Hideo Kojima: I could never stop making games

Hideo Kojima is not leaving the games industry any time soon.

Speaking during a keynote conversation with Mark Cerny at Develop:Brighton this morning, the legendary developer discussed his early motivations and why he enjoys creating video games so much.

“30 years ago, I wanted to make movies but in Japan and in the Kansai region where I grew up it was very difficult to do so,” he said. “Games were a very interesting medium for storytelling so that’s why I jumped in.”

However, storytelling was far more limited in the 1980s than it is today, and so Kojima came to understand game mechanics far better. As the medium has evolved, so have the stories Kojima has been able to tell.

“It was hard to tell a story through games,” he said. “It was like chess or playing cards, where you set some rules and then try to simulate something.

“30 years later, there’s so much you can do with characters. The world can be three-dimensional, and you can add cultural and ethnic backgrounds to your story.

“Everything I wanted to do in movies, I’m able to do in games.”

He went on to describe how advances in technology have enabled designers to evolve gameplay, making it easier for them to achieve their visions. When the Metal Gear creator first thinks of a game idea, there are more elements than he’s able to express: smells, temperatures, and so on. But as development tools and games hardware improves, Kojima finds it easier to express these ideas.

“Every game brings me closer and closer to making what I imagine. That’s why I could never stop making games.”

Hideo Kojima will be attending our 2016 Develop Awards this evening, where he will be receive the accolade of Development Legend.