Why do people like Hideo Kojima and his games?

[CaitSeith]

snip

Yeah, I'm sorry. I was making sure that part was just for flavor and not part of your criticism basis. Several other post have already wasted their time, treating it as the later.

EDIT: Besides, publishers like Konami have so much control on what developers make that psychoanalytic criticism is high impossible outside jokes (IMO). That's why people is interested in Death Stranding. Will Kojima's new game be better than his old ones without Konami's meddling? Or it will be worse?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

My theory is that he's been coasting on mid-'90s "Oh my god, it's just like a movie!" good will.

 

[Tohuvabohu]

So what is it that people are looking forward to when they see that name?

Well, how many designers have careers that stretch as far back as Kojima's does, and still has consistent success?

His first videogame title is the very first Metal Gear game from as far back as 1987. The fact he's kept this single franchise ongoing to mass success and recognition up until 2015, with him at the helm, is a great feat.

At this point, Kojima is one of the few godfathers of videogame designers who is still leading successful game projects. Seriously, how many other game developers exist with a career as consistently great as his has been? Many influential old school designers have either faded away or moved onto other administrative positions within game companies, coming back every now and then to produce a game or two. But actively making games for decades as far as Writing/Designing/Directing them?

I really can't think of much. 30 years later and he's still creating games. That's a very impressive work ethic.

As for his games themselves - Every game of his has been a highly polished, well produced, uniquely designed and memorable experiences, full of insane amounts of detail.

What people are excited about with Death Stranding is that it's finally something new. The guy who has been making games for a single franchise for 30 years can finally do something else.

If you take a look at P.T. - Which was pretty much just a mad experiment. Rather can creating a generic announcement for Silent Hills, P.T. was created instead as a complete ruse. The game itself was basically just Kojima faffing about making a demo of a hallway, and this meager demo ended up making such a huge impact that it spawned its own sub-genre. That's the magic this guy is capable of. Who else does this?

And I think even every Kojima fan will tell you that the Death Stranding trailer made no sense, but that's what makes it interesting. He's back, he's making another game that's not Metal Gear, it stars Norman Reedus, and it could really be about anything. This time, he's doing it without Konami overseeing it. So now we can see how he does in this new position. And that's pretty compelling to anyone interested in his work.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

Hey man, Kojima put in one slightly dodgy female character in once. That cleary invalidates The Boss, Meryl, Eva, Naomi, Sniper Wolf, Fortune, E.E and Mei Ling.

They all suck now becaise Quiet exists.

The Boss: Pretty good character.

Meryl, Eva, Mei Ling and Naomi: Eh, ok. Hard to say if Eva's a good character when most of her screen time is her putting up an act.

Sniper Wolf: You know, characters like her really make me think of a line from A Dance of the Dragons. ?You Westerosi are all the same. You sew some beast upon a scrap of silk, and suddenly you are all lions, or dragons, or eagles.? Eh...she's all right I guess. Can't help but roll my eyes that she unzips her top. In fucking Alaska. It's the "in Alaska" part of this situation that makes me sigh. I'm ok with Kojima wanting to wank to his work, but I draw the line when the story actively makes less sense because of it (See Quiet breathes through her skin). And yes I know Vulcan Raven had the same thing going in and it was stupid with him too, but at least there was some implication of mysticism with him that made it SLIGHTLY more tolerable. That and I knew it wasn't meant to be fapped to.

Fortune: Ok I'm willing to admit Kojima can write good when he stops being fucking weird, but this is not a good example. Woman in leotard and unexplained railgun is sad that she can't die (Because death by starvation, suffocation, gravity, lethal injection all never occurred to her) and her personality is

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tragic_past.PNG

Also she can't really deflect bullets except she actually can because this was the same game that introduced the concept of Liquid living on through an arm.

I can't help but noticed you grazed over the Beauty and the Best squad though. Sexualized traumatized young girls is just kinda...icky. And it's a shame because they all had really cool designs before they reverted back into moe blobs.

In conclusion? Kojima can do good. He can also do bad. He's a mixed bag....with just about everything.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yofzFR1SBtI/UjnoVOSoBjI/AAAAAAAAAZg/kY2M7D-9nfw/s1600/0w1Z0Fe.jpg

I forgot about the B&B squad, but then, they aren't really characters. They're more like the personification of a war crime. They don't interact with anyone unless it's to fight. Also I forgot all about them. Also when I replayed MGS4 recently I skipped their back stories and can't remember them.

