HIDEO KOJIMA presents Brain Structure #15 — Hideo Kojima x The Game Awards 2022 (Death Stranding special)

“Every game I make, I create thinking it's really, really going to be the last game I create. So I put as much as I can in and make sure I have no regrets.”

“Since the pandemic has gotten somewhat better, I was planning to ask him to do some more music for us. And then this news came in.”

“So yeah, after going independent, I had nothing. All I had were connections with people, so I followed those connections to make the game.”

“I built up the world of Death Stranding in parallel with Ryan's music, and I talked to him about how I wanted to use his music in the game too, not just the teaser.”

“The only things I had were four staff members, my computer, and my iPhone.”

“I wanted to provide a different look to it and so I used Iceland as one of the concepts in order to incorporate a bit of surrealism to the world.”

“Well, I was already thinking about DS2 while I was making DS1. Whenever you're creating a new game or a new IP, it's difficult to establish a game system after just the first game.”

“There was one incident that was really tough. The 2016 SAG strike. I thought it would end in two or three months, but it went on for a year.”

“And so, just in case Death Stranding became my last work, I wanted Lindsay to be a part of it.”

“For instance, real-life Matt smokes, but Cliff's character at that time wasn't a smoker. But after meeting Matt in person, we went through the process of solidifying his character together.”

“So people told me to go with Keanu, but I was always for Mads. I made that character for Mads.”

“Should We Have Connected?”

“As far as digital contents go, we basically only had a naked Norman, a naked Lou, a beach and a whale. And well, that reflected the state that Kojima Productions was in. We were naked.”

“I think it takes 3-5 years for a game to receive proper evaluation.”

“I work as closely as possible to my staff and make detailed adjustments every day. ... But I don't think this way of working is common these days.”