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Neither Hideo Kojima (opens in new tab) nor former employer Konami (opens in new tab) wasted any time getting right back to work following their long, convoluted split (opens in new tab), but things almost turned out very differently. We were almost fated to have a Kojima-less 2016, according (opens in new tab) to The New Yorker.
“Every time I create a game, I think it’s going to be the last time,” Kojima said in a recent interview. He compared his creation process to a mother going through childbirth, in that she’s not likely to think of her next pregnancy until the matter at hand is resolved. But once the matter is handled, it can be exhausting for the “parent.” Kojima said he considered going away to a deserted island for a year to cleanse his mind (which sounds like a very Kojima thing to do).
I can’t say I blame him. While Kojima is still contractually forbidden from giving details, it doesn’t sound like he was happy at Konami. He expressed frustration of “every little thing” needing to be approved, and a risk-averse corporate culture focused on money over creativity. “If you’re only focused on the profits immediately in front of you, the times will leave you behind,” he warned. Now that he’s independent, he says his work will be much faster, and more personal.
Apparently, someone from Hollywood who is close to Kojima (a recent collaborator (opens in new tab), perhaps?) swayed him from taking the vacation. The friend said Kojima owed it to the fans to keep making the types of experiences he’d come to be known for. “Hearing that affirmed to me, that my role in this world is to keep on making big games for as long as I can,” Kojima told The New Yorker. “That is the mission I’ve been given in life.”
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Image Credit: Georges Seguin (opens in new tab)