On Fortune, I suppose it depends on your interpretation of the story. On the railgun/bullet deflection thing there are theories that the WHOLE THING is a simulation within a simulation, because fuck it, why not? She wants to die in battle probably, not commit suicide. Makes sense to me. It's been a while since I played MGS2. I don't think mercenaries will generally encounter a situation where someone will attack you with starvation.

I also forgot about Rose. And Sunny and Olga. And most of the female cast in Peace Walker.

You know, I never really realized how many female characters there are in the MGS series.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

snip

Yeah, I'm sorry. I was making sure that part was just for flavor and not part of your criticism basis. Several other post have already wasted their time, treating it as the later.

EDIT: Besides, publishers like Konami have so much control on what developers make that psychoanalytic criticism is high impossible outside jokes (IMO). That's why people is interested in Death Stranding. Will Kojima's new game be better than his old ones without Konami's meddling? Or it will be worse?

Well he seems like a pretty cool guy either way and have certainly enjoyed the games he has produced, they always present a passionate involvement that has its' quirks allowing for more subjective criticism among folk, it is still fun to flirt with various viewpoints none of which diminish the entertaining work he's done or the respect for his achievements. Hell knows what meddling Konami may have been responsible for, it may be a while, if ever, that the public will learn any more of the strings dictating the creative process. It will be interesting to see what he does with his newfound freedom, there must be a lot of ideas that were held back by MGS obligations.

 

[Erttheking]

Snip

Them being the personification of war crimes honestly makes it worst. They only interact with others through fighting...and sexily walking towards them and giving them awkward hugs.

Oh boy, we're going down the rabbit hole of what the actual hell was going on in MGS2? Ok. First of all I never really got that implication from Fortune, that's more something that Vamp would want. She didn't seem to have much warrior pride and just wanted to die. As for the whole simulation thing...that was a weird game with a lot of things going on behind the scenes. I heard but sadly cannot confirm that Kojima was getting constant death threats after MGS1 from angry fans who wanted a sequel, so the whole VR angle was something he cooked up to flip fans off, and that might have been where Raiden came from but that's just speculation on my part. But even then, MGS2 was very clearly not a simulation, because Kojima then went on to make MSG4. He kind of threw away that ambiguity of whether it actually happened or not when he had everyone who didn't die (And in the case of Solidus someone who did die) come back for the "finale" of the series.

Rose: Ugh. Sunny: UUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH. Olga: Actually liked her.

I guess it's just that most of them aren't front and center most of the time.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

Snip

Them being the personification of war crimes honestly makes it worst. They only interact with others through fighting...and sexily walking towards them and giving them awkward hugs.

I never meant it as anything interesting or deep. It's just the best descriptor that popped into my head.

 

[gyrobot_v1legacy]

Whackiness aside. I find Kojima to be unique in game development industry in Japan. Kind of a Nobunaga type where traditionalist execs despise him for challenging the way they run things.

Even before his Metal Gear Days, his work in Policenauts and Snatcher was a very refreshing take on the popular genres in Japan. While Gundam has veered off into being a nationalistic wank piece for Imperial Japan. Policenauts examined the living conditions of space colonies and explains just how awful it is for the space colonists. Zone of THe Enders only improved upon that, showing how a godly machine would be fighting unmanned drones as opponents and how the resistance are required to avoid killing people to ensure they are seen as a sympathetic force as even a small tax on food basically puts them at the mercy of the government.

Kojima also had an eye on the pulse of political psychology, his words were strangely prophetic in talking about how a society controls information. How he relates the destruction of culture by using languages and if someone weaponizes that they basically control the world. I think someone like Kojima knew how Korean Culture was basically destroyed and now they are forced to adopt foreign cultures to survive.

That and his games are fun.

So what is it that people are looking forward to when they see that name?

Well, how many designers have careers that stretch as far back as Kojima's does, and still has consistent success?

His first videogame title is the very first Metal Gear game from as far back as 1987. The fact he's kept this single franchise ongoing to mass success and recognition up until 2015, with him at the helm, is a great feat.

At this point, Kojima is one of the few godfathers of videogame designers who is still leading successful game projects. Seriously, how many other game developers exist with a career as consistently great as his has been? Many influential old school designers have either faded away or moved onto other administrative positions within game companies, coming back every now and then to produce a game or two. But actively making games for decades as far as Writing/Designing/Directing them?

I really can't think of much. 30 years later and he's still creating games. That's a very impressive work ethic.

As for his games themselves - Every game of his has been a highly polished, well produced, uniquely designed and memorable experiences, full of insane amounts of detail.

What people are excited about with Death Stranding is that it's finally something new. The guy who has been making games for a single franchise for 30 years can finally do something else.

