Hideo Kojima’s Twitter profile indicates he is an ardent fan of both film and television, which is also apparent through the prolonged cutscenes that dominate his games. The iconic game director also shows an astute love for music, posting his current song on Twitter and incorporating bands like Low Roar in Death Stranding. Kojima has such a wide range of tastes that it’s almost inevitable that he will lend his talents to a medium other than gaming. Just recently, Kojima Productions opened a studio for just that in Los Angeles, which will focus on the development of film, TV, and music. While the previous studio (Kojima Productions in Japan) will still anchor its identity to games, this new studio delves into an untapped reservoir of Kojima’s mind in which all kinds of complex and crazy ideas could flow out. Death Stranding Adjacent Project Sony has always shown interest in the film industry, even producing an original TV series for the PlayStation Network titled Powers. After two seasons, the poorly executed drama suffered cancellation, but that didn’t halt Sony’s filmmaking ventures. The company is attempting to adopt some of its most iconic exclusive games, including Uncharted and The Last of Us. With Kojima Productions now in the loop, Sony could encourage Kojima (with some cash, of course) to supply a Death Stranding project and further bolster their media library. There are several places to go with a property like Death Stranding such as exploring a previous extinction event, honing in on Clifford Unger’s backstory, or exploring Fragile’s dark history with Higgs. Whatever the case may be, Kojima will surely provide an insane storyline that will fuel both positive and negative conversations. Besides, for some, the story of Death Stranding is the least appealing aspect of the controversial game, thanks to its nonsensical, over-the-top absurdity. Conversely, others embraced deeply embedded themes like some pretentious art piece. When Kojima is honed in on storytelling and separated from interactivity, the outcome will be debatable, for some are a fan of his gameplay implementation above his storytelling prowess. A Game and Show Hybrid (New IP)But, Kojima Productions does not have to keep these two pillars of entertainment so distinct. Kojima is the perfect person to experiment with an all-new hybrid implementation of film and game. We’ve seen this strategy pop up in several places but to a limited extent, mostly in the form of choice-based media content such as Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and Batman: Death in the Family. Another approach was the integration of real-world acting in a game’s cutscene, infamously attempted in Quantum Break. While Kojima may attempt something similar, we don’t see him retreading mediocre trends, and, instead, trying something new and weird for the film industry. This idea is right up Kojima’s alley since he has a history of conflating real-world actions with gameplay, sometimes even making the user question reality itself. The most famous example comes from the boss fight with Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid. The telepathic villain not only reads Solid Snake’s mind but the player’s as well, analyzing your button presses and responding accordingly. He can activate the rumble effect in the remote and telepathically acknowledge the player’s favorite games (by reading their memory card). Psycho Mantis can be defeated by switching the controller’s port, breaking his telepathic grasp. This is the type of hybrid film and game concept we expect from Kojima. A new TV show or movie with a reality-interfering implementation like this could have a substantial impact on the film industry and become another iconic moment for Kojima. Norman Reedus & Crazy Cameos
Includes several titles.
Which was showcased at E3 2003.