At the Dutch website Gamer.nl we posted an interview with Hideo Kojima today – great timing with the review coming tomorrow and all that. The interview, taken by my colleague Raf Picavet around the time of Gamescom, talks mostly about Death Stranding and the creation of the game, but I found the last question and answer interesting.
Translated from Dutch (which in itself was probably translated from English, which was translated from Japanese, so keep that in mind):
Gamer.nl: The development of Death Stranding is finished. Do you feel like you've managed to stay true to your ambitions? Are you thinking about a future project already or are you mostly living in this Death Stranding-moment right now?
Kojima: "I've been walking around thinking about a future project for a while now. But that doesn't mean that these aren't stressful times. Even though I embrace that stress, its sometimes quite painful, like the contractions when giving birth. But the past four years were probably worse, as now I know it'll be over soon. At the same time I'm watching it all from a distance and enjoying myself (laughs)."
A few other choice quotes I found interesting:
Gamer.nl: Can you name some sources of inspiration for Death Stranding?
Kojima: "I often get this question and I find it difficult to mention something specific. I try to watch a movie a day. I read as many books as I can. I listen to a lot of music. I visit exhibitions, technology expos, gigs and from all that Death Stranding arose. I live in Japan, but I watch what's happening in the rest of the world continuously."
Gamer.nl: We're close to the release of Death Stranding and its still pretty much a mystery what Death Stranding entails. That's a risky strategy. Why choose that approach?
Kojima: "It's a completely new type of game. Its difficult to promote that. Everyone judges based on their experience. Normally around this time (Gamescom 2019) there would be something playable so that I would just have to tell people to shoot that enemy there, and that's it. Then afterwards, you can tell me if you thought it was good or bad. But with this game, that is impossible. That's why we had to approach our future players in a different way."
Gamer.nl: That approach made sure people like us made our own theories about the game, without them being refuted. For instance, by calling a game that you poured your heart and soul in a 'walking simulator'. Does that bother you?
Kojima: "I don't view it as a form of criticism at all. I thought: 'oh, so that's how people see it'."
Translated from Dutch (which in itself was probably translated from English, which was translated from Japanese, so keep that in mind):
Gamer.nl: The development of Death Stranding is finished. Do you feel like you've managed to stay true to your ambitions? Are you thinking about a future project already or are you mostly living in this Death Stranding-moment right now?
Kojima: "I've been walking around thinking about a future project for a while now. But that doesn't mean that these aren't stressful times. Even though I embrace that stress, its sometimes quite painful, like the contractions when giving birth. But the past four years were probably worse, as now I know it'll be over soon. At the same time I'm watching it all from a distance and enjoying myself (laughs)."
A few other choice quotes I found interesting:
Gamer.nl: Can you name some sources of inspiration for Death Stranding?
Kojima: "I often get this question and I find it difficult to mention something specific. I try to watch a movie a day. I read as many books as I can. I listen to a lot of music. I visit exhibitions, technology expos, gigs and from all that Death Stranding arose. I live in Japan, but I watch what's happening in the rest of the world continuously."
Gamer.nl: We're close to the release of Death Stranding and its still pretty much a mystery what Death Stranding entails. That's a risky strategy. Why choose that approach?
Kojima: "It's a completely new type of game. Its difficult to promote that. Everyone judges based on their experience. Normally around this time (Gamescom 2019) there would be something playable so that I would just have to tell people to shoot that enemy there, and that's it. Then afterwards, you can tell me if you thought it was good or bad. But with this game, that is impossible. That's why we had to approach our future players in a different way."
Gamer.nl: That approach made sure people like us made our own theories about the game, without them being refuted. For instance, by calling a game that you poured your heart and soul in a 'walking simulator'. Does that bother you?
Kojima: "I don't view it as a form of criticism at all. I thought: 'oh, so that's how people see it'."