If you take a look at P.T. - Which was pretty much just a mad experiment. Rather can creating a generic announcement for Silent Hills, P.T. was created instead as a complete ruse. The game itself was basically just Kojima faffing about making a demo of a hallway, and this meager demo ended up making such a huge impact that it spawned its own sub-genre. That's the magic this guy is capable of. Who else does this?

And I think even every Kojima fan will tell you that the Death Stranding trailer made no sense, but that's what makes it interesting. He's back, he's making another game that's not Metal Gear, it stars Norman Reedus, and it could really be about anything. This time, he's doing it without Konami overseeing it. So now we can see how he does in this new position. And that's pretty compelling to anyone interested in his work.

Kojima was trained formally in western gaming development and applied it to Japanese game design. And one of the few to do it well.

 

[Saelune]

I am not sure what experience he has of conversing with tbe opposite sex, but it is far from enough.

I'm not sure what fanservice and some awkward dialogue has to do with talking to women. But he's married.

Being married does not imply good communication. If that were the case, the world would be a marginally better place by now.

I have a feeling talking to women more wouldn't have any big influence on his work, though. Seems irrelevant.

He may appear to write good female characters, but they are basically no more than gender-swapped noble males. Life experience does determine the quality of a creator's work, nothing is irrelevant. Of all the MGS fanbase, how many of those are female? I know of none so far, but could be wrong and may well be. He at least doesn't show any desire to understand.

Oh man, its almost as if good female characters are really just good characters that are female. I dont get why you are so intent on harping on Kojima's dealings with females. Plus The Boss alone is one of the best female characters in gaming ever. I just wish we got to play as her in something.

 

[FalloutJack]

Well, when you say 'his games', you're basically saying all of them. So like, I DO like the original Metal Gear Solid, and I REALLY like the Zone of the Enders games. I like some of the games, not all of them.

 

[Fox12]

I heard but sadly cannot confirm that Kojima was getting constant death threats after MGS1 from angry fans who wanted a sequel, so the whole VR angle was something he cooked up to flip fans off.

I keep hearing this fan theory whenever a creator makes something controversial (not necessarily bad). I heard the same thing about End of Eva. I'm surprised I didn't hear about it for Mass Effect 3. Unless the creator says otherwise, I don't think most creative types would do this. I think it's more likely that fans jumped to wild conclusions after MGS2. They tend to be ravenous like that.

Besides, I thought Raiden was well received in Japan?

 

[Erttheking]

I heard but sadly cannot confirm that Kojima was getting constant death threats after MGS1 from angry fans who wanted a sequel, so the whole VR angle was something he cooked up to flip fans off.

I keep hearing this fan theory whenever a creator makes something controversial (not necessarily bad). I heard the same thing about End of Eva. I'm surprised I didn't hear about it for Mass Effect 3. Unless the creator says otherwise, I don't think most creative types would do this. I think it's more likely that fans jumped to wild conclusions after MGS2. They tend to be ravenous like that.

Besides, I thought Raiden was well received in Japan?

Like I said, the Raiden aspect was speculation on my part. (Though I consider it telling that Raiden's likeness was used for Volgan's boyfriend in the next time, the person who gets stripped and shoved in a locker)

 

[JohnnyDelRay]

I think he was appreciated for different things throughout his career. I can only speak for MGS games, because that's all I played. The first MGS games were innovative in stealth, (though not the pioneers apparently?) and later bridging the gap that everyone was so concerned with, which was games being more cinematic. But not by using QTE's and stuff, more through the lengthy cutscenes and character development, hype before a boss battle, twists and conspiracies, exploring many controversial themes, and of course came the 4th wall breaking.

The quirkiness is a plus. But what I think it really is, is that he's willing to break conventions and rules in how games are played and characters are introduced, even in something as huge and polished as MGSV. Take PT for example - to get the freaking ending requires and exact sequence of movements, interactions and looking at the right spot by the player, even with some random elements. It took people hours and hours to figure it out, and not many games put you through this randomized level of challenge and exploration, without resorting to just being cheap.

The attention to detail is a plus, and shows real dedication and passion. But the level of polish is astounding, as he manages to fit some really complicated mechanics and controls into a game, that although intimidating at first, become very intuitive and natural.

Could be a lot more things but I'm not too much of a fanboy (the lengthy cutscenes put me off quite a bit), but these are just my observations.

 

[Here Comes Tomorrow]

I heard but sadly cannot confirm that Kojima was getting constant death threats after MGS1 from angry fans who wanted a sequel, so the whole VR angle was something he cooked up to flip fans off.

