“Up to now—in Policenauts, for example, I used to give the designers very specific instructions [...] but this game was different.”
Kojima explained in 1998 that his way of directing character design changed from Policenauts to Metal Gear Solid: in Policenauts he gave designers very specific instructions — this character, Dave, is like this, wears this vest, these glasses — but with Metal Gear Solid it was different, because Shinkawa has a very active imagination and as soon as he is given a task he immediately starts making his own changes; sometimes he changed things so much that other parts of the planning had to be readjusted, and that push-and-pull was a lot of fun, although as a game designer, if push comes to shove, ultimately gameplay wins out for him and there are things he will not compromise on.
“There was some push-and-pull over stuff like that, it was actually a lot of fun. [...] I am a game designer, however, and if push comes to shove, ultimately gameplay wins out for me in terms of what I prioritize. So there are some things I won't compromise on.”