why is he called a genius?

Computer games in Japan are always a special world inhabited by monsters and killers, zombies and hunters.

Which of the boys in childhood (regardless of the country of residence) did not dream of a SEGA or Nintendo game console? Who has not dreamed of “cutting himself” after school, destroying the maximum number of villains?

One of the pillars of this built virtual space is Hideo Kojima.

What is known?

He was born in August 1963 in Tokyo. He was the youngest of three children, when he was 4 years old, the family moved to Osaka.

– It was at that time that my parents introduced a family tradition: every evening we all watched a movie together. I wasn’t allowed to go to bed until the movie was over: unlike most kids, my parents were big fans of westerns, European movies and horror… They didn’t just show me kids movies. I even saw sex scenes,” Kojima said in an interview. The Guardian in 2012.

Kojima’s father died when he was only 13 years old.

The family moved constantly. Hideo said that practically no one looked after him. He grew up on his own and felt his loneliness.

As for his career, at first Kojima dreamed of making his films. The fact is that the school held an annual festival of culture. The idea of ​​the novice director was simple – you need to create a film about zombies, show it at an event like this, sell as many tickets as possible and earn money. The initiative, unfortunately, failed.

In 1986, 23-year-old Hideo got a job at the game publisher Konami. Friends and relatives did not approve of this choice: work in such a company was considered low-status in Japanese society.

Kojima himself said. One day I was invited to a wedding. The groom, introducing him, said: Mr. Hideo is a very talented and otherwise pleasant person, but, unfortunately, for some unknown reason, he began to work in the gaming industry. The man’s words were drowned out in a burst of laughter.

– At that time, the Japanese language did not even have the word “game designer”. I lied at parties. Like, I worked in a financial firm … – Kojima said later.

First game and first success

Kojima’s first game was Penguin Adventure. The project fascinated Konami’s bosses, who were delighted with Hideo’s RPG elements, alternate endings, and the ability to purchase items. After reviewing the project, the management offered Kojima an independent niche.

Note that Kojima himself tells about that situation is a little different: in the second part of an interview with The Guardian, he says that the first Lost World project was closed after only six months, which seriously destabilized his condition.

The game designer was not taken aback. He took the initiative to reformat action games: instead of running at the enemy, destroying them in incredible numbers, Hideo proposed the opposite idea of ​​”you have to hide from the enemy.” Konami has abandoned this interpretation. Kojima immediately edited his project: one should not run away from enemies, but quietly sneak up on them, cunningly and dodging. Konami agreed to this idea.

In 1987, Hideo released his first mainstream Metal Gear game, which became a real hit in the industry.

What is special about this game? The user controls a certain Solid Snake, which must be brought from one point to another. The goal is to avoid getting caught by patrolmen while moving, who can track the movement of the hero through the game space not only visually, but also by sound effects (for example, steps).

The success of the first game prompted the creation series of similar projects – in 1990, Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake was released; in 1998 – Metal Gear Solid, in 2001 – Metal Gear Solid 2, in 2004 – Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater; in 2006 – Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops; in 2008 – Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

What can heroes do during the game? Their feature list extremely wide: this includes not only the need to sneak around a certain location, but also hide, track down the enemy, heal yourself, modify your weapons, steal equipment, blow up and kill from behind.

Why is Kojima called a genius?

In the Russian-speaking segment, they talk about the genius of Hideo:

• Or bloggers (and they use this word in a rather mocking connotation, focusing on a popular meme);

• Or people who are interested in games (and they note that Kojima’s projects are distinguished by the depth of the plot and psychology, they have a philosophy that expresses fears about a nuclear apocalypse).

What does Kojima’s genius look like in practice?

In one of his games (PT), Kojima places the protagonist in a time loop. The character is in an apartment where something terrible happened. There is only one location – a corridor and a bathroom. It would seem that it is impossible to create a real horror here, but Hideo succeeded.

He literally introduces the player into a hypnotic state, repeating the same movements in a confined space. What does this mean? Once you open the door and see that the color of the lamps in the corridor has changed a little. The second time, the radio may start working. In the third – the door to the bathroom will suddenly open. In the fourth – you will see a bloody refrigerator. All these trips around the location are accompanied by a constant incessant creaking chandeliers in the hallway.

How does Kojima himself explain his non-standard vision of the world?

He says that it all started from childhood: “When I was little, I always thought about different worlds in my head.”

He was constantly overwhelmed by thoughts and stories about how everything works and what surrounds him: “I laughed, then cried at seemingly random things, and people did not understand why.”

Even now, at an already mature age, Kojima lives in his ideas.

– See the coffee cup? he asks The Guardian correspondent, “I imagine a story with such a huge cup in which we are sitting. This is not even a story, but a vivid picture. But that’s how my brain works!

What is Hideo doing now?

Kojima, having terminated legal relations with Konami, created his own independent studio. Plans and projects for new games remain unknown until the very end.

The only thing is that it is quite likely that a top game designer will also create movies and music.