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Julien Merceron joins Konami to oversee Fox Engine
Konami is betting big on Fox Engine, Kojima Productions' development suite powering the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. Julien Merceron has just been brought on to oversee Fox Engine as Konami's new worldwide technology director. "He will be a key member of our talented development community and be integral to ensuring that future titles will push the limits of what can be technically achieved, while ensuring they retain Konami's famed gameplay," Konami's European president, Shinji Hirano, told GamesIndustry International in a statement. "We welcome him and his talents to the team." Merceron spent the last seven years under the Square Enix umbrella, where he served as CTO at IO Interactive, Eidos and Crystal Dynamics before ascending to the position of global technology director for Square Enix proper. Prior to joining Square Enix, Merceron also served a stint at Ubisoft as worldwide technical director throughout the late '90s.
Hideo Kojima has no plans to license Fox Engine
Don't expect the engine behind the next Metal Gear Solid sequel to power any other games in the near future. Despite earlier comments in which Kojima stated that the Fox Engine could potentially be used for a Silent Hill entry, or perhaps a first-person shooter, the designer now believes that the engine would require a massive amount of work before it might be found in games other than Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. "Right now it's a bit too difficult," Kojima told Gamasutra. "While, yes, the engine has been shared around internally at Konami, a lot of maintenance will be involved if we're to get the Fox Engine in a workable enough state to license it. At the moment there are no plans to license it to schools or other organizations." Continuing, Kojima adds that he and Konami are willing to meet with potential Fox Engine licensees, but that open licensing of the engine is "off the table for now."
Kojima seeking studio to remake Metal Gear Solid... again [Update]
Update: Kojima has tweeted that "a rumor about remaking MGS1+2" is "not true," and that his statement "has been modified in the thread or something." Kojima further elaborated that he'd want to remake MGS1 and 2 in Fox Engine if possible, but that Kojima Productions is too busy with Metal Gear Solid 5 and "other prioritized titles." "I wouldn't mind if talented creator from outside studio making this happen," Kojima said, though that is different from saying that he is actively seeking a studio to fill that role. Original: Metal Gear series director Hideo Kojima is currently seeking a studio to remake Metal Gear Solid using the Fox Engine, Gamereactor UK reports. Kojima noted his interest during a recent roundtable interview, after a fan requested remakes for the first two Metal Gear Solid games. The Twin Snakes, a 2004 remake of the original Metal Gear Solid, was developed by Silicon Knights during the studio's brief stint as a second-party Nintendo developer, and remains a GameCube exclusive. Series compilations like Metal Gear Solid: The Essential Collection and the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection feature the original PSone version of Metal Gear Solid. While Metal Gear Solid 2 and Metal Gear Solid 3 were remade for 2011's release of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, the original game in the series continues to elude an HD makeover. Kojima noted that some of Metal Gear Solid's mechanics would require updating for a potential remake, but gave no further details. Kojima previously expressed doubts that Metal Gear Solid could be updated for modern audiences, explaining that "It was a game made for a certain era -- not just the story, but the controls and everything about it reflect that era in which the game was made." Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD developer Just Add Water expressed interest in producing a Metal Gear Solid remake in a Twitter reply to Kojima earlier today.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 powered by Fox Engine this year
Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 has been announced by Konami for Xbox 360, PS3, Windows PC and PSP. In this latest incarnation, the series will switch to using the Fox Engine. There's no word on Wii U, PS4 or Xbox One in the press release, but we've contacted Konami for further details. The 2014 game will feature what is dubbed as "TrueBall Tech," a system governing physics and controls centered around the ball. The Motion Animation Stability System (M.A.S.S.) is designed to present more realistic and dynamic player collision behavior and tackles, and footballers will now have mental statistics that can be affected throughout a match by fan support and teamwork. The Fox Engine is a multi-platform development suite powering Hideo Kojima's Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
The Phantom Pain bizarre interview points to FOX engine, GDC reveal
The Phantom Pain is all but confirmed to use the Konami-built FOX engine. The news comes via screenshots of the game displaying the engine's logo, as shown during what some would call an interview, and others... not so much.GameTrailers' Geoff Keighley sat down to talk about the abstruse game with its alleged creator, Joakim Mogren of the alleged Moby Dick Studio. As you can see, Mogren was covered in bandages because of "an accident," but he'll apparently be healed in time for GDC (two weeks time) where he'll unveil a revelatory Phantom Pain trailer.Mogren revealed nothing else beyond that, except for some screenshots that oh so subtly displayed the big fat FOX engine logo in the corner. We'll give the man credit: when the eagle-eyed Keighley pointed out the FOX logo, Mogren's shock (cough splutter) was a thing of beauty (see after the break).In completely unrelated news, Hideo Kojima is giving a talk at this year's GDC, and it'll feature a demonstration of the FOX engine.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes gameplay footage sneaks out of PAX 2012 [Update: Now with official footage!]
