Kojima's blog now in English

By Tom Bramwell Published 24 October, 2005

Reflections on Metal.

Hideo Kojima's Japanese blog is being translated into English - giving us a chance to quote direct from the Metal Gear Solid creator's online musings rather than relying on unofficial translations.

Although the official version is a bit behind current updates - currently just a week from September 24th to 29th - it's already an interesting read, touching on various post-TGS subjects including press reaction to Metal Gear Solid 4 and ongoing development of Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence.

The earliest entry touches on a variety of subjects, revealing how Starsailor wound up on the MGS3 soundtrack entirely by accident, talking about the camera's role in Subsistence - Kojima-san says he still hasn't decided about doing two camera types in MGS4 - and touching on the use of elevators in the series, originally inspired, he says, by their use in Dawn of the Dead.

The tone is universally reflective. "If our children today don't have any dreams, we creators are guilty for not giving them dreams. We are culpable. We must create a dream to leave behind for the sake of our children," he writes. The Anglicised blog also includes his previously translated entry about transferring the will of MGS onto new generation of gamers and his staff, summing up why he returned to production on MGS. "I enjoy creating games. I want to hang on to the creative experience. I only have to prove that I have the willpower to do so. The image of Grandpa Snake is a reflection of the determination of this middle-aged man."

It's an interesting read throughout, and well worth checking out.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (8) Latest comment 5 years ago

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  • tengu #1 6 years ago

    Hideous Kojima. Very good :)
    Edited by 1 at 24/10/05 @ 14:50

  • Dizzy #2 6 years ago

    More stuff that doesn't make any sense.

    He can compete with this:
    http:// mostboringbloginuniverse.blogspot.com/
    Edited by 1 at 24/10/05 @ 19:14

  • Wobble #3 6 years ago

    snaykuuu! snaykuuuuu!

    /played first MGS in Japanese
    //died a lot
    ///nothing to add but slashies.

  • Kiigan #4 6 years ago

    Snake sounds SO MUCH COOLER in Japanese.

    One thing Kojima neglects to point out is: You've got to have a dream. If you don't have a dream, how are you going to have a dream come true?

  • Xerx3s #5 6 years ago

    Goodie.

  • PES_Fanboy #6 6 years ago

    "If our children today don't have any dreams, we creators are guilty for not giving them dreams. We are culpable. We must create a dream to leave behind for the sake of our children,"

    God almighty, I know you can't translate Japanese to English exactly, but he's as up his own bum as I imagined he is...

    I wonder if he's ever sat back at night, wondering why, if he's such an ace director, mulling over camera shots and the like, that Uwe Boll et al direct those films based on games, yet he has only been asked to direct games based on films (albeit amalgamously)?

    Save for the (admittedly quite brilliant) Psycho Mantis scene in the first MGS, I'm struggling to think of any 'set piece' direction that has occurred in subsequent Kojima games that has been notable. Did he use up all his ideas in the first MGS?

    The idea that a game has a 'director' does, to me anyway, dictate a linear style of play - or at least, one with a finite amount of scenes / outcomes. In the next gen, with free-roaming etc becoming more and more popular, will this be a thing of the past? I'm hoping the MGS style, play-a-level-then-the-guardian approach will be a thing of the past in the next gen. By all means there is nothing wrong with the basic premise, but open it up a little!

  • Eighthours #7 6 years ago

    Pretentious? Toi?

  • Bates #8 5 years ago

    lol@ obvious Xbox fanboys! Pathetico much chaps? :D