@faizanhd said:
@ConanTheStoner said:
@faizanhd said:
Kojima does not have much technical knowledge, you know that right ?
He doesn't make or design anything. He's a writer and director.
I don't know if you're confusing things like coding, concept/technical art with game design, but he's very much a game designer.
He has not been a "designer" since MGS 3. Gameplay and mechanics have been directed by individual western devs since then. Which is why games since MGS 4 have standard shooter controls and why MGS 5 feels like a Ubisoft open-world game.
Dude, the only games he didn't take the lead design role with, post MGS3, were Portable Ops and Rising. And of course PO blew chunks, while Rising was nearly scrapped before being outsourced.
He was the lead designer behind MGS4, Peace Walker and MGSV.
At the time (MGS4), Ryan Payton was the assistant producer and was pushing for MGS4 to have more of a western appeal. As much as people loved MGS3, the main gripe was the camera and controls. In those respects, the game felt outdated upon release. It's not as if this was some mystery to Kojima, he's always been on top of feedback, sometimes to a fault. As a matter of fact, both MGS3 and MGS4 were both direct responses to fan complaints. That's getting away from the point though. Kojima did decide to implement a more up to date camera for MGS3 Subsistence, but saved the big revisions for MGS4 which was already in pre-production.
As for MGSV being an open world sandbox infiltration game.
1. This is the type of game Kojima has been describing as his dream game since the original Metal Gear.
2. As far back as MGS2, he's been trying to pull this off. MGS2 was originally supposed to take place in an open ended Manhattan setting, but the testing phase proved to be a failure. Then again with MGS3, you have the early test footage that was built on the MGS2 engine, then you have the E3 2003 trailer. Both of which show a far more open game, the E3 trailer even poking fun about Vice City. Then of course you have Kojimas own words on the matter about wishing for a far more open world in that game. Of course again, they failed to follow through. Same old story with MGS4.
You are correct in that they brought in some western talent, but that was to get their tech and pipeline up to current standards. Kojima needed the technical backbone and workflow to finally see HIS DESIGN ideas become a reality.
At the end of the day, Kojima is the one who establishes the rules of play. He's the one who dictates the kind of game they will make. He's the idea guy who spits out the plan, then delegates the detail work down the line. While he does have teams of specialized designers working under him, and will hear out their suggestions, he's ultimately the filter that says yay or nay. And once those ideas start seeing implementation, he's the one who tests them, suggests fixes if necessary, or outright cuts them if he feels they aren't fun, or don't balance well.
He is THE lead game designer of these games. He also happens to be the director and writer, which isn't too uncommon at all. Trying to discredit Kojima as a designer on these games because he happens to fill other roles would be like trying to discredit Miyamoto as a designer of Super Mario Bros. or The Legend of Zelda, simply because he was also the producer and director.
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