Nintendo Power Magazine, as an E3 special, posted an interview with Hideo Kojima, the creator of the wildly popular Metal Gear franchise. This is what the man himself had to say about Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes:
Nintendo Power: Who's idea was it to remake Metal Gear Solid?
Hideo Kojima: Nintendo approached Konami with the offer. I had always been a big admirer of Mr. Miyamoto's work, but in 17 years I had never been able to work with him or work on a Nintendo system.
NP: Didn't you work on the original Metal Gear Solid for the NES?
HK: I made the original Metal Gear Solid for a Japanese system called the MSX, which was kind of like a personal computer. Konami later ported it over to the NES.
NP: What is it like to work with Mr. Miyamoto?
HK: It's hard to explain in words. Mr. Miyamoto is the reason for my success in the industry. We are a lot alike; we both run companies and are game creators and managers, so I think it is a good fit.
NP: Are you working closely with Silicon Knights?
HK: No, I keep my distance, but my team is working with them.
NP: Did you handpick your team?
HK: Which, my team in Japan or Silicon Knights?
NP: Both.
HK: Of course, I handpicked my Japanese team. When we decided to make the Twin Snakes for GCN, we first looked for a developer in Japan who could create a game that met our high quality standards, but we couldn't find one. When I called Mr. Miyamoto for help, he said "I have a team that I want you to meet" and that's how Silicon Knights got involved.
NP: How did you get started in the industry?
HK: I originally wanted to work in the film industry, but the Japanese film industry is a very closed place. So then I realized that you could still tell a compelling story through a video game.
NP: What makes a game fun to play?
HK: Great control. Sound, graphics and story are all byproducts. The control must be good for you to experience the game. I learned that by playing Mr. Miyamoto's games.
NP: Is Solid Snake based on anyone?
HK: The Solid Snake in Twin Snakes is not. The original Snake from the MSX Metal Gear game was based on Christopher Walken. (laughs)
NP: Really?! Have you ever met Mr. Walken?
HK: No.
NP: Beside the new graphics and sound, are there any big changes between Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes?
HK: The storyline is the same. People like the storyline of Metal Gear Solid, but they enjoy the gameplay of Metal Gear Solid 2 [Sons of Liberty]. So we try to blend those two elements. The polygon [cinema] scenes in Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes have also been enhanced. We spent over two months doing motion capture and making sure that everything was correct, and we also brought in a Japanese film director to help us.
NP: Will Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes use the same voice actors as MGS?
HK: Mostly, yes. Most of the main characters will remain the same.
NP: What gave you the idea to create a stealth/action game?
HK: I had always liked adventure and spy novels. When I first started at Konami, they wanted me to make a war game. But war games require lots of enemies and bullets, and the MSX wasn't able to do those things. So instead I came up with a game where you had to sneak around and there were very few enemies, and if they found you the game was essentially over. The thrill and tension were very good. It's like in a movie where you are hiding from someone and you knock something over and they hear you - I wanted to create that. When I first showed the idea to my team, they were skeptical. They said "What fun is it to run away from your enemies all the time?"
NP: How did you convince them?
HK: I had the help of someone higher than me in the company. And once we started working on the game and the team saw the exclamation points appear over enemy's heads when they saw you, they quickly realized that this would be a fun game.
NP: Was there anything you wanted to do in MGS that you'll now be able to do in MGS:TTS?
HK: Not really. Mostly little details. It is much easier to get good bump-mapping on the GCN, for example.
NP: There is a strong anti-nuclear theme in MGS. Is that a personal issue for you?
HK: Yes, it is very important to me, although my team doesn't really care. (laughs) My parents survived the Tokyo bombing in World War Two - not the atom bomb, but the other bombings-and they would often talk about how bad it was.
NP: Which MGS character do you most relate to?
HK: Hmmm. Liquid Snake.
NP: Why?
HK: Do you remember that part in the trailer where Liquid says "I'm you! I'm your shadow!" Well, that's me. I've always been in the shadows and staying out of the sunlight.
NP: Will we see another Metal Gear game on a Nintendo system?
HK: Right now I am so busy with MGS:TTS and Metal Gear Solid 3 that I don't have any time to think about another game.
