We already know that Hideo Kojima’s split from Konami was not a smooth one. He was banned from accepting awards for Metal Gear Solid V, and the company even used “vacation” as an excuse to cover up his departure. However, long before any of these dramatic events, Kojima had already created a number of classic games for Konami. Surprisingly, his career almost ended prematurely as soon as it started.
Early career setback: Almost quit Konami
According to a 1999 interview translated by Shmupulations (source: Games Radar), Kojima candidly shared about the difficulties he faced as a novice developer at Konami.
When Kojima joined Konami in 1986, the company was developing a “war”-themed game. However, the project went very poorly and was eventually handed over to Kojima, and the game later became Metal Gear (also known as Metal Gear).
Kojima recalled:
“When I talk about this, I can’t help but cry.”
“Konami wanted to make a game with a ‘war’ theme, but the development process of this game was extremely bumpy. Before I joined, many senior developers in the company had been working on this game for two years, but the project never made progress: they kept creating, overturning, re-creating, and overturning.”
“There is also this ‘legend’ circulating within Konami:
‘If you work on this project, you will be demoted or transferred. ‘(laugh)”
“I don’t know why the company kept insisting on this project, but I think Konami was ‘must make a war game’ at the time.”
This difficult development process almost caused Hideo Kojima to end his game development career prematurely. But it was this experience that ultimately led him to create the far-reaching “Metal Gear” series.
Inspired by The Great Escape: How to Transform a Movie into Metal Gear Solid
Hideo Kojima himself is a movie buff and is interested in grand narratives. He believes that this war game is the perfect opportunity for him to make a name for himself in the gaming industry.
“The project was handed over to me at that time. What I wanted to do was create an ‘escape game’ under the theme of ‘war’.”
“Do you know that old movie, ‘The Great Escape?’ I thought it would be cool to make a game with ‘escape’ as the core concept.”
“But when I told the senior developers on the team about this idea, they were extremely disapproving:
‘There is no such game. ’
“I was just a new project manager at Konami at that time, so no one would listen to me. The whole team had no motivation from the beginning.”
“I thought to myself, what on earth am I going to do? Do I have to beat them up to get them to listen to me?”
Hideo Kojima’s idea for an escape game eventually evolved into the groundbreaking “Metal Gear”, which also allowed him to successfully establish the name of “movie narrative game”.
Almost Resigned: Passive Resistance and Opportunities for Rebirth
The situation got so bad that Hideo Kojima almost resigned and left Konami.
“Things only got worse and the team was full of passive-aggressive resistance.”
“I’m tired of working for a company like this, and I’m even planning to leave Konami completely.”
“But then I had a chat with another senior employee, and that conversation opened my eyes to a new direction.”
The birth of Metal Gear Solid and the continuation of the legendary series
Metal Gear was eventually released for the MSX2 home computer in 1987 and for the Famicom in 1988. (Editor: It is said that the Famicom and even the American NES version of the game did not receive the consent of Hideo Kojima’s team, but was developed by the company without authorization for another group of people.) This game created a new type of stealth adventure game, and has become one of Konami’s most popular classic series, and continues to this day.
We already know the subsequent story. Hideo Kojima left Konami in 2015 and established an independent studio called Kojima Productions. In 2019, his first independent work “Death Stranding” was released.
Demonstrating his profound skills and creativity in film narrative games.
It is worth noting that the sequel “Death Stranding 2” is expected to be released in 2025. At the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) in October 2024, Hideo Kojima said that although the exact release date has not yet been determined, the team is working hard to ensure that it will be launched as scheduled in 2025.
“Death Stranding 2” is the sequel to “Death Stranding” launched in 2019. The previous game won widespread praise from players and critics for its unique gameplay and profound narrative style. The sequel will continue the world view of the previous game and introduce new characters and storylines, allowing players to experience a unique game journey again!
source:TIME EXTENSION