\n<\/p>\n
\n\tHideo Kojima is excited we are sitting across from each other. I am too, of course, but I was perfectly satisfied just getting the chance to even interview the video game industry legend over Zoom back in September 2024, the last time we spoke.<\/p>\n
\n\tIt\u2019s early June and annual video game expo Summer Game Fest is raging on in Downtown Los Angeles while I meet Kojima and his team in a quiet conference room at a hotel off-site. Kojima is in town to promote the June 26 release of his highly anticipated \u201cDeath Strand 2: On the Beach,\u201d the sequel to the Norman Reedus-led 2019 game, and the AAA title\u2019s collaboration with fashion brand GU, which is out Thursday.<\/p>\n
\n\tI\u2019ve come saddled with bags of items I\u2019ve already gathered while working the event, including one featuring the \u201cMagic: The Gathering\u201d and \u201cFinal Fantasy\u201d collaboration, and it\u2019s the first thing Kojima notices when I go to shake his hand. It\u2019s also a great entry point into our conversation about both the \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d sequel game and why Kojima wanted to do another branded fashion collaboration with GU.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t2025\u2019s \u201cDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI\u2019ve teamed up with GU before, and it\u2019s always very well received. People who don\u2019t know my games might buy these products because they know GU and happen to like our designs,\u201d Kojima said. \u201cAnd when they\u2019re wearing it, someone might say, \u2018Hey, that\u2019s \u2018Death Stranding\u2019.\u201d That might lead to them becoming interested in the game. It\u2019s almost like a walking billboard. If you\u2019re wearing a Kojima Productions T-shirt, a fan could come up to you and say, \u2018You\u2019re wearing a Kojima Productions T-shirt; I\u2019m a fan!\u201d It allows for the communication to grow between people whom you\u2019ll never know are fans of \u2018Death Stranding\u2019 or of Hideo Kojima. The fashion gives you a talking point.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tKojima added: \u201cIt\u2019s like your bag there \u2014 \u2018Final Fantasy.\u2019 I spotted that right away and said to you, \u2018Hey, that\u2019s Final Fantasy!\u2019 That\u2019s exactly what I mean. If you\u2019re wearing a brand, it makes it possible for people to connect with you. So, of course, we want the fans of our game to buy these items but also for non-\u2018Death Stranding\u2019 fans to wear this and promote it \u2013 for lack of a better term.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s doubtful Kojima\u2019s \u201cDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach\u201d will need much promotion to be a big hit for Kojima Productions and publisher PlayStation, as the award-winning maker behind \u201cMetal Gear Solid,\u201d has a passionate and wide fanbase \u2014 and a \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d movie in the works at A24 to fuel even more hype \u2014 but the chance to promote it in person is a luxury Kojima hasn\u2019t had in years. <\/p>\n \n\tHere, Kojima breaks down the making of \u201cDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach,\u201d how the importance and complexities of an in-person conversation connect to the new game\u2019s themes, and how production is moving along on A24\u2019s \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d movie.<\/p>\n \n\tI grew up watching movies, and I learned about different cultures through these movies. For example, I learned about tipping in the U.S. I also discovered music and fashion \u2013 like Mike Oldfield from \u201cThe Exorcist.\u201d I didn\u2019t know progressive rock until I watched that movie.<\/p>\n \n\tMovies are entertainment \u2013 as are games \u2013 but games are very isolated. You don\u2019t get as much out of games as you do other entertainment. There\u2019s game music, but it only reaches gamers. When people play my games, I want them to learn something new, whether that\u2019s music or fashion or so on. That\u2019s why I put a lot of focus on music in \u201cDeath Stranding,\u201d featuring many bands. I also collaborate with fashion brands, like Acronym for example. It\u2019s a high-end brand and can be a bit out of reach for a lot of younger gamers. But I wanted to keep the concept and collaborate with someone more accessible. That\u2019s why I thought GU was perfect for that. Their quality is great, and they take into consideration our feedback, which is really nice.<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019ve teamed up with GU before, and it\u2019s always very well received. People who don\u2019t know my games might buy these products because they know GU and happen to like our designs. And when they\u2019re wearing it, someone might say, \u201cHey, that\u2019s \u2018Death Stranding\u2019.\u201d That might lead to them becoming interested in the game. It\u2019s almost like a walking billboard. If you\u2019re wearing a Kojima Productions T-shirt, a fan could come up to you and say, \u201cYou\u2019re wearing a Kojima Productions T-shirt; I\u2019m a fan!\u201d It allows for the communication to grow between people whom you\u2019ll never know are fans of \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d or of Hideo Kojima. The fashion gives you a talking point.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s like your bag there \u2014 \u201cFinal Fantasy.\u201d I spotted that right away and said to you, \u201cHey, that\u2019s Final Fantasy!\u201d That\u2019s exactly what I mean. If you\u2019re wearing a brand, it makes it possible for people to connect with you. So, of course, we want the fans of our game to buy these items but also for non-\u2018Death Stranding\u2019 fans to wear this and promote it \u2013 for lack of a better term.<\/p>\n \n\tI like the European style. I like darker tones and tighter fitting clothes \u2013 not oversized and baggy. It\u2019s quite difficult to work in a suit, so I wear very casual clothes at the studio. It\u2019s also quite hot in the office because of all the computers, so I see most of my staff in short-sleeved T-shirts.