Hideo Kojima: Connecting the World – inspiring yet clean

September 13, 2024 | Games, Movies and TV

It’s no secret that Hideo Kojima loves attention, and I’m sure he would love the idea. Connecting the Worlda film that is ultimately part documentary and part marketing exercise. This is 100 percent modern Kojima, post his fashionable makeover circa 2019. There are plenty of artistic shots of him in empty offices and studios, and round-up clips of his famous friends praising him.

Yet simultaneously, beneath the gushing praise from Geoff Keighley, Chvrches and George Miller, there was something purer on display. Seeing Kojima at work was witnessing the inspiring passion for creation that I used to absorb through the pages of the gaming magazines I read growing up. In the 2020s, it’s a reminder that video games are more than just sales numbers and Twitter arguments.

Kojima versus Konami

Considering Kojima is most famous for Metal Fixtures series, which spanned nearly three decades and sold more than 60 million copies, the absence of any direct mention of it is quite striking. Kojima was going through a less than amicable split with Konami at the time V Solid Metal Fittingswas released in 2015, and it is therefore understandable that he would prefer to focus on Kojima Productions and its future.

He says that “it’s hard to create something cutting edge” when every decision has to weigh the brand and profitability of such a large company, and the film discusses how publishers try to minimize risks due to the abundance of modern games. cost to make it. As director Nicolas Winding Refn (who played Heartman in Death Stranding) stated, Kojima is an “enemy of algorithms”.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t stakes. The price of Kojima’s new freedom is knowing that failure could be the end of his studio and cost all his employees their jobs. I imagine I wasn’t the only viewer Ocelot taunted Snake with Solid Metal Fittings crossed my mind: “There’s no continuation, friend.”

Connect with strands

As you would expect, for the most part Connecting the World focused on the Kojima project that was currently underway, Death Stranding. The director explained how he did not want to depict the battle as heroic after hearing his parents’ experiences in the war. Realizing that the world was becoming more divided even as it became more technologically connected, he had the idea to create a game that reconnected people.

In the Death Strandingplayers cannot meet each other in person, but they can find infrastructure left by other players to support their journey. Kojima said his hope is that society will eventually realize that they need to work together and help each other – even those they can’t physically see.

The game found unexpected relevance upon its release in November 2019, as its isolated world bore similarities to what humans experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic the following year. Kojima said he was heartened to hear it helped connect people back in the day. This isn’t the first time one of his games has proven prophetic – in the most famous example, Solid Metal Fixtures 2 featured commentary on controlling digital information well before its time.

Big screen inspiration

Kojima states in his X profile that 70 percent of his body is made of film, and his love of movies certainly comes through in his games, which are known for their complex plots and carefully directed set pieces. In the Connecting the Worldhe compared the film to the sun, and said it was “stimulating [his] cell†.

He emphasized the importance of referencing other genres and media when working on creative products, name-checking a series of films and novels that inspired his game designs. This might also be seen as a slight dig at other game developers who grew up playing games and don’t look for inspiration outside of their own medium – something that seems to be increasingly common.

Regarding his taste in films, Kojima has said that he likes directors who “keep things suspenseful†but still maintain mass appeal. That’s why he wants to work with actors like Mads Mikkelsen and Lea Seydoux, who have appeared in indie projects and major Hollywood productions. The similarities to Kojima, moving from blockbusters to more niche titles while still maintaining popularity, are not lost on me.

Behind the scene

Connecting the WorldThe best moments are when we see Kojima at work, rather than just talking about him. He makes it clear early on that the iconic title “Hideo Kojima’s game” means he has to ensure quality from start to finish, and – at least from the glimpse we get – he seems to take that responsibility very seriously.

Kojima’s involvement is at a level that verges on micromanagement, and we see him overseeing developers and providing guidance on very minor gameplay elements. Therefore, he said that he has up to 200 issues on his plate at any time, and joked that he sometimes dreams of bug-checking the build.

Aside from a few clips that are no more than 20 seconds each, it’s disappointing Connecting the World not getting more technical, either in programming or on the business side. I wanted to learn more about how Kojima Productions was founded and the technical challenges the team overcame in its development. Death Strandingbut perhaps that’s expecting too much from a production so closely associated with the studio, which prefers to focus on vague talk of greatness.

Connecting the World will leave you dissatisfied. On a promotional-documentary scale, the end result leans toward the latter, full of claims and praise, but little actual insight into the creative process. However, it’s still a rare opportunity to see Kojima in his element, and – if you’re in the right mood to tolerate hyperbole – it’s still an inspiring watch.

---

Hideo Kojima: Connecting the World available to stream now on Disney+.