Metal Gear is not just a game, it is a legacy that is remembered and alive in the hearts of fans even three decades after its initial release. Over the years, Metal Gear was remade and recreated and also inspired heaps of other games globally.
As much as the game received acclaim, its creator Hideo Kojima would also go on to gain fame and give the gaming world several other unforgettable games. Kojima, often regarded as the auteur of video games, in an interview, revealed that he himself did not expect his creation to be successful. Nonetheless, it did, and how!
Hideo Kojima did not expect Metal Gear to be successful
During an interview with GameSpot back in 2016, Kojima was asked about his 1987 Metal Gear’s success. He was asked if he was surprised by the success or if had he even thought of success when he started making games.
To this, the humble creator says,
“The first Metal Gear Solid title was surprising because I just made what I wanted to play, and I didn’t expect it to perform that well, and it actually didn’t need to perform that well, so that success was a surprise.”
He further added that among the later installments, Metal Gear Solid was a surprise. With that, there was pressure to expand and build a market. With that in mind, he made Metal Gear Solid 2. Kojima admits that among all the success there was one thing that he never wanted to do which was to change anything just so that a game could sell more copies.
Hideo Kojima advice to himself has a message for everyone
During the same interview, Kojima was asked if he could go back in time maybe 30 years, and give his younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? He says,
“I guess it would be: “Believe in yourself.” Even now, and with the previous franchises that I worked on, whenever you try to do something really new, it’s hard for people to understand. The closer they are–and especially the people that are really close to you–they are opposed to doing something completely new. When you try to create something that doesn’t exist it’s difficult to communicate and convey that message to staff. There are always people telling me that I have to do things a certain way, but the only way to do what I want is to believe in myself.”
However, Kojima doesn’t just stop at one tidbit of advice. He also has a second piece of advice for his younger self as he adds,
“Another piece of advice I would give myself…given that I didn’t expect Metal Gear to be so successful: I would tell myself to make something that wouldn’t be successful. It would have made things a lot easier. I don’t mean to brag with what I’m about to say, but I’m always making adjustments and playing the games I make, and I think to myself, “This is too fun, this is going to make other jobs harder. I need to make it a little more boring, because it’s just too good.”
Kojima’s journey from making a video game for himself to going on to be known globally as the ‘auteur of video games,’ is a testament to how humble beginnings can lead to huge success, if one has faith in themself.
