Metal Gear‘s creator believes he has more to offer than one series.
Love it or hate it, the Metal Gear series is one of the most recognizable franchises in gaming, largely thanks to its distinctive creator. Hideo Kojima has made a career for himself spinning the many yarns of Solid Snake and those who inhabit his world of espionage, but the Metal Gear mastermind insists that he has more to offer the gaming world. While he’s very proud of the work he’s done on the series and has big plans for its next few games, he’d like to work on new IPs by using Metal Gear as a testing ground.
“I’ve always said that I want to work on original properties, but Metal Gear offers plenty of benefits,” says Kojima. “In the next game, I’m introducing concepts intended for entirely new intellectual properties using the Metal Gear brand.” Kojima hasn’t specified exactly what he might like to do in a new IP, but cited Grand Theft Auto III as a major influence. The game came out the same year as Metal Gear Solid 2, and provided a stark contrast in terms of game design. “The area a player could explore [in GTAIII] was so vast that not even the game designer could predict all possible outcomes. That title definitely opened my eyes.”
Even though his flagship series can be a playground for new ideas, Kojima still hopes to migrate away from Metal Gear eventually. “I haven’t really shown the world what else I might be capable of yet,” he claims. “This may sound pretentious, but I don’t like being thought of as ‘the Metal Gear guy.’ There’s a lot more I can do.” Kojima hopes that in the future, people will attach significance to a game that carries his name, rather than a game “from the creator of Metal Gear.”
Kojima is definitely a creative man, and while the Metal Gear series has seen its ups and downs, each title has tried something new. A new IP using all of the experimental mechanics from the Metal Gear series could be interesting, but if it’s anything like Kojima’s previous work, it’s bound to attract both hardcore fans and outspoken detractors.
Source: EGM
