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Kojima to deliver GDC talk featuring FOX engine demo
Metal Gear Solid creator and nerdcool icon Hideo Kojima is speaking about the upcoming Ground Zeroes at this year's Game Developers Conference in late March.Attendees of the San Francisco expo can look forward to "Photorealism through the eyes of a 'FOX:' The Core of Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes," a talk which features a demonstration of Kojima Production's shiny new FOX engine, including discussion of its environmental changes, as revealed last September. Kojima will be joined by Ground Zeroes technical director Junji Tago, lighting artist Masayuki Suzuki, and CG art director Hideki Sasaki.This is a rare coup for GDC; the last time Kojima spoke at the conference was back in 2009, when we were wondering if Metal Gear Solid 4 was coming to Xbox 360, and what "the next MGS" would be. Four years on, speculation lingers around the celebrated designer's long-running series after the curious reveal of The Phantom Pain. Whether or not Kojima chooses the venue of GDC to spill any stealthily concealed beans, the talk should provide more than a few exclamation marks to enjoy.
Kojima originally envisioned Gray Fox as the star of Metal Gear Rising
Hideo Kojima's transition from game designer to game producer is one steeped in compromise, the Metal Gear mogul explained during a recent interview with IGN. Specifically, Kojima would have preferred that Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance star series mainstay cyborg ninja Gray Fox, rather than Raiden."It was my staff in Kojima Productions that insisted on Raiden, and I respected their idea," Kojima said. "In my personal opinion, I wanted to go for Frank Jaegar or Gray Fox. But if we had gone with that, I would have had to write the script and then be really committed to creating the game."In the end, passing the torch of crafting Metal Gear's universe to the next generation of developers was of greater importance than ensuring Gray Fox as the star. "I want to pass game development to the younger generation in my team, and have been trying to do so for quite some time. Before I never could give complete responsibilities for other games, but for Revengeance, they are fully in control. Besides, if I had created the game and directed it, it wouldn't have been this game."
The Phantom Pain speculation round-up: Metal Gear?!
The biggest surprise to come from last night's Spike TV Video Game Awards was undoubtedly the announcement of The Phantom Pain, a seemingly new IP from a completely unknown Swedish development house called Moby Dick Studio. The debut trailer showed a hospital under attack from an ominously obscured figure, and ended on a macro shot of an amputee that bore a striking resemblance to Solid Snake of Metal Gear Solid fame.Wait, Solid Snake? Metal Gear?! But, how could that be possible in a new franchise from a new developer that isn't Konami or Kojima Productions? Hey actually, now that we think about it, why is a brand-new studio getting to premiere a teaser for its first-ever game at an event generally reserved for AAA titles from global publishers?Perhaps there's more to this than meets the eye. Let's take an in-depth, spoiler filled look at what evidence there is so far, and why all signs point to this being a new entry in the Metal Gear mythos.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes brings back base-building
Not only will Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes mark the return of Big Boss, it will also bring back the base-building and development feature last seen in Peace Walker.Speaking at the Eurogamer Expo, Snake charmer Hideo Kojima noted that being able to use multiple devices to access a game lends itself "very well" to the Mother Base system from Peace Walker and "that's something we're planning on for Ground Zeroes." Mother Base is an updated version of the crew management system first included in Portable Ops, where players could train and manage soldiers."The concept of developing weapons at your base is a very cool idea, and something that could be popular," Kojima added during a packed developer session at the event. "It's something we've been thinking of."According to Eurogamer, the base will be accessible in-between the open world areas of Ground Zeroes, and that players will have access to the area via the on-call helicopter at Boss' disposal. Once at the base, players will be able to explore it on foot and watch its development.Kojima again showed his previously revealed demo of the game, noting Ground Zeroes was running off a PC with similar specifications to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is coming to the PC Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sometime in 2013.
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes features day/night cycles
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes' open world has a day and night cycle, something Hideo Kojima believes can enhance the game's replay value. The Metal Gear Solid creator told Eurogamer things like "enemy troop patterns" are noticeably different between daylight and darkness. Kojima also revealed a less inviting feature of the open world, confirming the game has loading screens.Ground Zeroes debuted at PAX earlier this month, showcased in a trailer which saw Snake try to infiltrate a compound at night. Whether or not that particular mission is possible during daylight remains to be seen (pun intended), or what other elements are dependent on the time of day.In the meantime, Konami has released some screenshots taken from the trailer, so you can have a hi-res gander right below.%Gallery-164827%
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is not 'Project Ogre'
Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes is an open world game developed in the Fox Engine by Kojima Productions. That squares with what we know about "Project Ogre," an "open ground" game in the Fox Engine. However, they are not the same.In a frustrated tweet, Hideo Kojima, head of Kojima Productions, said that "Project Ogre is the project that Ogre appears," noting "Ogre does not appear in 'MGS Ground Zeroes' trailer." While the specifics of the refutation are still in question – is "Ogre" a character in addition to representing "open ground?" – the overall message is clear: Project Ogre and Ground Zeroes are different.Of course, that would mean KojiPro is working on two open world games at the same time, which seems insane.
