Metal Gear Solid creator to debut at March event, discussing 'how to make the impossible possible'
Metal Gear Solid Hideo Kojima is to keynote next month's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
He will talk to the assembled developers - in his first ever GDC talk - in a session called 'Solid Game Design: Making the ‘Impossible’ Possible'.
GDC takes place from March 23rd to March 27th - Kojima's talk takes place on the 26th at 10.30am.
Kojima's career doesn't just span countless Metal Gear titles but also innovative games such as Boktai, Zone of the Enders and Snatcher.
“The Game Developers Conference has invited Hideo Kojima to keynote every year for as long as I can remember, so we couldn't be more excited that, at long last, he feels that it is time for him to address the game development community,” said Meggan Scavio, event director of the GDC.
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“The anticipation is already huge to see how one of the community’s most revered and elusive creators will inspire attendees to further push the limits of game development.”
The news comes just days before the early bird registration for the event - wherein 30 per cent is discounted from the show passes - expires. To register, click here.
I find it ironic that at the time he has just released the worst "game" (term used very loosely) he has produced, he decides to attend a Game Development Conference to tell everyone how to make better games.
He has lost the plot as far as I can see, as a "Games Designer" and should focus his attentions on direction and production. Compared to MGS1, MGS4 was a pale imitation of the great games he used to produce. The game was riddled with shallow and unrewarding gameplay, poor logic and game mechanics, and had to be padded out with pretentious storyline to make it feel like you spent some worthy time there... which didn't work.
Even on a hardware usage level, his ability to handle the power of the PS3 should have raised serious questions about his design decisions. Installing and loading caused the whole game to become a fractured and unpleasant gaming experience... it was like watching Formula 1 on ITV. It was made even more noticable when you compare the game to significantly bigger games, that suffered none of those problems.
Yes there were some wonderfully choreographed and directed cut-scenes, but those are supposed to be supplimentary to a great game, not the main factor.
I can only hope that he turns up and uses MGS4 as an example of how NOT to produce a great next-gen game. I hope he has learned a lot himself, about next-gen expectations after that experience. If he hasn't, then his next outing (if there is one) will look even more dated than his last, and that will be a terrible waste of once-great talent.
Interesting point of view, Lee. As an MGS fan myself, I wasn't disappointed by MGS4 - although the fact it was clearly divided into just five main missions frustrates me in hindsight - being able to see the structure of the game so clearly jars somewhat.
But Kojima's going to GDC has got me more excited for the event than I was - this year's keynotes hopefully won't be just platform holder show off showcases. Given that Kojima has said he will 'reset' his studio for 2009, it sounds like he might even addres the problems you mention in explaining exactly what that means for his team.
I won't get sucked into the merits and flaws of MGS4. Yet I am a little worried that Kojima's speech might flash up the contrast between Japanese Game developers' leanings for linearity and western gamers' taste for open-ended games.
