An interview with Hideo Kojima – iGamesNews

With the release of Death Stranding 2: On the beach To come on June 26, we recently met Hideo Kojima to discuss how the theme of the “connection” played a role in the development of the suite during COVID, and what challenges he was confronted during the gameplay overhaul.

Familiarize players with a new kind and offer more choices and freedom

PlayStation blog: What were your goals when creating the Death Stranding suite? Has there been any major changes or improvements that you were looking to implement?

Hideo Kojima: While we were making the PlayStation 4 jump to PlayStation 5, most of the changes were focused on the design and the story of the game. As you may remember, Metal Gear Solid was one of the first stealth games, and you had to be completely not detected to survive. There were no weapons available on the elevator at the start of the game, because if there were, players would most likely fight enemies instead of sneaking. This defeats the purpose of a stealth game, so we intentionally left them aside. Some have said it was too difficult to reach the elevator (laughs), but the game included various mechanisms to teach players how the stealth mechanisms work. Then, in Metal Gear Solid 2, we have made improvements, such as facilitating the manipulation of weapons, or to target parts of the body in a first person perspective.

Death Stranding 2: On the beach was designed with a similar philosophy. The players became familiar with the genre “delivery game” with the first game, and the rest is based on this and offers players more choices and freedom, especially around combat; You can go to flamboyant rifles, or you can choose not to use weapons at all. We also made cars and motorcycles more accessible.

As for history, the predecessor was focused on Sam and Cliff. This time, the story deepens Who Lou, his relationship with Sam, as well as the background of Sam.

How did the players used the SSE Social System (SSS) surprised you in the first match? Did this have an impact on the development of Death Stranding 2?

We did not know initially if the players would use the SSS, but we found that many players really appreciated the functionality. Even now, five years after the release of the game, there are players who are still devoted to the construction of motorways, and it was a pleasant surprise. During the development of the suite, we proposed various ways to welcome players passionate about the construction of infrastructure such as highways, and as part of this, we added the ability to build monorails.

A system on which the team debated was the mechanic “tastes”. The tastes in the game do not have a physical impact – they cannot be converted into currencies, and they do not make you stronger. However, it feels good when you receive another player as a sign of appreciation. We have planned some reactions when we implemented the functionality of Death's death, but instead, the players seemed to like the mechanic. When we work on the Cup of the Director of Death Death, we reviewed the data and heat cards to rework the functionality according to our results. Death Stranding 2: On the beach is also based on this, so we have a better understanding of the behavior of the players.

Why did you choose Mexico and Australia as the main location for Death Stranding 2: On the beach?

Mexico shares a border with UCA (United Cities of America), so that neighboring cities had to be connected. As Sam mentions several times in the game, we were extremely aware that the construction of these “connections” did not seem invasive. The trip of Sam connection of the Americas from east to west was inspired by the American border. With the established UCA, we wanted the suite to take place in a place that shared a similar geography with the Americas – extends from east to west and borders the sea to the north and south. Eurasia is too large and Africa did not correspond to the bill either. Australia has checked all the boxes, but the next issue we had to face was how to connect the North American continent to Australia. After many discussions, we decided to implement the “plate door” to connect the two continents.

Revisit what “connection” means to humanity

The basic themes of the games have gone to “connect people” to “should we have connected?” Was this due to your point of view on social media evolving over time?

Death Stranding was in development before Covid Hit, and I had the impression that there was a world fracture that occurred at that time, especially after discussions on Brexit. The theme of the game reflected my notion at that time, that humanity had to connect and unite to avoid disaster. Covid occurred three months after the launch of the game, and the world ended up fracturing, like the game. However, we survived the Internet. At the same time, I saw more people starting to ignore connections and interactions in person, and that went against my belief around human communication. It is only up to you that you can meet people by chance or come across unexpected places.

Death Stranding 2: On the beach was already in preparation before Covid, but we saw the global concept of the game after COVVID. The predecessor was inspired by the fear of social fragmentation and isolation, but after having experienced a coco, I started to ruminate the dangers of being “too connected”. I left a lot of clues in the game, such as the theory of stick and rope, so I think the players will connect the points at the end. You will also meet characters who will talk about my thoughts in the game.

An index is that the previous logo had strands suspended downwards, which symbolized the theme of the game to establish connections. While the logo for Death Stranding 2: On the beach has strands that descend to the logo. What does it mean to be connected? Should we have connected? Play the game to find out.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach Lancements on PS5 on June 26. Players who buy the collector or digital edition edition edition can start their early trip with 48 -hour early access, and pre -order bonuses are available in all editions.

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