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.
Kojima would 'really like' to make a Metal Gear Rising sequel with Platinum
Speaking during the Metal Gear 25th Anniversary panel at this year's PAX in Seattle, Konami kingpin and Metal Gear mogul Hideo Kojima gave a bit of insight into the future of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance as a series, as well as his continuing relationship with Platinum Games."First of all, I'm not a huge fan of spin-offs," Kojima said. "But as far as Rising is concerned, if it works out well, I'd really like to work with Platinum again to make a sequel."Kojima also said that he'd "really love to make" a game with The Boss as a main character, but that it would be part of the main series if it were to ever happen, rather than a spun-off title like Rising. Kojima couldn't comment on whether Platinum Games would be involved with that game's hypothetical production, only that he's "really loving working with Platinum."
'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.
Metal Gear Solid movie coming, care of Columbia Pictures
You'll have to be more specific in your snide commentary the next time you think to call Metal Gear Solid a movie. There will be a proper film based on the popular Konami property, said X-Men and Spider-Man producer Avi Arad, who announced the project at a special Metal Gear 25th anniversary event in Japan.Metal Gear Solid designer and figurehead Hideo Kojima hinted at a film project back in March, suggesting that the franchise in its current state wouldn't be quite compatible with Hollywood. The extent of his participation is currently unclear, as is the film's production schedule, plot and likelihood of relying on nanobots to explain all the weird-ass things that happen.The film will come courtesy of Columbia Pictures, and be praised and lambasted in equal measure for its use of 40-minute long "audience participation scenes."
Hideo Kojima is talking all things Metal Gear at PAX Prime
Legendary game director Hideo Kojima – pictured top left, fondling an imaginary person during a Kinect-focused TGS 2010 panel – is taking his show on the road to PAX Prime 2012.Kojima will participate in a discussion dedicated to the past, present, and future of the Metal Gear franchise at the big Seattle-based fan event, at 1pm PST on Saturday, September 1, with GTTV host Geoff Keighley acting as moderator. PAX Prime runs from August 31 until September 2."The one hour introspective will focus on the history of the award winning franchise in celebration of Metal Gear's 25th anniversary this year," Konami says. Questions for Kojima will be decided by vote, via an upcoming poll on the official Metal Gear Solid Facebook page.The only question worth asking is obvious, though: "Metal Gear?!"
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.
'Critical Path' trailer is loaded with games industry talent
A trailer for Critical Path, a "transmedia project exploring the art, philosophy, politics and psychology of video games" recently surfaced. The trailer, created by a Los Angeles-based studio named Artifact, shows dozens of game designers talking about their craft and the place games take in the history of expressive media. The project aims to "give game designers their due as innovators and influencers of culture."Critical Path is described as the culmination of "two years of filming and archiving" interviews, according to Artifact's site. "User feedback will influence future interviews, which will be added to the archive on an ongoing basis."Among the 37 names listed at the end of the trailer are Warren Spector, Jenova Chen, John Carmack, David Cage, Cliff Bleszinski, Ken Levine, Peter Molyneux, Tim Schafer and Hideo Kojima. You can watch the trailer here.
Kojima: 'leaked' Metal Gear Solid 5 logo is fake
Even after Konami UK debunked the Metal Gear Solid 5 info supposedly leaked out of Comic-Con, there were still weird lingering questions. Those questions have now been decisively answered by someone who would know his own logo: Hideo Kojima."Since I've received inquiries about the MGS5 title screen/the announcement made at ComicCon which I had no idea of, I looked up on the net and found the source," Kojima tweeted. "But please note that title logo is completely FAKE. I apologize to those who were looking forward. Anyway it proved I can still create the buzz," concluded the designer, who has never had any problems creating "buzz." Kojipro senior producer Kenichiro Imaizumi also denied the veracity of the images, saying, "I've been asked about the screen shots of MGS5 on the game sites. These're ALL FAKE."Just because that logo's a fake, of course, doesn't mean the game isn't real: Kojima has already been talking about the features of the sort-of-announced sequel, and has been hiring for the "'next' MGS."
