GP: We were looking at various influences and inspirations to the storylines. Have any of the recent events in the Middle East inspired the storyline in MGS 4?
Kojima: The Middle East is just an entry to the storyline, and this time Snake travels all around the world, so it's not necessarily just the Middle East.
Well of course, since the setting is in the Middle East, to that extent, I've been influenced by what is happening today in the world. From a gameplay point of view, many first-person shooters -- the new titles -- will be set in the Middle East, so I have deliberately set the first setting in the Middle East because I want to first show an FPS [influence]...but actually, it is not. At the beginning you may feel it is based on the same old FPS scenarios, but actually it is not and that is deliberately so.
And also, the key concept of MGS 4 is of course "espionage in the battlefield." Meaning, what is a battlefield to people these days? It is of course the Middle East. Therefore we have put that message in. When I was young and I thought about war, it was always about the 1970s and Vietnam. Jungle warfare. Now it's different for everybody. So that is of course an influence, because we have set [MGS4's environment] closer to what the real-life war is.
GP: On a similar note, the game has a grittier, more realistic feel. It seems as though many of the characters are gearing up for war -- even Meryl! Is this your vision of World War III?
Kojima: Actually at first, yes. I kind of had that vision in mind. Because in the past Metal Gear series, it was just like battles popped up here and there. But this time, it's the last entry in the series, the finale. We thought that we needed to scale up the whole storyline, so of course World War III was the vision there. Snake cannot go into outer space, you know, to make the story scale bigger. However, my thinking was that warfare was not going in that direction, so the direction we took was Private Military Companies (PMCs) or people fighting for other countries. So it's not actually a World War III, but it is in that direction.
Also, I put at little sarcasm there. Though the theme this time is geared towards a big war, it's not a typical war that we've experienced. In World War I or World War II, countries allied together and fought against other countries that allied together. There's a war economy that exists [in MGS4's world], meaning that it is a war about companies versus companies, almost. So that's a hidden sarcasm that we put in.
GP: Concerning the Metal Gear mechs that have been so prominent in prior games, can we expect them to make a return, or is the focus on the bio-mechanical walkers we've seen in the trailers?
Kojima: Secret. [laughs]
GP: We saw Snake inject himself with something in one of the trailers. What is the injection, and does it tie into his aged condition?
Kojima: [laughs]. Actually yes, that is one reason. There's another meaning, but I'm sorry but I can't say, because it really affects the plot of the story.
I did Tokyo Game Show for three days in a row, and I had like seven stages, and seven radio programs per day, so that's what [doing the math]....let's just say they're garlic shots! [laughs; garlic shots are a health fad in Japan].
GP: Are injections a gameplay element in Metal Gear Solid 4?
Kojima: Not so much. It has a little bit of friction against first-party [Sony] rules. At first, I had plans to have this injection as a player's item. But with the ratings, and even team members [questioning that direction], we decided not to do that. In the story, the injection is one of the keys.
GP: Let's switch to gameplay. It seems that in MGS4, you're hiding out in the open versus hiding around corners and behind objects. Are the enemies smart enough to look in the obvious places where Snake might be camouflaged?
Kojima: This is a very good question. We are 'adjusting' right now [laughs]. What I can say is that this will probably have more to do with enemy emotions. For instance, if an enemy is in panic mode, he will not be searching everywhere because he wants to run away. But if he's really calm, steady, and he wants to find every hiding place...he might do that. I can say that for now.
GP: What can the player do to make enemies panic, or to change their emotional state in general?
Kojima: You're very sharp with your questions, but I cannot reveal everything. But for example, if you shoot the ground at an enemy's feet without hitting him, then that enemy might get scared. So that's one way to change his emotion.
And another example is, if another enemy is in a group of four and three get killed, according to his personality, he might panic because all of his squad has been killed.
GP: Thank you for the compliment [on "sharp questions"].
Kojima: But I want you to refrain from 'sharp questions'....[big laughter]
GP: Does the OctoCamo suit have weaknesses? Are there ways for enemies to disable it? Does it leave any tell-tale clues for the enemy?
Kojima: Well it's not actually about enemies in front of Snake, because the enemies are not necessarily always after Snake this time. You're in a battlefield, meaning that Snake can be an enemy or ally to the other characters, from the player's point of view. The player who is controlling Snake could decide to kill the 'Enemy A' squad a lot. In that case, Snake will get spotted by Enemy A squad a lot and they'll attack him.
But this OctoCamo puts a wide variation of sneaking into the game; you don't necessarily have to use it to hide from enemies. It's your option as to how you sneak in the battlefield. Oct-cam is not an almighty tool, because it's not going to make you invisible. If you get spotted once, it'll be more obvious because you're not going to blend in. This is not a super item that you can use to make yourself invisible.