I keep hearing this fan theory whenever a creator makes something controversial (not necessarily bad). I heard the same thing about End of Eva. I'm surprised I didn't hear about it for Mass Effect 3. Unless the creator says otherwise, I don't think most creative types would do this. I think it's more likely that fans jumped to wild conclusions after MGS2. They tend to be ravenous like that.

Besides, I thought Raiden was well received in Japan?

http://metagearsolid.org/reports_mgs4_kojimaVSmgs4.html

I found this while writing a post. More info on Kojima being annoyed about MGS4 than my sleep deprived brain could give you.

 

[Zhukov]

I heard but sadly cannot confirm that Kojima was getting constant death threats after MGS1 from angry fans who wanted a sequel, so the whole VR angle was something he cooked up to flip fans off.

I keep hearing this fan theory whenever a creator makes something controversial (not necessarily bad). I heard the same thing about End of Eva. I'm surprised I didn't hear about it for Mass Effect 3. Unless the creator says otherwise, I don't think most creative types would do this. I think it's more likely that fans jumped to wild conclusions after MGS2. They tend to be ravenous like that.

Besides, I thought Raiden was well received in Japan?

http://metagearsolid.org/reports_mgs4_kojimaVSmgs4.html

I found this while writing a post. More info on Kojima being annoyed about MGS4 than my sleep deprived brain could give you.

If he was that sick of it it makes you wonder what his contract was like to have him go on to do two or three more MGS games after that (Peacewalker, GZ/Phantom Pain).

At least now he should be free to do whatever he wants. Can't imagine what an unrestrained Kojima could conjure up after more than a decade of torment.


Just read a couple more links and it's like a light switch turned on -

http://www.metagearsolid.org/reports_mgs4_longdark.html
http://www.metagearsolid.org/reports_mgs4_soldout_1.html

Kinda disappointing to say the least, but at least now it makes more sense as to why certain things happened the way they did in that game.

 

[balladbird]

He's AAA gaming's one and only auteur. In an age where the prohibitively high development costs have everyone taking the safe path and making cookie-cutter imitations of games that proved to sell well in the past, his is the one name that carries enough clout to let him make the games he wants the way he wants them.... besides maybe the likes of Peter Molyneux, but, well, that guy isn't half as good a game dev as he is a teller of tall tales.

Granted, he's completely insane, and his games are hit and miss with me, but his presence in the industry is a welcome one

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

He's AAA gaming's one and only auteur. In an age where the prohibitively high development costs have everyone taking the safe path and making cookie-cutter imitations of games that proved to sell well in the past, his is the one name that carries enough clout to let him make the games he wants the way he wants them.... besides maybe the likes of Peter Molyneux, but, well, that guy isn't half as good a game dev as he is a teller of tall tales.

Granted, he's completely insane, and his games are hit and miss with me, but his presence in the industry is a welcome one

Basically this. Kojima is one of the very few video game directors that are allowed 100% control over their game whereas the vast majority of games feel like they are being developed using a marketing checklist. I almost always dig his wacky humor and weirdness. You can tell how much he cares by how much polish, attention to detail, and easter eggs his games have. Hell, MGS4 never got a patch until 4 years after release which mainly added trophies. The one thing he does need is an editor that he trusts because just too much dialogue and exposition at points. Lastly, Kojima is just great at gameplay, level design, and game mechanics and his games always play extremely well with some of the most memorable boss fights. MGS4 is still the tightest controlling TPS ever made IMO.

 

[Fox12]

He's AAA gaming's one and only auteur. In an age where the prohibitively high development costs have everyone taking the safe path and making cookie-cutter imitations of games that proved to sell well in the past, his is the one name that carries enough clout to let him make the games he wants the way he wants them.... besides maybe the likes of Peter Molyneux, but, well, that guy isn't half as good a game dev as he is a teller of tall tales.

Granted, he's completely insane, and his games are hit and miss with me, but his presence in the industry is a welcome one

Wait, what? As opposed to Miyazaki, Fumitory Ueda, Miyamoto, Taro Yoko, and numerous indie devs? Heck, you could even add David Cage to the list. He isn't a good auteur, but he fits the role. There are plenty of talented people working in the industry, and a lot of them are taking more risks then Kojima.

 

[Elijin]

I always thought it was shared resentment towards Konami. Internet doesn't like the company, and Kojima is a creator to rally around and loudly scream 'SEE BIG COMPANY, YOU'RE OUT OF TOUCH, THIS WAS SUCCESSFUL.'