<\/p>\n \n\tEven in the winter, I just wear a warm coat over a T-shirt, and I\u2019m typically in a T-shirt at the office. That\u2019s my style of fashion.<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t really give specific instructions. I\u2019ve collaborated with companies for watches and eyeglasses, but more than anything, it\u2019s about the mutual trust that we have with each other. I want to be able to talk with the people in charge and designers and so on. I only collaborate with people who\u2019ll let me work with them directly \u2013 like this Hamilton collaboration watch. I didn\u2019t care so much about making it \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d-like but more that I wanted to highlight the appeal of the brand and make sure they\u2019re represented well.<\/p>\n \n\tI planned \u201cDeath Stranding 2\u201d before the pandemic and was already testing some things out, but after the pandemic hit, I fell quite ill. For the first time in my life, I thought I could never make another game, and I felt very isolated. I didn\u2019t know what to do. I couldn\u2019t even visit the hospital. I was in a crisis unlike anything I\u2019ve ever experienced before in my life. But as the pandemic raged on, I knew I had to keep working on the game \u2013 for the sake of the company.<\/p>\n \n\tFortunately, we had the internet during the pandemic. It was a totally different situation a hundred years ago during the Spanish flu. So, although the pandemic was worldwide, we were still connected and could order things on Amazon, have virtual calls with doctors, hold interviews via Zoom, and companies started remote work. You didn\u2019t have to go to the office. No one at Kojima Productions came to the office either; I was the only one there. Yoji came maybe twice a week or so. I was all alone and had no one to talk to about my ideas. The only form of communication was through email, and those were used to just send reports. Creating something in an environment like that was extremely difficult.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen it came time to do the performance capture, it was all shot in LA, but we couldn\u2019t go there due to the pandemic travel restrictions. I directed remotely from Tokyo, but it was nearly impossible. Even drinking parties and music concerts were held virtually.<\/p>\n \n\tAround this time, the term \u201cMetaverse\u201d started to become widely used. Many people moved out of the city and relocated to the suburbs. But remote work was very inefficient. Progress on game development was very slow. It was different from shooting a movie where everyone gathered on set and filmed together, after passing inspections for COVID.<\/p>\n \n\tWe also hired new staff through virtual interviews during the pandemic. They would come in on the first day, only to never see them again after that. You don\u2019t get to learn who they are or understand them. Even on Zoom calls, some people blur their background, so you can\u2019t tell where they are or what they\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n \n\tThe message behind the first \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d was, \u201cHumanity will go extinct if we remain isolated and divided.\u201d Then, I really wanted to rewrite \u201cDeath Stranding 2\u201d after experiencing the pandemic. I don\u2019t want to say too much and give away spoilers. Even this interview \u2013 we could have done it over Zoom like we did last time. But, this time you are here, and we are talking face to face. And you probably experienced a lot of unexpected things on your way here. I\u2019m not denying technology \u2013 I think remote work has its advantages \u2013 but that\u2019s not all that we need. We need to see one another in person.<\/p>\n \n\tBy the end of 2022, we were allowed to travel to LA to do performance capture for the first time in about 2 years. That night, we went out to dinner with the actors, and I thought, \u201cThis is what we need.\u201d We need to be together, shoot together, and celebrate together.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t2019\u2019s \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d\/Kojima Productions<\/span> \n\tTechnology doesn\u2019t just appear out of nowhere; it\u2019s always been cutting edge, even back in the days of \u201cDS1.\u201d Some people might say, \u201cOh, it looks nicer now,\u201d but behind the scenes, there\u2019s been a continuous technological evolution that\u2019s never stopped. For example, when we scanned L\u00e9a Seydoux for \u201cDS1\u201d and \u201cDS2,\u201d we used the same scanning process. We created her model and did performance capture. We put her in a suit and wrote dots on her face, and she did all the movements and acting.<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s the same with \u201cAvatar 1\u201d or \u201cAvatar 2.\u201d But you compare the two and you see that \u201cAvatar 2\u201d is much better. The technology wasn\u2019t necessarily new; it was the same between 1 and 2. In \u201cDeath Stranding,\u201d you can see the difference between L\u00e9a\u2019s face and how it\u2019s much better in \u201cDS2.\u201d What we did, however, did not change. All the expressions and rigs we created for her face \u2013 it looks much more photorealistic. I\u2019m not yet satisfied, but it\u2019s better.<\/p>\n \n\tSomething revolutionary doesn\u2019t just pop up. Things advance slowly, day by day, as an extension of the already existing technology. But there are breakthroughs sometimes, maybe every five or ten years, and those can be game changers. Right now, the performance capture technology involves going to a studio filled with cameras, wearing a suit with markers and balls on it, and having a camera in your face that\u2019s attached to a helmet. That may change in the next five years, and maybe that\u2019s when technology will step up drastically. But typically, it\u2019s a gradual change, like from \u201cDS1\u201d to \u201cDS2.