What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is the very first gameplay footage of Kojima's next non-Raiden oriented entry into the annals of Metal Gear history, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. As you can tell, Snake's ability to stealthily infiltrate a compound and mess up everyone's day has remained in-tact since Metal Gear Solid 4 launched in 2008. Sorry about the shaky-cam nature of this – Konami wasn't allowing direct streaming of the event, so here we are. We'll get a nicer version up for you as soon as it's released.As we heard a couple days ago, Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is an open world stealth game powered by Kojima Productions' proprietary Fox Engine. And yes, it did look super, super impressive.Update: Konami's official release of the footage we saw earlier today has been embedded above for your viewing pleasure. Don't say we never got you anything.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is gorgeous, open-world, and not Metal Gear Solid 5
Hideo Kojima divulged details on Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes at an "introspective" PAX session about the series today. The game's demo was shown recently to attendees at a Metal Gear 25th anniversary event in Japan, and involved Snake sneaking his way through an open world.So what else is new about Ground Zeroes? It's a "prologue" to Metal Gear Solid 5, says Hideo Kojima. The open world of Ground Zeroes is literally the entire world – a helicopter can be called to help during missions or ferry Snake in and out of mission levels. Moreover, you can customize the music that the helicopter plays when it arrives to help you ("Flight of the Valkyries" played during the demo we were shown today – Kojima says the louder the song is, the more of a chance of you getting caught, so maybe Slayer wouldn't be the best choice).Kojima reiterates that Ground Zeroes is a current-gen game, though Fox Engine is scalable for next-gen as well. He wouldn't give specifics on the name, but calls the game "a beginning" rather than an end for the series.Is Ground Zeroes the "Project Ogre" we've been wondering about? That's still not clear. What we do know is it's headed to current-gen consoles (360 and PS3 were mentioned) rather than the next, yet-to-be-determined hardware generation.
Kojima: Fox Engine could support Silent Hill, other Konami games
During a Metal Gear 25th Anniversary panel at PAX 2012, designer Hideo Kojima talked about the development of the Fox Engine, which powers Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. Kojima spoke briefly about the engine's potential and versatility."The thing is, once we get the Fox engine moving as we do now. You can make an FPS, you can make an Uncharted, etc. But what I wanted to do is make an open-world game, and that's what I'm doing now," he said.Kojima added that "other Konami studios may use it as well," and gave the Silent Hill series as an example.
'Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes' reportedly teased in Fox Engine debut [update: first art]
Attendees of this evening's Metal Gear 25th anniversary event in Japan are taking to Twitter with commentary on "Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes," which appears to be a brand new stealth game starring the ever-stalwart Snake.The demo reportedly showed Snake infiltrating a rain-drenched compound, avoiding search lights, offing a guard, driving a jeep and then summoning a helicopter in a seamless, open-world environment. The description meshes with designer Hideo Kojima's cryptic commentary on "Project Ogre," which he described as "very free."We can likely expect a more formal demonstration and less secretive video from Kojima Productions in the near future. For now, the Twitter consensus paints the Fox Engine, which powered the demo of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes, as something deserving of your oohs and aahs.Update: First artwork added, with a larger version after the break.
