GDC 09: Hideo Kojima’s Solid Game Design: Making the Impossible Possible

GDC Conference Director Meggan Scavio walks onto the stage for the Introduction. “His influence on the video game medium is unmistakable.” And Hideo Kojima struts onto the stage to applause, blinding us with the human body he created, probably, draped in smexy designer fashion, housing the mind that’s making the audience clap until their hands become mush.

And there I am, alone and afraid, amidst the nerds and their slight pungent smell created from walking only a few stairs.

Kojima eases us into the presentation. It turns out that this GDC is the first one he’s ever been to. Before, E3 would’ve kept him swapped, but the event “has lost its punch over the years (jab). Plus, they said if I come to GDC they’ll give me an award.” I chuckle. Everyone lols.

He states that his keynote is going to be more about the philosophy of his design, rather than the technical aspects.”It’s a long presentation, so I hope I won’t bore you.” I inwardly thank him and his kindness. “Unfortunately, I have to say I’m not giving out any presents like games today.” I inwardly boo him and try to leave. “There are no other sessions going on now, so you can’t escape.  Sorry to say it, guys, but you’re stuck with me today.” You win this round, Kojima! And the proper presentation begins.

For the duration of the keynote, Kojima stands in the middle of the stage in front of Metal Gear-related backgrounds with his remote as on-screen projectors follow along. Revolutionary Creation pops up as the main topic, which he simply defines as “making the impossible possible.” A line goes across the screen. “This is a path.” Old Snake walks across the screen easily. But then a small wall appears, for which Snake climbs over. “Every day, you’re faced with obstacles.” Then, Sprite Mario jumps over the block. Where did he come from? “Of course, Mario and Snake can jump over it.” A tall wall appears, blocking Snake but not Mario, who gets a running start and clears it. Snake imagines himself as Mario, leaping over the wall. “He’s not Mario, so he cannot jump over.” Snake begins to imagine other ways of getting over the wall, like pole-vaulting or gunning it down with a turret, all funny. You might not be able to do what Mario can, but there are other ways to get around the obstacle. The ‘camera angle’ shifts, revealing that instead of jumping over the wall, you can walk around it.

Using images mostly from his Metal Gear series, Kojima recounts his obstacles, all hardware-related, in creating each MG game better than the previous. The simple message is this: MGS was born out of hardware limitation (struggle), advancing together to reach new heights. He even goes back to the first obstacle, which was to create an action game for the MSX2, which was Metal Gear, stating that if he gave up then, there wouldn’t be a Metal Gear Series. What is the impossible barrier that is holding us back? Kojima quotes Robert Goddard: It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow. But since this is Kojima’s keynote, he wants us to follow his quote, “90% of what is considered ‘impossible’ is, in fact possible. The other 10% will become possible with the passage of time & technology.” Get ready to see this frequently on the blackboard in the future!

I feel the keynote is about to end, but Kojima, in all his glory, says “Let’s join together and make the impossible possible.” And I cry happy tears.

I’m sure many gamers are thinking, “Well, duh,” to Kojima’s philosophy, but what if developers actually aren’t thinking like this? Personally, it’s good to see him stating the basic foundation of human endeavor. It’s like a pep talk. I was about to walk out of that room with my head held high, but then the pungent smell came back.

Highlights

• Using MSX Nemesis as an example, Kojima pointed out the hardware limitations back in the years of 1985, revealing that the 9^th sprite onscreen would always disappear. People who weren’t making games back then scratched their heads. Guilty.
• Kojima mentions the NES version of MG and later, Snake’s Revenge, which he said is crap, because he didn’t make them. BURN!
• A moment of technical difficulty came up. Kojima pleads, “Please don’t post this on Youtube!” Everyone lols. I say, “Too late!”
• There was a break for applause when Kojima started talking about Metal Gear Solid. Where was the applause for the first game?
• Samples of a codec conversation between Snake and the Colonel from MGS were played in 6 different languages, which Kojima unexpectedly commented on. German Version: “Sounds like I want to eat some sausages.” Italian: “I want to eat pasta now.” And French: “Feels a little romantic.” WHOA.
• ‘Breaks’ during the presentation was given by playing TV spots for each of the MGS games started from the PlayStation version. MGS3 was the best!
• Kojima mentions several times about the long cut-scenes in each game, which he urged us to laugh about. So we lol’d.
• He tells the audience that a recent trend in Western Design was to use technology to get over obstacles, compared to relying on Software, which tends to be more of a Japanese thing. Kojima and his company want to do both.
• Small concept art, mix of Snake and cyborg Raiden, appears over the words, “Mission: The Next MGS.” Begin the speculation!

Pictures taken by Kotaku