Hideo Kojima: Progressive Game Design from Metal Gear to Death Stranding (Influential Video Game Designers)

I've worked on quite a few games and wanted to move more towards writing and producing.This book gives a tremendous insight of both Kojimas workflow and game development from a primarily narrative point of view.If that's what you're interested in, don't miss it.

Like countless American millennial gamers, I was first introduced to Hideo Kojima through Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation 1. From the opening Konami logo theme (which I learned in this novel was the main theme for Policenauts), I could feel this game was unlike anything I’d played before. It was so sophisticated and ‘adult.’ There was no lack of over violent/sexualized games at the time, but nothing like MGS. It felt like I was playing a video game version of the Tom Clancy novels my dad used to read. Right from the start I was forced to learn the mechanics of stealthiness and combat avoidance, which were two things I’ve never experienced in gaming, and the enemy AI was so incredibly lifelike. Then, like many others, after the mind blowing Psycho Mantis fight, I knew from that moment I would play anything this man would put out.In ‘Hideo Kojima: Progressive Game Design from Metal Gear to Death Stranding,’ author Bryan Hartzheim expertly and efficiently covers all of Kojimas works, from his early contributions in ‘Penguin Adventure’ for the MSX to his latest epic ‘Death Stranding.’In Hartzheim’s book, I learned that from the beginning, Kojima was enamored with the themes of conflict avoidance and nuclear disarmament, a result of values taught to him by his parents. This worked out serendipitously with the first two Metal Gear games he developed for the MSX2 as the system hardware couldn’t handle too many on screen sprites for combat, so a game where fighting was discouraged was perfect. Kojima also began introducing his famous reflexive elements in his games, such as including hints and codes in the game’s paratexts (game manuals, etc). Most famously, he required the player in the aforementioned Psycho Mantis fight to unplug the controller from the first port on the PlayStation and plug into the second to defeat the enemy. Kojima’s fixation on non violent, anti nuclear sentiments is evident in all his games.Whether you read this book for academic or personal reasons, Hartzheim attentively lays out all the aspects of each of Kojima’s games - from conception to themes of the game to reception - in a way that is engaging and interesting. He also gives many insights about Kojima’s philosophies and how far reaching his influence has gone. Gaming masterpieces such as The Last of Us, Resident Evil, and to some extent even Undertale all take a page out of Kojima’s book of stealthiness and pacifism. If you’re a Kojima fan or just someone who is interested in the works of a true gaming pioneer, I highly recommend you pick up a copy of this book and give it read.

Metal Gear Solid was my game growing up. I needed something to read on a long flight and this one caught my eye. Wow, this one opened my eyes up to a bigger world of game design and the mastery of Kojima. I will be firing up my old consoles when I get back with a new found appreciation for this art.

An informative journey into the mind and works of Kojima-san, a once-in-a-generation pioneer and innovator within the video game industry. Although the text is geared towards an academic audience, Dr. Hartzheim's writing style will keep general readers engaged. His use of thoughtful and well-articulated analyses and anecdotes are plentiful throughout.

Stumbled on this book as a fan of kojima and video games like MGS. I would recommend for other fans. I liked it a lot.

Must-read for academics and Metal Gear fans alike.