An interview with Hideo Kojima – PlayStation.blog

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With the release of Death stranding 2: on the beach Arriving on June 26th, recently we sat with Hideo Kojima to discuss how the theme of the “connection” played a role in the development of the sequel during Covid and which challenges had to face when relying the gameplay.

Familiarize players with a new genre and offer more choice and freedom

PlayStation blog: what were your goals when you created the sequel to Death Stranding? Have there been important changes or improvements you were trying to implement?

Hideo Kojima: While we did the jump from PlayStation 4 to PlayStation 5, most of the changes focused on the design and history of the game. As you will remember, Metal Gear Solid was one of the first invisible games and you had to be completely unnoticed to survive. There were no weapons available on the elevator at the beginning of the game, because if they were there, most likely the players would have fought the enemies instead of swinging them beyond. This defeats the purpose of an invisible game, so we intentionally left them. Some said it was too difficult to reach the lift (laughs), but the game included various mechanics to teach players how invisible mechanics work. So in Metal Gear Solid 2, we have brought some improvements, such as facilitating weapons management or being able to affect parts of the body from a first -person perspective.

Death Stranding 2: on the beach it was designed with a similar philosophy. The players are familiar with the genre of “delivery game” with the first game, and the sequel is based on this and provides players with the most choice and freedom, in particular on the fight; You can go to flames or you can choose not to use weapons. We also made the most accessible cars and motorcycles.

As for history, the predecessor focused on Sam and Cliff. This time, the story deepens who Lou is Lou, his relationship with Sam and Sam’s background.

The way players used the Social Strand System (SSS) surprised you in the first game? Did this have some impact on the development of the stranding of death 2?

Initially we were not sure if the players would use the SSS, but we discovered that many players actually appreciated the function. Even now, five years after the release of the game, there are players who are still dedicated to the construction of Autostrade, and this has been a pleasant surprise. During the development of the sequel, we have devised various ways to welcome players who are passionate about building infrastructures such as highways and as part of this, we have added the ability to build monorotai.

A system that the team discussed was the mechanic “likes”. I like the game do not have a physical impact: they cannot be converted into currency, nor make you stronger. Yet it’s nice when you receive such a player as a sign of appreciation. We anticipated a little repercussions when we implemented the death stranding function, but instead, players seemed to appreciate the mechanic. When we worked on the cutting of the Death Stranding director, we examined similar data and heat maps to rework the functionality based on our results. Death Stranding 2: on the beach it is further based on this, so we have a better understanding of the player’s behavior.

Because you have chosen Mexico and Australia as the main position for Death stranding 2: on the beach?

Mexico shares a border with UCA (United Cities of America), so the close cities had to be connected. While Sam mentions many times in the game, we were extremely aware that the construction of these “connections” did not seem invasive. Sam’s journey to connect the Americas from East to West was inspired by the American border. With the founded UCA, we wanted the sequel to take place in a position that shared a similar geography with the Americas – it extends from east to west and borders the sea to the north and south. Eurasia is too large and Africa did not really adapt to the account. Australia checked all the boxes, but the next issue we have faced was like connecting the North American continent with Australia. After many discussions, we decided to implement the “plate gate” to connect the two continents.

Revisiting what “connection” means for humanity

The fundamental themes of the games moved from the “connection of people” to “would we have had to connect?” Is this due to your opinions on social media that evolves over time?

The feath stranding was under development before the stroke of Covid, and I felt as if a global gap around had occurred, especially following the interviews on Brexit. The theme of the game reflected my notion at that moment, that humanity had to connect and join to avoid disaster. Covid happened three months after the launch of the game and the world ended up being fractured, like the game. However, we survived thanks to the internet. At the same time, I saw more people who start ignoring connections and interactions in person, and this went against my belief in human communication. Only by venturing can you meet people by chance or stumble in unexpected places.

Death Stranding 2: on the beach it was already in the processing before Covid, but we revisited the general concept of the game after Covid. The predecessor was inspired by the fear of social fragmentation and isolation, but after experiencing Covid, I started ruminating the dangers of being “too connected”. I left many clues in the game, like the theory of the stick and the rope, so I think players will connect the points in the end. You will meet characters who will also speak my thoughts in the game.

A suggestion is that the previous logo had wires hanging down, which symbolized the theme of the game of establishing connections. While the logo for Stranding 2 death: on the beach it has threads that descend towards the logo. What does it mean to be connected? Should we connect? Play to find out.