GP: The OctoCamo suit was named for the octopus, for shape shifting and the like. Would the suit allow Snake to take on the appearance of an enemy soldier altogether?
Kojima: No, it won't. An octopus is an octopus, and it will remain an octopus, so it cannot become a dog. But an octopus might mimic the dog's hair...
GP: So if you're not in a battle, this sounds like a good way to pass through a large, open area with lots of fighting unnoticed.
Kojima: Yes and no. I'm not saying that OctoCamo is the only tool is used; it's just one aspect of sneaking. Of course I want you to play using OctoCamo, but it's only one aspect of sneaking.
In the trailer, Snake was hiding as a normal troop of the people. Think of OctoCamo that way; he kind of blends in with the troops. He blends in with the background. It just means he won't get spotted right away...please don't misunderstand that OctoCamo is the central gimmick for MGS4, that's not the case. It's just another option for the player.
If you're in the front line of the warzone, you don't have to wear anything -- you could maybe just run across, like on a real battlefield. In order to accomplish the theme of 'no place to hide', the OctoCamo is a handy tool. I'd like players to find for themselves the best way to accomplish a sneaking mission, and [OctoCamo] is just one way. I want players to decide whether Snake blends into the battlefield to take a shortcut, or avoids the warzone to accomplish his goal.
GP: Will Snake still have his standard suite of stealth moves from the other games? Will the control scheme be familiar to fans of the series?
Kojima: Yes, with one exception. He will not face the wall [mimes the classic Snake 'gun pose' with his back against the wall]. That will not be in the game anymore.
GP: Any particular reason for dropping that pose?
Kojima: The reason is...it's been said over and over by our supervisor that [the signature Snake pose] rarely happens on the battlefield. Nobody is, you know, 'cool' enough to hide like that. However, I put that move in to express a movie-like feeling. But not anymore.
There's another reason for changing that. It's much better: like in real life, Snake can hide behind something, then sneak a peak and shoot. There are more actions to it, and it's more smooth that way than having Snake put his back to the wall.
GP: Good point. We were curious if MGS4 would use the motion-sensing capabilities of the PS3 Sixaxis controller, possibly to sneak a peak while hiding.
Kojima: Yes, we'll use the motion sensor of the PS3 controller. But I cannot reveal how you use it at the moment.
GP: What was your reaction to the PS3 controller no longer have a rumble feature? Was adding motion sensing a worthy tradeoff?
Kojima: I really miss the rumble feature, and I already said to Mr. Kutaragi that I want the rumble feature back.
GP: We've seen footage of new moves for Snake. In one scene, played dead and slowly squirmed across the ground towards some enemies. How might the player use a move like that?
Kojima: I can't say so much about that...and it's not just because I can't reveal anything of the game's storyline. There's kind of a secrecy there. I put in those movements to widen the gameplay feeling for users, to give more actions.
At the same time, I wanted the players to synchronize with Snake. He's kind of old -- he's going to die soon. But he has to pretend he's dead, or crawl on the ground...something no typical hero would do. It's taboo. I wanted players to get the feeling of being Snake, to synchronize with his emotions.
GP: Given Snake's condition, is he degraded from his abilities in the last games? Perhaps in endurance, or hand-to-hand combat?
Kojima: Actually, yes. But we didn't want to put the stress to the users...so he's wearing a kind of muscle suit. So he can move just like he did in MGS2 or 3. But in the storyline, he's old, and not as sharp as he was before. But in the game, he moves just like you'd expect.
GP: Is the game a linear or non-linear experience?
Kojima: If I say that, it will reveal some of the secrets. You'll probably want to ask who that young-looking Snake is in the trailer, right?
GP: Stealth seems to be a focus in the game, but will you be dealing with large crowds of enemies or smaller groups of enemies?
Kojima: You're exactly right, I'm not heading towards that direction [of large groups of enemies at once].
GP: Is fooling non-human enemies a larger focus this time?
Kojima: The enemies will be humans and machines this time.
GP: Besides the OctoCamo suit's camouflage, what other abilities does the suit give Snake?
Kojima: It's like the camouflage system from before, so players can have fun with it. If you like a texture, you could play with that texture. It doesn't mean that you have to use it to hide; the fun element is there as well.
GP: From the trailers and the 'nowhere to hide' tag, it seems like action may be front and center. Will the game focus more on action or on stealth?
Kojima: Of course, the basic [core] is a stealth game. This will not change. However, if you want "super action," you could select that according to your path...but you have to be well prepared.
