Hideo Kojima mentioned in a recent interview that the goal of the new horror game “OD” he is developing is to push the horror to a limit that is difficult to reach in ordinary games. He said that this game is not simply scary, but hopes to make players feel a deeper fear experience that is even close to the psychological critical point. His statement also continued the past description of “OD”: this is not just a horror game in the traditional sense, but an attempt to challenge the boundaries of players’ tolerance of fear itself.
An auxiliary system that allows you to continue playing even if you are too scared
Interestingly, Kojima also added that although “OD” will be very scary, it will not throw players directly into crash mode. He revealed that a system will be designed in the game to help players continue to progress when they want to stop because they are too scared. However, he did not elaborate on how the system works, only emphasizing that telling too much would spoil the surprise, so it remains highly mysterious for now. It is widely speculated that this mechanism may be related to psychological fear conditioning, interactive guidance, or even some kind of design to reduce fear intensity.
A borderline experiment between horror and player psychology
Judging from past works, Kojima has always liked to push game design in directions that make players uncomfortable but unable to stop. For example, “P.T.” was once considered an extreme case of horror game design. The direction of “OD” seems to go further, not just to create terror, but to directly intervene in the player’s fear response itself, and even make being scared to the point of wanting to quit become part of the design considerations.
At present, the complete gameplay details of “OD” have not been disclosed, but according to Kojima, this work is more like an experimental project between games and interactive media. He still maintains his usual style: the more he talks about it, the more mysterious it becomes, and the real answer can only be revealed after players actually experience it.