How Technical Constraints Inspired a Video Game Developer Create a New Genre
How Technical Constraints Inspired a Video Game Developer Create a New GenreProof of Concept Issue 50
In the 1960s, there was a kid growing up in the neighborhood of Setagaya in Tokyo. His father, a pharmacist, spent a lot of time away at work, which was common among Japanese men in Tokyo. The child would pass time waiting for his dad to get home by watching television, movies, and create figurines to play with. With an upbringing immersed in stories, media, and entertainment, it’s not a surprise he grew up aspiring film production as a career. It didn’t pan out as he expected. Instead, to his friends' chagrin, the now-grown-up child went into video game development. In the 1980s, Nintendo was the hot craze, and games developers wanted to work there. The kid from Setagaya, known as Hideo Kojima, ended up at a different publisher…Konami. Kojima’s first opportunity was working in the home computer gaming division, where he would be responsible for developing games for the computer architecture known as the MSX2. One of Kojima's first projects was delegated to him by a senior developer; shipping an action game on the MSX2. Kojima was ecstatic; the opportunity to create an epic action game. He took the childhood inspiration of film and base the direction on the popular 80s action movie Rambo. There was a problem. The technical limitations of the MSX would result in an underwhelming action game experience. The technical capability of game development was not what we know now. What seems like an infinite resource today, game developers had to consider graphical limitations and typically were built with sprites, two-dimensional bitmaps that would be added on a scene. This allowed game designers to create characters, maps, and other elements players would interact with created in pixels. The capabilities of the MSX2 allowed a few character sprites at once, which is drastically different from the one-man army action narratives of a single hero taking on the opposing military. Kojima had to ship something, and he explored different pathways. Kojima took another approach. Why not create a game based on escaping from enemies instead? It would require fewer sprites and would be achievable. He loved the movie The Great Escape, the popular film starring Steve McQueen. After another iteration, Kojima realized an action game based on running away the entire time would be boring. In the next iteration, Kojima decided to blend the two: a game that would have action but focused on stealth and infiltration, using the sprite constraints as a way to create tension in sneaking, avoiding getting caught. The game starred a special forces operative named Snake. His mission is to infiltrate a fortified state known as Outer Heaven. It was believed that Outer Heaven stored a very dangerous weapon, a bipedal tank with the capability of launching nuclear missiles. This super weapon was called Metal Gear. With never-seen experiences such as the overhead camera perception and stealth mechanics, the game was a big hit in Japan. For five months it was the Top 20 best-selling MSX. Two more Metal Gear games were created after the original. Snake's Revenge was one produced without Kojima, and it was a disaster. It was the "Thor: The Dark World" of Metal Gear games. In 1998, 11 years later after shipping the original, Kojima, now directing his games, revolutionized the series with the release of Metal Gear Solid, a sequel to the stealth action game on the Sony Playstation. In his keynote talk a the Game Developer Conference (GDC) in 2009. Kojima talked about these constraints he faced and how it fostered innovation instead of impeding it. The talk, Making the Impossible Possible, covers his challenge with Metal Gear and how he sought tech constraints as opportunities.
The story of Hideo Kojima is as much about video game development as is about creative innovation. Kojima is one of my greatest inspirations and I believe design is about creating solutions with current constraints and technology in order to push them forward. Kojima is known as one of the greatest innovators in the gaming industry. If it wasn't for the technological constraints of the MSX with Metal Gear, history could look differently. The full-blown action game Konami wanted to make would not have been well-received as the new high-tension stealth genre born from technological constraints. The iconic Solid Snake may never have existed. We can look to the skies, waiting for perfect conditions and a rocket ship to take us there, or we can start building on the ground we stand to start climbing. By disregarding preconceived notions through design, we invent and innovate. Along the way we'll get closer to our objective, discovering new perspectives along the way. As the pure dreamers remain grounded, innovators find a way to make the impossible possible. Feedback The spirit of this newsletter is creative experimentation. Did you find the telling of other people’s stories interesting? If so, I’m exploring different profile highlights to write and perhaps conducting interviews with people. Hyperlinks
Design OpportunitiesWebflow and On deck are hiring.
Enjoy this newsletter? Please consider sharing it with friends, or subscribing if you haven’t already. I really appreciate it! Sincerely, DH If you liked this post from Proof of Concept, why not share it? |
Older messages
Proof of Concept #49
Sunday, July 18, 2021
Talks That Shaped My Philosophies
WTF is a Product Designer?
Sunday, July 11, 2021
Issue 48: Unpacking a generalized title in the context of tech and software
What's Exciting About Web 3.0
Sunday, July 4, 2021
Issue 47: The next phase of the internet is independence from big data and monoliths
Go For Broke: Create Like You Have No Money
Sunday, June 27, 2021
Issue 46: How less can create more
Welcome to Proof of Concept!
Saturday, June 26, 2021
Thank you for signing up for Proof of Concept
You Might Also Like
Accessibility Weekly #428: Putting AI to the (Accessibility) Test
Monday, December 23, 2024
December 23, 2024 • Issue #428 View this issue online or browse the full issue archive. Hey accessibility friends! It's the time of year where news and information slows down as many people take
2024 magic moments
Sunday, December 22, 2024
Issue 225: The year from my personal lens ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Planning mode
Friday, December 20, 2024
Lessons from our first-ever annual planning sprint ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
We Co-Sign This AD100-Approved Trend
Thursday, December 19, 2024
View in your browser | Update your preferences ADPro Emboldening the Bath Marble, marble, everywhere, and every drop is chic. According to AD100 designer Jake Arnold, “material drenching”—that is,
177 / Keep calm by listening to these ambient sounds
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Product Disrupt Logo Product Disrupt Half-Monthly Dec 2024 • Part 1 View in browser Welcome to Issue 177 Lately, I've been driving a lot of inspiration from the things I see in real life. The range
The Year in Color: Hella Jongerius, Mocha Mousse, and More
Thursday, December 19, 2024
View in your browser | Update your preferences ADPro Color Our World Since the summer, AD PRO has kept its finger on the pulse of color predictions. Overall, the vibe right now is down to earth,
🐺Get Media Features in 2025
Thursday, December 19, 2024
A BIG Wolf Craft announcement!! ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Small teams
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Issue 224: Why the mentality of lean and small always wins ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
Accessibility Weekly #427: The Myth of Accessible Components
Thursday, December 19, 2024
December 16, 2024 • Issue #427 View this issue online or browse the full issue archive. Featured: The myth of 'accessible components and done' "Think you've solved all your
Here's what you missed...
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Get press for your business in 2025...here's how. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