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.
Kojima: 'we will see' about Deus Ex-style social interactions in Metal Gear Solid 5
Metal Gear Solid 5 is definitely a thing and is set to use Kojima Productions' new Fox Engine, Hideo Kojima told French games magazine IG, CVG reports. Kojima sneaked in a few gameplay and story details as well:"About Metal Gear Solid 5, I can tell you two things," Kojima said. "There will be much question of infiltration, espionage, and convincing people to give you 'a favor' like in the last Metal Gear Solid."I liked the idea of social interactions in Deus Ex: Human Revolution, but we will see. And if I say more, the female ninja public relations officer, who is behind the door, I will be carved up into pieces."Kojima also cleared up any remaining confusion (not related to grammar) about Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and its place in the Solid franchise: "Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance never claimed to be a Metal Gear Solid," he said. "This is not a game about our beloved Solid Snake. It is a spinoff that tries something different. We have not yet finished with Solid Snake, despite the fact that I wanted to let him die at the end of Guns of the Patriots."Now that's tough love.
Thank Kojima's son for getting Snake into Smash Bros. Brawl
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and Sora Ltd. head Masahiro Sakurai are friends. So when Hideo Kojima wanted one of his most famous characters, Solid Snake, put into Sakurai's fighting series, Super Smash Bros., all the two had to do was talk. "When I was developing Super Smash Bros. Melee for GameCube, Hideo Kojima contacted me and practically begged me to put him in there, but at that time we were deep in dev and it was too late," Sakurai told Kotaku back in 2006. Snake didn't end up in Melee, but did appear in the Wii's iteration of Super Smash Bros.: Brawl.So what drove Kojima to "practically beg" Sakurai to get Snake in the game? "My child likes Super Smash Bros., so we play it a lot together. And he told me that there's no character that you made in that game," Hideo Kojima told a group of interviewers late last week ahead of the Smithsonian's "The Art of Videogames" exhibit. Aside from his son's pleading, Kojima pointed to Metal Gear's low profile on Nintendo consoles as a second reason."As you know, we did make Twin Snakes, but generally speaking, there hasn't been a lot of Metal Gear on Nintendo platforms. So from that perspective, I thought it was a good way to expose younger people to this character, Snake," he said. It must be working, as Snake is one of Brawl's most popular characters.
Kojima working on 'something' related to film, announcement coming in the 'near future'
During a heavily curated question and answer session at the Smithsonian Museum of Art, Hideo Kojima was asked whether he is interested in making films, as his lifelong passion for the cinema has heavily influenced the way he makes games.According to the Metal Gear Mogul himself, filmmaking is something he's always been interested in and has wanted to try, although he doesn't believe Metal Gear Solid would work as a film in its current form. That doesn't mean he isn't working on anything, however: "I'm working on something, and I hope in the near future I'll have something to announce."Well then! Here's hoping for that live-action Snatcher adaptation we've been dreaming of since 1994.
Hideo Kojima recalls Snatcher's heat-activated disk (what?)
Among the many things that Metal Gear series creator Hideo Kojima is known for – microblogging about everything he eats, for instance – we're particularly interested in his proclivity for breaking the fourth wall. The first Metal Gear Solid's controller port trick is but one example of his bizarre, outside-the-box thinking when it comes to making games. As it turns out, he was trying to do so as early as 1988, when he first worked on the original Snatcher for Konami.During a roundtable interview session today, just ahead of his appearance at the Smithsonian's "The Art of Videogames" event, Kojima detailed his first forays beyond the game as presented on screen. "Back when I was making Snatcher, which is a PC game – at the time we used floppy disks," he said. "One thing that I wanted to do that I wasn't able to do was that I wanted to have a secret message on the disk -- actually have something written or printed on the disk." Kojima wanted the missive to be heat activated – which is to say "activated by the heat created by the disk drive itself." S ... seriously?"So maybe when you put it in your disk drive and you're playing for about fifteen minutes, the heat from the disk drive interacts with that chemical and creates a certain smell. It smells like blood or something like that," he said through a translator. "And when you pull it out you see like a dying message on the disk. That was actually an idea I had for the original Snatcher but unfortunately I got yelled at for it and they didn't let me do it." Isn't it always "they?" Those guys are the worst!
