You knew I wasn't gonna miss this one.
Just wanted to point you guys to my full coverage of Kojima's fun-fascinating talk at GDC -- he went on at his signature length, full of his usual metaphors and humor, but the result was a really comprehensive history of the design philosophy behind the Metal Gear series, how Kojima realized his visions by creatively working around obstacles in the way (kind of like what it's like to play Metal Gear) and how it's evolved throughout the franchise's 20-year (!!) history.
I don't mind bragging that I've covered the talk the most thoroughly of anyone else online, so if you're interested in his lecture, read my coverage, will you please?
Highlights: The stealth action gameplay was born out of the tech limitations of the MSX2. Says the NES Metal Gear and Snake's Revenge are "crap." He jokes about his cut scenes and illustrates his points with clever Snake animations. He defines what he thinks is the best takeaway from Western design and how he hopes it will appear in "the next Metal Gear series."
When I see the evolution of Metal Gear discussed from the perspective of design philosophy, it makes me appreciate, in concept at least, MGS4 all the more, because it's really a transparent illustration of his journey as a game designer (I dithered about with this idea, and badly, at Kotaku around the time MGS4 launched, so check it out if you're not sure what I'm trying to say here).
I know I'm a bit rabid as Metal Gear fans go. But I hope that getting to read him talking in this way about this stuff at least helps people understand why I think he's so incredibly impressive as a director, designer and auteur, even if his work ain't your cup of tea.
