Hideo Kojima Expresses Interest in VR Game Development
By Kyle Sledge 26 December 2015
World-renown game designer and director Hideo Kojima discusses the possibility of making a virtual reality title, expressing interest in VR game development overall.
In a recent discussion with IGN, Hideo Kojima said that he “can’t make an assurance right now” as to whether or not his new studio’s PlayStation exclusive game will be made with virtual reality-based technology, but he’s “definitely interested” in VR game development overall. Bearing that in mind, the PlayStation VR – formerly Project Morpheus – would undoubtedly be a format that Kojima-san would be willing to produce games for, but as of now, the notion is apparently on the back-burner, as his next title is still in the extremely early stages of pre-production.
Although the Kojima Productions founder says that he would like to create VR titles, he’s hesitant to delve into doing so just yet. It seems as if the actual size of the products housing the technology is a concern for the game designer and director. Regarding the matter, Kojima said:
“One day I’d like to make something using this technology, I’m not sure yet. But I do believe it has a future. [. . .] I’m not sure if it’ll be current format, the big goggles, maybe it’ll change to AR or something. But when this technology enters the living room, games and movies will change significantly for a lot of people. And I’d like to take part in that.”
Of course, Hideo Kojima is most well-known for coupling fine-tuned gameplay with cinematic visuals and sprawling stories like with the excellent Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, so it would make sense for film as an art form to never be far from his mind. When considering virtual reality technology, he explains that VR has somewhat of an edge over a lot of modern motion picture blockbusters, saying that the idea of “being there is not something 3D movies can even try to compete with. It’s on a completely different level. In that regard I feel this is something that has a big future.”
As many fans would argue, Hideo Kojima’s and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro’s now-cancelled Silent Hills would have been absolutely beautiful if it had been finished as a game for current-gen consoles, but just imagine how terrifying the game’s P.T. demo would have been if it was playable with VR technology. Interestingly enough, Kojima still wants to work with del Toro, so the possibility of a virtual reality horror game from the two could indeed come to pass if the Pan’s Labyrinth director is on board.
While the jury is still out on the viability of VR tech as a platform for gaming, there are studios that may make waves soon enough with horror-themed titles, such as Korean developer ROI Games’ haunted high school game White Day. However, it’s safe to presume that if Hideo Kojima decided to follow through with a VR creation of his own, the industry as a whole might start to take virtual reality releases more seriously.
What do you think about the possibility of Hideo Kojima making a virtual reality game? Do you think that he would be able to produce a title with the ability to put the medium on the map? Let us know in the comments below.
Hideo Kojima’s forthcoming title is currently untitled and is without a release date, but it is set to be a PlayStation 4 exclusive upon release.
Source: IGN