\u201d Everything has become better, in a way, but the way you do it hasn\u2019t changed yet.<\/p>\n \n\tYou may have seen the scene of Norman Reedus and L\u00e9a kissing in the teaser trailer. We shot this during their performance capture. They can\u2019t really kiss with the cameras in front of their faces, so we asked them to pretend like they were kissing and holding each other while being careful not to bump their cameras. We shot that from all angles \u2013 360 degrees. Then, we had them take off their helmet cameras and asked them to kiss for real. We shot that from 360 degrees also, and we blended both of those data. However, in the future, you may not need a camera in your face \u2013 that will be the revolutionary breakthrough years from now. You could be shooting a live action film, but maybe there are lasers or something and instead of just 2D data, you can capture 3D data at the same time, meaning you could change the camera settings afterwards or make it into a game without having to reshoot anything. That\u2019s what\u2019s probably going to happen in the next five to ten years.<\/p>\n \n\tSo, to reiterate, we didn\u2019t really have a breakthrough in technology between \u201cDS1\u201d and \u201cDS2\u201d but rather a slow progression. When I first started in the games industry, we didn\u2019t have CD-ROMs and putting dialogue in required too much data. Later, when CD-ROMs were introduced, you could add music and dialogue. Further down the line, compression technology enabled us to have cutscenes in games. With the arrival of the PlayStation, games could now appear in 3D. These were breakthroughs in technology, but we didn\u2019t have anything like that during \u201cDS1\u201d and \u201cDS2.\u201d I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll see it in the near future, though.<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t think there\u2019ll ever come a time when I\u2019m satisfied. There may be things I can\u2019t do today but that I\u2019ll be able to do tomorrow because of advancements. There are new things coming, and technology advances every day, which is what makes it so fun to be in the games industry. In the past, I never thought I would be working with Hollywood actors for a game, because I used to just work with pixelated characters. But nowadays, you can work with all kinds of professionals \u2013 like architects in order to make a building or psychologists to create a character profile. Everything is expanding and moving forward. If it were moving backwards, if technology was worsening, then it would be hard for creators to be imaginative. Fortunately, that\u2019s not the case. Even fashion too, for example: Hanae Mori designed clothes for \u201cSpace Battleship Yamato.\u201d That was unbelievable. I thought we could never do things like that in the games industry, but that\u2019s recently changed. We can team up with the fashion world now because we can incorporate more details; that was not possible in the past.<\/p>\n \n\tI think I will help produce it \u2013 I need to kind of guide the project \u2013 but I can\u2019t direct it myself, schedule-wise. I made \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d as a game, so in order to turn it into a movie, it\u2019ll be something totally different. But it\u2019s my baby, so I would like to overlook the project. I\u2019m teaming up with A24 and Michael Sarnoski, so he will be writing and directing. I\u2019ll let them work on it without too much of my input, because that might get in their way. I don\u2019t want to go in and ask them to make a bunch of changes; that\u2019s not cool. I have to trust these people, and I trust A24 and Michael.<\/p>\n \n\tThis interview was conducted via in-person translator and has been edited, condensed and reviewed for accuracy.<\/em><\/p>\n \n\tSee more from the newly released \u201cDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach\u201d collaboration between Kojima and GU in the images below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hideo Kojima is excited we are sitting across from each other. I am too, of course, but I was perfectly satisfied just getting the chance to even interview the video game industry legend over Zoom back in September 2024, the last time we spoke. It\u2019s early June and annual video game expo Summer Game Fest<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8774,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54],"tags":[465,466,413,374,375,283],"class_list":{"0":"post-8773","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-a24","9":"tag-collab","10":"tag-game","11":"tag-hideo","12":"tag-kojima","13":"tag-movie"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n\t\tHow did the GU collaboration came about?\t<\/h5>\n
\n\t\tHow would you define your own esthetic and sense of style?\t<\/h5>\n
\n\t\tWhen it comes to making a collaboration and figuring out what you might aspire to wear, what you think other people would aspire to wear, and tying it into the game\u2019s aesthetic, what are you looking for?\t<\/h5>\n
\n\t\tSpeaking of the thematic and aesthetic differences between \u201cDS1\u201d and \u201cDS2,\u201d what inspired the transition?\t<\/h5>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of Sony Interactive Entertainment<\/p>\n\n\t\tBetween \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d and \u201cDeath Stranding 2: On the Beach,\u201d are there specific ways the second game was created that differed from the original? Were there new visual effects that you enjoyed making, or things that you could do with this game that you couldn\u2019t do with \u201cDeath Stranding 1\u201d?\t<\/h5>\n
\n\t\tYou said that you were close to being satisfied, but not. Do you think that you will reach a point where you are?\t<\/h5>\n
\n\t\tHow involved do you think you\u2019ll be able to be in the \u201cDeath Stranding\u201d film, while you still have so many plans on the gaming side?\t<\/h5>\n