Gamelab-2011
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Kojima likens game industry's challenges to Charlie Chaplin
Somehow, between helping run Konami Digital Entertainment and accepting a lifetime achievement award at Gamelab, Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima found the time to sit down with Gamesindustry.biz and talk shop. Specifically, the impact that new technologies are having on the way games are being made. When asked about cultural expression in games, Kojima said that developers now have "more capability for expression" than ever, likening the situation to a similar story-telling crossroad that challenged silent-film giant Charlie Chaplin. "He didn't need words to express himself in his movies but suddenly he had to include words in order to stay relevant. With this increased capability of expression through games, I think it's a matter of learning how to use it." This enhanced ability to express ideas also causes problems for Japanese directors, according to Kojima. "There was no cultural barrier to the rest of the world because the technology meant that you couldn't tell whether it was Japan or anywhere else. Now it is possible, so it becomes more difficult." He maintains that "creating something is about turning impossible things into possible things," and that as technology continues to improve, game design could potentially lose its luster. "If it gets to the point were I'm able to create anything I want," he says, "I'll probably stop making videogames."
Media Molecule taking a break from LBP to develop 'new ideas'
Having created two entries in a series that has spawned millions of levels, it seems Guildford-based developer Media Molecule is considering a vacation from LittleBigPlanet for its next project. During a talk at the Gamelab 2011 conference in Barcelona (attended by Edge), studio director Siobhan Reddy said, "We're stepping away from LittleBigPlanet to focus on some new ideas." That doesn't mean the team's leaving the franchise behind entirely. After all, they're still working on the beefy Move update for LittleBigPlanet 2. Frankly, we think that desire to move on is pretty reasonable, considering the game they created nearly counts as an infinite number of games. We've contacted the studio for more information about their Next Next Big Thing.