Hideo Kojima discusses Metal Gear's history, promises Fox Engine reveal Aug. 30
On August 30, in Japan, Kojima Productions will reveal its future with the debut demo of its Fox Engine – the tech powering the company's next, as yet unannounced game. Legendary game director Hideo Kojima revealed the demo date (which corresponds to a Metal Gear 25th anniversary event) in a post on the PlayStation Blog focused on the anniversary.Despite crafting one of the industry's most celebrated series, Kojima remembers certain struggles with the project: "I was a designer for Metal Gear Solid, but I was not a producer, so I had no say in the budget, release date, or promotion of the game. I remember when they told me what the release date would be and I had no say in the matter ... these are bitter memories for me," he said.The franchise's surge in popularity (and sales) helped Kojima's team think bigger for each subsequent project; however, it was visiting other teams that helped Kojima Productions set up for its own future with the Fox Engine. "In order to develop the Fox Engine, I had to understand how things worked elsewhere, so for a year and a half I visited studios around the world, and since we are Japanese people we were able to see the way others worked and recognize that in many respects their methods were better than ours." Kojima notes that the PSP release of Peace Walker came from the desire to work on a new project while the long work on the Fox Engine was unfolding.It's unclear what shape (or camo) the August 30 reveal will take, but we're hoping the link of the Fox Engine to the Metal Gear anniversary will spell something big for the stealth franchise.
Konami calls Metal Gear Solid 5 Comic-Con screens 'fake rumours,' denies secret reveal
Screens depicting a logo for Metal Gear Solid 5 tie the game to Hideo Kojima's mysterious "Project Ogre;" the screens were allegedly leaked out of this weekend's San Diego Comic-Con, from a behind-closed-doors presentation given by Kojima to developers, showing off the Fox Engine. At least, that'd be a reasonable story to believe – but Konami's saying it's all bunk.After (irresponsibly) tweeting ambiguous notes like, "Fake or real, we love a bit of speculation! #ogre #mgs5," Konami's UK account directly clarified that, "Seriously, just in case the #pinch #salt hashtags weren't enough - the chap who claims to have set up the fake rumours has been in touch," as spotted by Kotaku's Jason Schreier.Project Ogre is Kojima's current in-development game, though few details are known about its theme, or gameplay, or ... well, much of anything regarding it. Kojima has also spoken of a fifth Metal Gear Solid game, though its unclear if development of that game is already underway.Whether or not the game was shown behind closed doors, Kojima was definitely at Comic-Con this past weekend, and he appeared to be showing something secret. Epic Games design director Cliff Bleszinski tweeted, "Just got pulled into a back room at Comic Con by @HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN and showed some crazy new secret stuff. Wow." We're doing pretty much everything we can right here to not make a lurid joke.
Zone of the Enders sequel 'project' revealed; ZOE HD out in Japan Oct. 25
During a Zone of the Enders event today in Tokyo, Kojima Productions announced an October 25 release date for Zone of the Enders HD Collection – for Japan. International release dates for the PS3/Xbox 360 mech game compilation have yet to be announced beyond "fall".During the event, Hideo Kojima also announced that work has begun on a sequel currently codenamed "Enders Project." Kojipro is prototyping the game in its own Fox Engine, converting physical models into Fox Engine 3D models. The character model shown is more organic than robotic – it's the winsome fellow above, snapped by Famitsu.
Kojima clarifies the 'ogre' in 'Project Ogre'
Slowly but surely, sparse details regarding Hideo Kojima's "Project Ogre" begin to coalesce in the dark, nebulous void of unannounced games. We already know that Project Ogre will be an open world game with 100-plus hours of content, and that it will be a "very subdued experience," but what that experience actually is has remained a mystery.We have learned, however, that Kojima's use of the word "Ogre" in the project's codename is literal, rather than figurative, and that the game will deal with actual ogres in some capacity, according to a tweet translated by Andriasang. It's also interesting to note that the Japanese word for ogre, "oni," can also be translated to mean "devil" or "demon," so we may end up with one of those rather than an actual ogre. Our prediction is that this whole thing turns out to be a licensed Urusei Yatsura dating game.
Kojima's Project Ogre takes place in an open world
"Rather than making something cinematic, [I plan to] make something very free," Hideo Kojima told CNN of his new game, "Project Ogre." He went on to describe the game as set in an open world, in which players are free to explore. CNN reports that Kojima expects players to be able to find content even after 100 hours. This open-world design is, of course, a change from the Metal Gear Solid series, which gives players a lot of choice in how they want to approach situations -- in a strictly prescribed series. Do you want to walk by those guards quietly, or tranquilize them, or throw down a Playboy magazine to distract them, or just kill them with a grenade? However you do it, you likely have to. Kojima didn't outright say the images he recently released on Twitter, of a Fox Engine title, were of this particular game. He has continued teasing the engine on Twitter, where today he posted an image of an "original system" for creating avatars. Above: programmer "Lionel" and his avatar, made in about an hour of fiddling.
