HIDEO KOJIMA: PROGRESSIVE GAME DESIGN FROM METAL GEAR TO DEATH STRANDING

Apr 14, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Apr 26

Bryan Hikari Hartzheim

An exploration of the influential work of Hideo Kojima, creator of cinematic titles such as the blockbuster Metal Gear Solid franchise, which has moved over 50 million units globally, as well as Snatcher, Policenauts, and Death Stranding.

As the architect of the Metal Gear Solid franchise, Kojima is synonymous with the “stealth game” genre, where tension and excitement is created from players avoiding enemies rather than confronting them. Through the franchise, Kojima also helped to bridge the gap between games and other forms of media, arguing that games could be deep experiences that unearthed complex emotions from players on the same level as films or novels.

Drawing on archives of interviews in English and Japanese with Kojima and his team, as well as academic discourses of social/political games and cinematic narrative/world-building, this book examines Kojima's progressive game design as it applies to four key areas: socially-relevant narratives, cinematic aesthetics, thematically-connected systems, and reflexive spaces.

PUBLICATION DETAILS

LANGUAGE	BINDING	EDITION	ISBN	YEAR	PAGES
English	Paperback		9798765101698	2023	256
English	Hardback		9798765101681	2023	256
English	eBook		9798765101667	2023	256
Japanese	Paperback		9784866472232	2025	392
Korean	Paperback		9791127426996	2026	364