Hideo Kojima, the legendary creator behind Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, recently shared a pivotal moment from his early career that defined his approach to storytelling in video games.
During an appearance on TBS Radio’s After 6 Junction 2 podcast, Kojima revealed the uphill battle he faced as a young developer at Konami when pushing for narrative-driven games, which is apparently a concept many in the industry dismissed at the time.
Kojima recalled: “They told me, ‘Games don’t need stories, Kojima.’” For an industry in its infancy, the idea of incorporating deep narratives was revolutionary. He added: “They were 2D with big pixels, and you could only move from side to side. But I saw [their] potential.”
Determined to prove everyone wrong, Kojima immersed himself in the art of storytelling. While working on his early projects, he spent countless hours at the library, poring over books to research plot settings and themes.
He revealed: “I read around 300 books for one game,” which demonstrates his dedication to crafting something that could redefine the medium.
Despite facing opposition from colleagues who dismissed his efforts as unnecessary, Kojima pressed forward with his vision, and added: “There was no artistry. There was also no real story. So we wanted to be the ones to give it a story.”
Kojima wasn’t the first to integrate stories into games, but he became one of the earliest developers to use the medium to explore real-world themes and complex stories.
He not only proved his critics wrong, but he also set the stage for video games to evolve into a legitimate storytelling medium.