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Metal Gear Solid - Behind The Scenes

Posted by simoniker on from the corporeal-and-slitherine dept.

Thanks to 1UP for their feature discussing visiting Konami's Japanese offices to check out Metal Gear Solid's newest incarnations. The writer shows some worthy skepticism: "It's a bit odd talking to [MGS creator Hideo] Kojima after playing Metal Gear Solid 2. The question 'What in the hell possessed you to write that script?' is always in the back of your mind", and discovers Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater for PS2 has a whole new plot angle, as Kojima explains: "By playing this game, you'll learn about what went on between the two superpowers - America and the Soviet Union." Elsewhere, Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes for GameCube, also shown despite its Canadian development base at Silicon Knights, lets "...cutscene director Ryuhei Kitamura... cut loose with some of the most inventive violence in videogame history."

39 comments

  1. Please... by hookedup · · Score: 1


    Tell me they removed the "Snake? Snake? Snaaaaaaaaaaake!" every friggin time you die.

    Any chance there will be a MGS on xbox?

    1. Re:Please... by h0mer · · Score: 1

      Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance is currently available on Xbox. If you haven't played a MGS game before, I'd try to start with MGS1, but it's still fun to play even if the story doesn't make as much sense as it should.

      --


      I'm on top of my game like I'm standin' on Xbox.
    2. Re:Please... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ???!

      Best way to appreciate MGS series for what it's really worth is to start on the original Metal Gear series. Even just playing through the first one on MSX or NES will give you enough of a background to appreciate MGS.

      MG1's music = b3st evar!!1! military b3ep bo0p 0wn3rz j00.

  2. Kojime riding a Segway by Zugok · · Score: 2, Funny

    I knew it!! The Segway is connected in someway. Snake has to find theorigin of the Mretal Gears. In actual fact, the first Metal Gears were Segways, designed to be used as tool around the office, much like the Labors in Patlabor. But then some fool had to play around with a staple gun while riding one.. Others prefered to joust. The military picked up on these antics and the rest is history...

    --
    "I just can't sit while people are saying nonsense in a meeting without saying it's nonsense" J Watson, Sci Am 288:(4)51
  3. Small Correction by deacon_jay · · Score: 1

    Just to clarify, Silicon Knights is based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Read the "About S.K." here.

  4. Re: Segway Jousting? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude!! You just hit on a million dollar idea.
    SEEYA! [cackling, running, while wringing his hands...]

  5. Hmm... by SuperMo0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    As long as MGS3 isn't an interactive MOVIE, I'll be interested in trying it.

    I'm much more interested in grabbing Twin Snakes, if only because I'd love to have the experience of beating a GCN game in a day. >_

    1. Re:Hmm... by StocDred · · Score: 1
      If you don't want interactive movies, maybe you should stick to the R-Types and Soul Caliburs of the world. Kojima and tons of other designers want their games to tell stories as well as provide excellent gameplay.

      Whenever I see folks complain about the cutscene content, I wonder why they're playing games like MGS. I don't like football, so I don't play football games. If you don't like cutscenes, don't play games that you know are cutscene-heavy.

    2. Re:Hmm... by CaptMonkeyDLuffy · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It can be a question of degree...

      Just because one game spends too long in cutscenes for a particular person's tastes, doesn't necessarily mean they only want to play games with minimal/no plot. There are plot heavy games out there that go heavy handed with the application of cut scenes. Shoot, these days there a few games where it would be possible to play through a game to the end with more time spent in cutscene than in interactive gameplay. On the other hand, there are plot heavy games that make minimal use of cutscenes and still are very tied to their plot.

      To sum it up, just because a person doesn't like a game that is heavy on the cut scenes doesn't mean they don't want a plot heavy game. Silicon Knights(developers working on the MGS1 cube remake) are a good example of this. Their Eternal Darkness is a great example of a very plot driven game that didn't rely on frequently occuring or lengthy cut scenes...

    3. Re:Hmm... by lidocaineus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Unfortunately, the MGS2 story was terrible, which made the cutscenes that much more worse. Tell a story, fine, but a good editor is in order as well!

      On top of that, the gameplay was very subpar , mainly *because* of the cutscenes that kept interrupting it. I find it ironic that you mention Soul Calibur, as the character development and backstory throughtout the series has been staggering, yet it feels nothing like a movie.

      A well done story with plenty of depth doesn't need a crapload of cinemas (though they can help if implemented correctly. Ever played Rez? Any Panzer Dragoon game?

    4. Re:Hmm... by StocDred · · Score: 1
      I thought MGS2's story was great. It is involved and multilayered and doesn't fall back to a simplistic linear narrative like most games. The difference between MGS2 and, say, Splinter Cell is the difference between Twin Peaks and JAG. The latter examples, while fine, are straight-forward and linear, while the formers are deep and mysterious and never lets the viewer in on everything. I happen to prefer a storyline that requires me to think about it and piece it together based on the clues provided.

