Hideo Kojima

Hideo Kojima

Hideo Kojima (小島 秀夫, Kojima Hideo, born August 24, 1963) is a Japanese video game designer originally employed at Konami. Formerly the vice president of Konami Computer Entertainment Japan, he is currently the head of Kojima Productions, a new team devoted to creative game development leaving behind all the business and administrative decision making. He is the creator and director of a number of successful games, including the Metal Gear series, Snatcher, and Policenauts. He has also produced both the Zone of the Enders and Boktai series.

The Metal Gear series contains elements of magical realism and often breaks the fourth wall. His love of film is also noticeable in his games, where he pays homage through his stories and characters, sometimes to the point of pastiche, as in Snatcher. He is also well known for a quirky and somewhat irreverent sense of humor, and his frequently disarming and powerful plot twists.

Career

Born in Setagaya, Tokyo in 1963, Kojima moved to western Japan at the age of three. In an interview with the gaming cable channel G4, Kojima explains much of his earlier career and influences for game design. Early in life Kojima grew fond of watching films at the local cinema, an influence that would impact his style of game design later on. While studying economics in college, Kojima found himself playing video games during his free time - namely, games on the Famicom. Kojima cites Shigeru Miyamoto's Super Mario Bros. as the defining influence. In his fourth year in college, Kojima surprised colleagues by announcing his intentions to join the video game industry, despite initially having ambitions of becoming a film director. He joined video game publisher Konami's MSX home computer division in 1986 as a designer and 'planner'. Kojima's innovative gameplay ideas were often overlooked initially, and due to his lack of familiarity with programming was repeatedly snubbed for his failures in his initial years at Konami. At one point Kojima considered leaving the company, but stuck on.

The first game he worked on was Penguin Adventure, as an assistant director. The first game he actually developed was Lost Warld (sic), a war-themed platform game starring a masked female wrestler, in 1986. However, the game was ultimately rejected by Kojima's superiors at Konami.

His first released game was Metal Gear. It was released in 1987, to critical success, on the MSX2 home computer. The MSX system was a huge success in Japan, Europe, Brazil and Soviet Union, but due to its obscurity in the USA and some other nations, many people (especially Americans) did not play the game until it was ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System, and even then the game went through numerous changes during the conversion process with which Kojima was not directly involved. The game featured Solid Snake, a rookie soldier who has been sent to the fortified state of "Outer Heaven" to stop a nuclear equipped walking tank known as "Metal Gear." The game was unique by being one of the first known stealth game, in which the player is encouraged to avoid visual contact with the enemy as opposed to engaging in direct confrontation. He also released the critically acclaimed Snatcher, a graphic adventure game with a cyberpunk setting and Cold War themes, in 1988.

In 1990, Kojima released Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake for the MSX only in Japan. The game was critically acclaimed in Japan for its sophisticated gameplay and intricate storyline, as it introduced many significant changes and additions to the Metal Gear series, most of which were later carried over to Metal Gear Solid. Of particular importance was the significantly improved characterization of the game's cast and the bigger emphasis given to the game's storyline, which was advanced through the use of cut scenes and covered themes regarding the effects of war. Other changes include significant enhancements to the enemy soldiers' behavior and AI, the ability to crawl, and the introduction of the radar, among other improvements. Despite the game's success in Japan, it was never released in the West until its inclusion in Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence in 2006.

He remade Snatcher in 1992 for the PC-Engine under title of Snatcher CD-ROMantic (which would then be ported to the Sega CD, the game's only official English-language version) and designed Policenauts, a film noir/sci-fi-themed adventure game set in a space colony (often regarded as a "spiritual sequel" to Snatcher), in 1994; Snatcher and Policenauts were both huge successes in Japan. Kojima regards Policenauts (according to a translation of the 'introduction' portion of the official Policenauts website) as his "most exhaustive piece of work" and often calls Metal Gear a "blockbuster movie series" whilst in relation to Metal Gear, he regards Policenauts as his "independent film". He also produced a series of adventure games based on the Tokimeki Memorial dating sim series dubbed the Drama Series, which were made on the same game engine used by Policenauts.

With the release of Metal Gear Solid in 1998 for the PlayStation, Kojima became an international celebrity among gamers. Metal Gear Solid was the first in the Metal Gear series to use 3D graphics and voice acting, which gave a more cinematic experience to the game. MGS was highly regarded for its well-designed gameplay and for its characters and storyline, which featured themes of nuclear proliferation and genetic engineering.

In early 2000, Kojima released the first details of the sequel to Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, for the PlayStation 2. The game's highly detailed graphics, physics, and expanded gameplay quickly made it one of the most anticipated games ever. The game was highly successful and critically acclaimed at release, due to its graphics, gameplay and storyline, which dealt with myriad philosophical themes as specific as memes, censorship, manipulation, patricide, the inherent flaws of democracy and as grandiose as the nature of reality itself. While "MGS2" broke ground with the breadth of its subject matter, the lengthy exposition of these issues, particularly in the bewildering maze of dialogue and plot revelation in the final hours of the game, left a sour taste in the mouths of many gamers, who expected the Hollywood-style resolution of its forerunner. The game also received negative fan reaction due to the unexpected introduction of a new protagonist named Raiden, a rookie soldier, the polar opposite in place of the series' taciturn main hero, Solid Snake.

