MGS is actually pretty good. The anti nuclear war/anti war message is pretty well conveyed. The crazyness is mainly in the ridiculous boss characters and even then it made the games more interesting than most games with a military backdrop.

I think a lot of the "MGS' story is bad" comes from people who didn't play the games fully.

Enough to of formed my own opinion of them and Kojima's writing, just because it has a good message doesn't make it a good video game.

Believe it or not people actually can dislike things you like without being someone who is just ripping on it for the sake of it or it being the Escapists fault somehow.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

"Heisenberg, I can read your mind! I see you like Macross Plus and Malcom in the Middle! You play Fei Long in Street Fighter! La li lu le lo! Your drugs are laced with nanomachines, mixed with a psychoactive injection rendering your missing clone brother susceptible to a heart attack! Your drug money has helped fund the next war on terror: the Metal Gear Meths!"

METAL GEAR!?

But saying that you're jelous because you didn't write Breaking Bad is like saying you're jelous of the guy that discovered x-rays.

So it's fucking NORMAL? Ever read a book/watch a movie/play a game and say "I wish I could make something like that?" That's exactly what Kojima is saying.

Jesus H. Christ. Kojima is an insane person. Only an insane person would say something like this.

The beautiful thing about your comment is that it can basically be copy-pasted into any article about Kojima and it will fit.

The anti nuclear war/anti war message is pretty well conveyed.

Yes, in much the same way an anvil dropped on your foot is pretty well conveyed.

Considering how much you and the other guy have projected so-called "insanity" onto a purely innocent message, I'm pretty sure anvils wouldn't be enough for you.

 

[daibakuha]

Enough to of formed my own opinion of them and Kojima's writing, just because it has a good message doesn't make it a good video game.

Believe it or not people actually can dislike things you like without being someone who is just ripping on it for the sake of it or it being the Escapists fault somehow.

You'd be in the minority with that opinion. All 4 main series entries in Metal Gear Solid are extremely well received by both community and critics.

 

[Zipa]

Enough to of formed my own opinion of them and Kojima's writing, just because it has a good message doesn't make it a good video game.

Believe it or not people actually can dislike things you like without being someone who is just ripping on it for the sake of it or it being the Escapists fault somehow.

You'd be in the minority with that opinion. All 4 main series entries in Metal Gear Solid are extremely well received by both community and critics.

I liked the first 3 honestly, it was 4 and its excessive cutscenes and taking way longer than necessary to get the exposition out that turned me off to the game.

 

[ThatDarnCoyote]

The anti nuclear war/anti war message is pretty well conveyed.

Yes, in much the same way an anvil dropped on your foot is pretty well conveyed.

Considering how much you and the other guy have projected so-called "insanity" onto a purely innocent message, I'm pretty sure anvils wouldn't be enough for you.

Not that it would stop Kojima from trying, I'm sure. He appears to have an inexhaustible supply of them.

The "insanity" isn't in Kojima liking Breaking Bad. Because it isn't like he said, "I've been watching Breaking Bad and it's really good." Or even, "I admire it as a creator."

Instead, Kojima's answer implies that he thinks he could have created Breaking Bad, if not for the bad luck of someone else having the idea first. Or that he could tell a story with similar themes in a similar way, but for the restrictiveness of the games industry.

And that's a little bonkers - Breaking Bad is a subtle, morally complex story about a decent man who goes down a path of corruption while in a desperate situation, without understanding the way it will slowly, by steps, corrode his humanity (creator Vince Gilligan calls the show a "slow-motion wolfman story"). Whatever virtues Kojima may have as a storyteller, subtlety is not one of them. He's about as subtle as a fireworks display in a phone booth.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

The "insanity" isn't in Kojima liking Breaking Bad. Because it isn't like he said, "I've been watching Breaking Bad and it's really good." Or even, "I admire it as a creator."

You're making mountains out of mole-hills here.

First off, it's a translation.
Also as someone who knows much about Japanese language, I can safely say that in Japanese context jealousy is most often used alongside admiration.

Instead, Kojima's answer implies that he thinks he could have created Breaking Bad, if not for the bad luck of someone else having the idea first.

Yeah, you're projecting.

Or that he could tell a story with similar themes in a similar way, but for the restrictiveness of the games industry.

He said it would be hard to get APPROVAL, for such an idea, and he's right. Imagine trying to sell Papers Please to corporate bigwigs. TV execs would consider it as a show, Videogame dxecs would have thrown it out the door.

snip

Look, I'm not here to argue what Kojima is or isn't capable of, or whether or not he's a good writer.

 

[ThatDarnCoyote]

First off, it's a translation.
Also as someone who knows much about Japanese language, I can safely say that in Japanese context jealousy is most often used alongside admiration.

Fair enough. That's a common context in English too. It's clear he admires the producers of Breaking Bad, but it's also clear it's something he considers in his own wheelhouse as well.

Kojima-san is obviously an intelligent man. When he says, "I was very pissed off, because I wasn't the one to think of that story. That depressed me," I take him at his word that it's what he thinks. And when he suggests that the primary obstacle to him producing something like Breaking Bad is that he couldn't get approval (even though serious, character-arc focused games like Bioshock Infinite, Spec Ops: The Line, and The Last of Us somehow get through), I believe that that's what he actually thinks. How is that an unreasonable interpretation of what he said?

Look, I'm not here to argue what Kojima is or isn't capable of, or whether or not he's a good writer.

I'm saying he is not the kind of writer that would produce something like Breaking Bad. Or at least, if he is, it certainly isn't reflected in his body of work so far. And that if he thinks otherwise, he's given to some level of self-delusion.

 

[Grach]

So it's fucking NORMAL? Ever read a book/watch a movie/play a game and say "I wish I could make something like that?" That's exactly what Kojima is saying.

Uhh yeah, I'm aware of that. What I don't know is why it's considered news.