      It's a matter of opinion which approach to storytelling you prefer... just as it's your opinion on the quality of MGS2's gameplay. Which I also loved.

      Sure, a game doesn't need a crapload of cinemas to be great... but, unfortunately for you guys, that's exactly what Kojima likes to do. So let this be your warning: MGS3 is likely to have plenty of cutscenes, so if that sort of thing bugs you, please read a couple reviews before you buy it and subsequently trash it.

      I mentioned Soul Calibur as an example of a game that doesn't have random cutscenes "interfering" with your gameplay. I've only played Soul Calibur 2, but I wouldn't exactly hold it up as a paragon for video game presentation. I think it's incredibly weird that you would attack a game that tells a bizarre, convoluted story in cutscenes, yet applaud a game that tells a bizarre, convoluted story in text blocks plus a couple of brief slideshows.

    5. Re:Hmm... by Dinny · · Score: 1

      Personally I thought the story was fantastic. Although I think that largely because I find it really cool that someone had the balls to tell a post-modern story in a video game that wasn't just a comedy.

      I can agree that if you don't dig post-modernism the story is probably pretty stupid.

      I think the game play was an evolution of that found in MGS1. If you didn't like the MGS1 gameplay I imagine it was subpar.

    6. Re:Hmm... by lidocaineus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Hahahaha! No offense, but if you think MGS2's story was deep, you haven't read very much literature.

      Let me explain. MGS2 attempted to take an almost nihilistic view and mix it with post-modernism (someone else mentioned that as well). For someone that doesn't know much about either, the story probably seems interesting... however anyone with a remote handling of the philosophical views Kojima was apparently trying to explore would laugh the game into oblivion (awful philosophic reference intended) at how convoluted and confused it mixed various schools of thought into a not very satisfying plot. Not only that, but the same thing us repeated over, and over, and over, AND OVER, as if we didn't get it the first 20 times.

      It only supports my opinions more when you say that you can't seem to grasp the deep storyline in Soul Calibur because it's shown through "simplistic" methods. Maybe you ARE Kojima's unintended target audience; someone who needs ideas and views pounded into their head over and over until they submit.

      And don't tell me I can't appreciate a game with a lot of cinemas. Once again, I'll point to the Panxer Dragoon series, Panzer Dragoon Saga in particular. The game was literally made up 50% of cutscenes, but it easily had one of the coolest stories ever, and one you could appreciate on a bunch of levels... everything from a love story to about 4 distinctly different philosophical schools, to a good vs. evil plot in on direction (and nothing but grey vs grey in another), to... well, it goes on. Did I mention that the gameplay did not suffer because of overly zealous and tedious banter?

      I suggest reading some books on philosophy, then playing MGS2 again - the stuff you thought was profound previously will subsequently have you gaping at the TV wondering if Kojima took an intro to philosophy class and got Kant, Sarte, and Kierkegaard mixed up.

    7. Re:Hmm... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I see you mentioned Rez... a true paragon of minimalistic story with heavy meanings... i'd venture to say that the deceptively simply story in rez is significantly deeper than anything mgs had to say. of course, those are all sega titles... not a surprise there.

      make note that most people don't understand such things, and need points outlined explicitly at all times (hollywood is a perfect example of this).

    8. Re:Hmm... by BackwardEngineer · · Score: 0, Troll

      Isn't the GameCube a Kiddy console?

    9. Re:Hmm... by turpie · · Score: 1

      Were you on drugs when you played?
      Were they the same drugs Kojima was on when he wrote the script?

      Early on in the game I was willing to overlook some of the stupid bits like the girlfriend hassling you to remember some anniversary during a combat situation. However the further you got into the game the stupider it got.
      Even now over a year since I finished the game, it still pisses me off that a story could be so bad it ruined any of the fun in the gameplay.

      I'll no doubt be in a shitty mood for the rest of today from recalling the awful awful MGS2 story.

    10. Re:Hmm... by StocDred · · Score: 1
      Boo hoo, you hurt my feelings.

      Look Skippy, even if MSG2's storyline doesn't treat post-modernism and nihilism and everything else as perfectly as possible, wouldn't you say it at least deserves accolades for trying? For trying something different? For maybe even inspiring gamers to read those philosophical works of the men you mentioned?

      Christ, the best you can hope for Splinter Cell is that it will inspire gamers to go watch a Steven Seagal movie.

      I've heard of plenty of gamers being pissed at MGS2 over the plotline, because they hated the love story or couldn't make sense of it or that it was too arty... but I've never seen someone bitch that it wasn't arty enough.

    11. Re:Hmm... by lidocaineus · · Score: 1

      What a ludicrous comment. Was the effort a nice one? Sure, I guess you could say that.

      Does it mean it was good? Nope. Do you often go purchase dvd that you know have good intentions but come out terribly and say, "Oh well, the whole thing may have been stupid and contrived, but damn, they tried hard, so it was still worth it!"