Before MGS2's release, Kojima produced the game and anime franchise Zone of the Enders in 2001 to moderate success. In 2003, he produced Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand for the Game Boy Advance. In this, players take the role of a young vampire hunter who uses a solar weapon which is charged by a photometric sensor on the game cartridge (forcing them to play in sunlight). Another team inside Konami also began work on Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes, a GameCube remake of the first Metal Gear Solid with all the gameplay features of Metal Gear Solid 2 and with cutscenes redirected by action/horror film director Ryuhei Kitamura. It was released in 2004.

Afterwards, Kojima also designed and released Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for the PlayStation 2. Unlike the previous games in the series, which took place in the near future and focused on indoor locations, the game is set in a Russian forest area during the year 1964, and involves wilderness survival and camouflaging. The North American version was released on November 17, 2004, with the Japanese counterpart following on December 16. The European version was released on March 4 2005. Critical response to the game was highly favorable.

At that time Kojima also worked on Boktai's sequel, Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django for the Game Boy Advance. Released in summer 2004, it makes more extensive use of the cartridge's sunlight sensor and allows players to combine various new solar weapons.

Also released was Metal Gear Ac!d for the PlayStation Portable handheld. This turn-based game is less action-oriented than the other Metal Gear games and focuses more on strategy. It was released in Japan on December 16, 2004. It's sequel Metal Gear Ac!d 2 was released on March 21, 2006.

Kojima Productions

File:Kojima Pro Logo.jpg

The Kojima Productions logo is that of the FOX unit from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater.

On April 1 2005, after Konami merged several of its subsidiaries, Kojima's team at Konami Computer Entertainment Japan was transformed into "Kojima Productions." With this new team, Kojima is no longer burdened with the business management and administrative responsibilities he had as KCEJ's vice president, and thus is able to focus solely on creating games. [1] Kojima Productions has already released six products under the new management: Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Metal Gear Acid 2, Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Lunar Knights and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus.

The studio is currently working on Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PlayStation 3. After completing Metal Gear Solid 2, Kojima openly opposed the idea of working on a new Metal Gear Solid game. However, he later retracted his comments in the June 3, 2005 issue of Weekly Famitsu, claiming his earlier statement that " will focus more on producing" was misinterpreted as stepping down from the director position. During the 2005 Electronic Entertainment Expo, he confirmed that he is assuming the role of director and designer. Kojima's co-directors on MGS4 were Shuyo Murata and Yoji Shinkawa.

Other upcoming projects include Project 'S' and Metal Gear Online.

Kojima personally requested for Solid Snake to appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and got his chance with the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Nintendo's Wii console (the former could not have been done due to the fact that Melee was already far in production at the time of the request). It is confirmed that he will be working on Snake's stage for SSBB. The Kojima Productions logo (which is also the FOX unit logo in Metal Gear Solid 3) will be Snake's symbol in Brawl.

Works

Metal Gear series

• Metal Gear Online (2008) - (?)
• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008) - writer/producer/director
• Metal Gear Mobile (TBA)
• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (2007) - writer/original concept/executive producer
• Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel 2 (2007) - producer/director
• Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (2006) - writer/original concept/executive producer
• Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel (2006) - producer/director
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence (2005) - writer/producer/director
• Metal Gear Acid 2 (2005) - producer
• Metal Gear Acid (2004) - producer
• Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) - writer/producer/director
• Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes (2004) - writer/producer/original director
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance (2002) - writer/producer/director
• The Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 (2002) - producer/director
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001) - writer/producer/director
• Metal Gear: Ghost Babel (2000) - producer/supervising director
• Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions (1999) - producer/director
• Metal Gear Solid: Integral (1999) - writer/producer/director
• Metal Gear Solid (1998) - writer/producer/director
• Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake (1990) - writer/director
• Metal Gear (1987) - writer/director ("game design")

Boktai series

• Lunar Knights (2006) - producer
• Boktai: Sabata's Counterattack (2005) - producer
• Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django (2004) - producer
• Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand (2003) - producer

Zone of the Enders series

• Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (2003) - producer
• Zone of the Enders (2001) - producer

Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series

• Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series Vol. 3: Tabidachi no Uta (1999) - executive director
• Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series Vol. 2: Irodori no Love Song (1998) - planner/producer
• Tokimeki Memorial Drama Series Vol. 1: Nijiiro no Seishun (1997) - planner/producer/drama director

Snatcher series

• Project 'S' (unknown) - Co design with Suda 51
• Snatcher CD-ROMantic (1992) - writer/director
• SD Snatcher (1990) - original writer
• Snatcher (1988) - writer/director

Other Games

• 12人の優しい殺し屋 (2008) - i-revo
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) - Designer of Shadow Moses Island stage.
• Kabushiki Baibai Trainer Kabutore! Next (2007)
• Stock Trading Trainer : Kabutore (2006) - Unknown
• Policenauts (1994) - writer/director
• Lost Warld (sic) (1986, Cancelled) - writer/director
• Penguin Adventure (1986) - assistant director

Movies

• Versus (2000) - Cameo (Extra)
• Azumi (2003) - Cameo (Extra)
• Metal Gear Solid (2008) - Executive Producer/Writer

External links

• Konami Entertainment (Japanese)
• Kojima Productions
• Hideo Kojima Blog (Japanese)
  • Official English translation
  • A summary of his blog in English as of 9/27/05 (by IGN)
• Hideo Kojima at the Internet Movie Database
• IGN's Hideo Kojima Interview at the 2005 Game Developers Conference
• Hideo Kojima interview for Metal Gear Week on 1UP.com
• Hideo Kojima profile at MobyGames