Hello, everyone, I guess this will be the topic I get to finally sign up for after being a 5 plus years lurker to the old website and this one.
Nice to meet you all.
I am mostly a lurker, but this narrative has finally got to me, and we need to get things straight.
Hideo Kojima wrote every single line himself during MGS1-3 except a few of the Codec Convos.
Tomokazu Fukushima was responsible only for side stuff in Kojima's games like "'In The Darkness of Shadow Moses", Snake Tales, and certain side codec calls not related to the main story (like the *shit* codec convo with Sigint in MGS3). Not "keeping in check", not "editing" not "writing". Generally nothing to do with the main story.
Literally no plot point ever came from Fukushima, or anyone else aside Kojima.
This is the sole reason I signed up, because I have no idea how this ridiculous theory about Fukushima, became so widespread, maybe people want to project somewhere that empty feeling they get inside when getting older and growing out of stuff.
"It's not me, maybe Kojima doesn't have help anymore, yeah that's why when I play new stuff I don't feel the same way I felt when I played MGS1-3".
This Fukushima Fiction point needs to die and be moderated, because apparently somehow it gets traction, even if there has never been any proof of even a semblance of it being a reality.
This post was the only reason I signed up, still I hope didn't offend anyone (English is not my native language, so I want to make sure the tone of this post is not offensive in intent), but if someone still makes that point after this, I would like to be shown proof of it, and also proof of Fukushima's other works as a writer.
Now, about the topic at hand, since I already made a post, let me give my two cents in brief.
1) Hideo Kojima is an amazing Game Designer. He thinks out of the box. In an era every game was chasing the trend of shooting everything that moves or jumping on the head of everything that moves, he created a whole genre (Stealth genre with METAL GEAR in 1987) by thinking out of the box. He later made that genre Mainstream with METAL GEAR SOLID.
2) He values the medium more than its fans. People are like "Duh, videogame stories are bad, they are not books or movies". He constantly tries to overthrow that notion, and he literally planted the first seeds for the Mainstream Public with METAL GEAR SOLID at a time most developers did not have that as a priority. Hideo Kojima made the cinematic presentation of METAL GEAR SOLID as a priority... in 1998.
He literally deliberately stopped pursuing a sequel for 5 years after the hugely successful METAL GEAR 2, just because he had that vision to grow the medium and the technology wasn't ready to support that vision.
3) His attention to detail is second to none. Example:
4) He is an incredible Game Designer as I said. From making his psychic n-game character talking to you directly and flatout spelling the game you were playing right before you booted METAL GEAR SOLID, to re-defining horror experiences for generations with just a hallway and 2 doors as tools, to making a game about solar power function by having your portable machine gain actual Sun juice.
5) He can marry the crazy with the grounded in a way that makes it seem coherent.
6) He is an amazing Producer, always picking the right people for each position, and not being afraid to replace them if they are not adequate. This is imo his biggest trait outside of his creative genius.
And contrary to popular belief his games do not cost way more than other popular studios' games.
He is also incredibly efficient, releasing a huge game on 5 platforms, at 60 fps, with his company not even letting him finish it properly, ALONGSIDE a brand new Engine (MGSV + FOX ENGINE), in just 5 years (2010 - 2015), and create a brand new studio, new IP, and release it in just 3.5 Years (2016-2019).
7) He excels at marketing. He "betrays" his audience in a way that does justice to the story he tries to tell by playing with our expectations, not for "lying for sales" but to further his themes. That night that 7780 Studios announced P.T. and what happened later, will be taught in marketing classes for years to come.
8) He presents ideas and themes in his games that are deeply rooted in the in-game universe.
9) He is super successful, commercially and citically. His games are hugely popular, make tons of money, critically acclaimed like no other.
MGSaga especially is unmatched as the only 28 years, same universe, same creative visions behind it, non-rebooted story in videogame history.
Critically, on metacritic for example, MGS1 = 94, MGS2 = 96, MGS3 = 94, MGS4 = 94, MGSPW = 89, MGSV = 93.
Snatcher, Policenauts, METAL GEAR, Zone of the Enders, Boktai, PT, all under his leadership.
Can you even doubt his track record?
10) And he is super professional. He always credits his colleagues in the finished product just like he credits himself (he damn right deserves to credit himself every time he can, like he does with everyone else), he and his studio did not slander KONAMI like they should have after what they did to them, he did not try to prove people as liars with regards to MGS Main theme when that happened, nor did he slander the composer that "borrowed" that theme publicly, he did not slander Hayter when he said "Fuck Kojima" on screen, because Kojima didn't give him a role (as if he had to), and many other things. Super professional.
He is also a great Trailer Editor, he edits almost all of his games trailers himself, and they are part of the whole experience. Also he has amazing instinct for cinematography.
tldr: These are my brief thoughts on why he is a genius, attention to detail, amazing game designer, innovative, thinking outside of the box, professional, respectful, badass, funny, deep themes backed by both his stories and his game design, unpredictable, a Producer second to none, variation to his work, workaholic, visionary with infectious ideas (other visionaries and talented people keep getting attracted to him)....
And what he is trying to do with Death Stranding.... Oh my Lord if it even remotely succeeds his vision!!