      If you're going to try and make a game with philosophic ideals behind it, you better damn well make sure you know what the hell you're talking about. You want to know what MGS2 is like in geek terms? Remember that movie Hackers, and how unintentionally hillarious it was at how bad and inaccurate the whole movie was to anyone with a clue? THAT'S MGS2.

      In other words, if you're going for bang-whiz entertainment, go full throttle and no one will judge you against heavy duty philosophic pretentions. For example, Splinter Cell never said they were about anything but a fun, conspiracy-bent stealth game, which is why we DON'T bitch about its story (it's just a fun jaunt). MGS2, on the other hand, tries to wax philosophical at EVERY SINGLE CUTSCENE and fails *miserably* trying to tell us how profound our lives are. It's not just trying to be mindless and entertaining, it's trying to say something meaningful... and it completely misses the mark. Therefore, you judge it on a completely different scale. If you still don't grasp the concept of comparing apples to oranges, this thread will never end.

      Try not to get your panties in a bunch simply because a bunch of realize that MGS2 was a poor excuse for a game, with a half-assed pathetic plot.

  6. Playing? by warnerve · · Score: 4, Funny

    "after playing Metal Gear Solid 2"

    There was gameplay? I must have picked up the wrong copy of the game. I thought the whole thing was a fairly confusing movie.

    1. Re:Playing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ah ha hah ah hahah ahahah

      Wow, thats funny!!!!!!

      I sooooo get it! because there were like, a lot of cut-scenes and so one could say, "it was a movie" OMFG you are pure comedic genius in a crunchy candy shell. Please never change a thing.

  7. Snake Eater ? by Anik315 · · Score: 1

    ... Snake Eater ?!?

    um yeah... so whose the marketing genius that came up with that one?

    1. Re:Snake Eater ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's actually a military slang term for an animalistic savage.

    2. Re:Snake Eater ? by jcenters · · Score: 1

      Well, if you consider an Army Ranger to be an animalistic savage, then I guess you're right.

      --

      vi ~/.emacs

    3. Re:Snake Eater ? by UltimaL337Star · · Score: 1

      I'm pretty sure I saw the name snake eater on the cover of playboy once...

  8. The invasion has commenced? by Fearghaill · · Score: 1

    Our Location: Silicon Knights(R) is an established game development studio located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Near Toronto, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and the wine country of the Niagara peninsula and upper New York State, we live with the best of both worlds - a small-town offering a calm and focused working environment, yet within short driving distance of major urban centers and airports. Just to clarify, you lot only own the area *south* of the falls/49th. St. Catharines is still ours.

  9. Re:warning/. now waffen ss gestapos anonymous tsar by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You are such a loser.

  10. Stoked for Twin Snakes! by dstyle5 · · Score: 1

    Since I have a Cube, I'm really looking forward to The Twin Snakes since I played only a few hours worth of the original on the Playstation. The article is a good read if you are interested in the Twin Snakes or MGS 3.

  11. Raiden-a-no-no by acxr+is+wasted · · Score: 1

    "And the guy being thrown is the actor who we captured as Raiden in MGS3,"

    Umm... is this a typo a tremendous spoiler/disappointment?

    --
    "Come on, let's go drink till we can't feel feelings anymore."
    1. Re:Raiden-a-no-no by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      *or

    2. Re:Raiden-a-no-no by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They're only using the same mocap actor. Snake Eater takes place in the '60s. The beautiful Mr. Raiden hadn't been spawned yet.

  12. "Think Different" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sounds like something Apple would come up with.

  13. History lesson by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "By playing this game, you'll learn about what went on between the two superpowers - America and the Soviet Union."

    Wait, so we're getting a history lesson? Or will this be a revisionist history lesson?

    1. Re:History lesson by AvantLegion · · Score: 3, Funny
      >> Wait, so we're getting a history lesson? Or will this be a revisionist history lesson?

      How dare you suggest that. This is obviously going to be an accurate portrayal of Brezhnev's arsenal of Metal Gear Rexs, and one man's systematical disarmament of that entire regime's Metal Gears, leaving them only with 1,000 plain ol' ICBMs.

  14. Twin Snakes animation by hand? by BackwardEngineer · · Score: 3, Funny

    So if the characters seem really jumpy, does that mean someone was jerking off while they were animating?

    1. Re:Twin Snakes animation by hand? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it means yo momma (so fat) was walking around in the studio.

      Or maybe....it means both.

  15. Geez, it's a VIDEO GAME by Black+Hitler · · Score: 1

    No, I'm sure it'll be a completely accurate and correct depiction of what actually happened during the Cold War, in the proud tradition of Rush 'n Attack and Guerilla War.

  16. Twin Snakes "Versus" by ThePhin · · Score: 2, Informative

    I might just buy a Gamecube to play this, as I'd really love to see the cutscenes by Ryuhei Kitamura. In case you're not familiar with him, he is the director of Versus. Not all my friends liked it, and it is an uneven movie, but I thought it was tons of fun.