Kojima: "Next level of gaming" not yet possible

Monday 21-Jul-2008 5:01 PM Improving graphics and sound will only go so far, says MGS creator

The "next level" of gaming is not yet possible on current-gen hardware, says Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima.

Speaking to BBC's Click program, Kojima said that improving the visuals and audio in games will only go so far in future console generations.

"We will keep on making games for consoles and the graphics and sound quality will get better and better," he said. "But I think no matter how much we improve the quality, there is only so much we can hear or see.

"The next level will be when we start improving the backgrounds, the things you don't instantly see but enhance the experience. For example, there are leaves in the background and when you water them they grow. Instead of the backgrounds being pre-programmed, they actually respond to what the player does.

"This is not possible right now but maybe in the future it will be, and that is when we will have entered the next era of gaming," he added.

He's as technology-obsessed as ever then. Not that we're complaining; MGS4 is a massively impressive game, and a terrific showcase for the PS3.

Kojima is currently rumoured to be working on a new game based on RPG series Snatcher, with No More Heroes mastermind Suda 51.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=193688

Two of the most influential thinkers of the past half century working on one game TOGETHER? I expect nothing short of a revolution.

I think that is why he said he was slightly dissapointed with the ps3 hardware a few months back. Maybe he wanted the environment to be more interactive. I don't know if we will see this next gen, but that is a graphical improvement that I'm actually interested in. OH and I wonder what console snatcher would go to fi that is true. SUda seems to favor the wii, and kojima did say he was interested in working on the wii after MGS4 was done.

Oh they actually announced the Snatcher game along with the rest of the sntacher works?

Thought that was just a rumored wii game?

Is that like... a slipup?  Some new info?  Or was the author just guessing?

A few years back Kojima stated that project S will be a Wii project.

Graphics by any other name still smell as foul. Such a pity that a genius like him would fall to graphics-are-everything, but I think this wad of BS proves it.

Graphics are VERY important for a developer focusing on narrative driven games. Kojima had admitted more than once that he prioritizes storytelling in his games and builds the gameplay around the central narrative. It's obvious that for a cinematically driven developer graphics are crucial.

If you know me I don't care about graphics at all other than the idea of advancement or if they affect gameplay. Example

This is one time where I actually would like graphical advancement. This would allow for much larger worlds, more interactive worlds, and would imo affect gameplay immensly. So I'm all for graphical advancements if this was what it was to bring. As for him being part of the  "graphics are-everything" crowd, I don't think he is. He seems to consider many different aspects to a game, and graphics might be one of them. That is fine for some people I guess. That doesn't mean he thinks that graphics mean everything.

If that turns out well  would you be slightly more happy with the wii as a platform? I just wanted to ask since you seem to dislike its central theme of gameplay, and most games not having many cinematics on the level of alot of ps360 games.

Yeah... and i mean.  That's not really graphics.  Having plants that grow and interact and stuff.  That's really more... "physics  engines" and like... "Time engines" more then anything else.