Kojima teases unknown Fox Engine title with ... 'See-thru underwear'?
With Platinum Games taking the reins on Metal Gear Rising, what's Kojima Productions up to? KojiPro captain Hideo Kojima took to Twitter to tease the above image writing, "'New title' run by 'Fox Engine.'" It features a refreshing change of pace for the veteran game designer; namely, soldiers and tanks. Alright, so you're not impressed with what Fox Engine is showing off. Kojima suspected as much, so he followed up with another tweet. "One of the key features about 'Fox Engine,' here's the transparent technique," Kojima wrote. "See-thru underwear." Now you're tasked with the following dilemma: Do you click past the break to see what he's talking about, or do you simply move on, content in the knowledge that you were the stronger person?
Hideo Kojima talks life, influences at USC presentation
Legendary game developer Hideo Kojima took the stage at the University of Southern California last night to talk about his life as a game developer, and give a few thoughts on the current state of gaming and game development. During an interview moderated by Geoff Keighley, the creator of Metal Gear Solid spoke honestly about his past as the son of two pharmaceutical executives, his current work/life balance, and what he thinks the future of gaming looks like. Kojima told a few cute stories from his past -- he said that he started writing as a young man, and early on wrote a long story called "Survival Battle" that had everyone in its world fight at the age of 14, earning extra time in their lifespan for each victory. He said that in college, he was an economics major, and thus the "only oddball in my class that wanted to make movies or novels." His economics thesis even included a short story "to surprise my professor, and he was very surprised," said Kojima through a translator, "but it didn't help my grade much." Kojima also talked about his gaming influences, starting with the original Famicom, and mentioned titles like Super Mario Brothers, Xevious, and the Japanese text adventure Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken as early influences on his work. "I felt great potential in the medium," Kojima said about discovering video games, adding that the interactivity was what really drew him in early on.
Kojima shows off Fox Engine faces, the nightmares won't stop coming
Hideo Kojima recently Tweeted a few images of -- AH! Oh, sorry. We've been just a little jumpy since we saw this recent Tweet from Hideo Kojima, which shows off the facial rendering system of his studio's new Fox Engine, without any calming context whatsoever. Alongside the images, Kojima mentioned that the man depicted is a "killed character." That's fortunate, because we don't really want anything with a face this horrifying to be alive. Check out a pair of larger, even more soul-rattling images from the Fox facial system after the break, followed immediately by an image of our reaction to these scary-ass countenances.
Kojima highlights the gap between western and Japanese development styles
Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima dropped some truth-bombs this week during an interview with Famitsu, as translated by 1UP. Speaking on the importance of world-wide success in the international market, he claimed that acceptance in foreign lands may not be as important as it once was, and that there is more to international success than a development team's nationality. According to Kojima, the key to global success is separation: if a development house wants western success, they should build a western team separate from their existing Japanese teams, complete with their own offices and culture-specific pay-scales. He also cites cultural differences as a major roadblock for international success, explaining, "Japanese people might say 'Why space aliens?', but Americans will counter with 'What's with these games featuring these feminine-looking boys fighting in Japan with these huge swords?' It's no wonder the target audience for a lot of games is getting so compartmentalized." Kojima hopes that Fox Engine, Kojima Productions' forthcoming multi-platform development environment, will help his studio develop new titles in a fashion similar to western developers. As long as he keeps putting snakes in boxes, we don't care what development style Kojima uses.
Kojima announces multiplatform 'Fox Engine,' powering upcoming project
Though we're still waiting to hear more on Kojima Productions' sword-swinging action title, Metal Gear Solid: Rising, the series' progenitor gave some hints about his next project in today's pre-E3 presentation. Kojima explained that he's working on a heretofore unannounced title that will run on the "Fox Engine," a new multiplatform development tool which Kojima Productions is creating in-house. A teaser image for the engine shows a PC mouse, a DualShock 3 and a 360 controller, seemingly indicating its compatibility with the three device's respective counterparts. Kojima explained the engine, which Konami started developing shortly after completing Metal Gear Solid 4, is designed to ease the company's fairly laborious porting process between consoles, freeing Kojima's team to make even more games. We'll keep an eye out for more details on the Fox Engine at E3 next week!
