Hideo Kojima: Games Feel Like Movies Due to Growing Up with Them

Hideo Kojima is renowned for his portfolio of video game masterpieces. These games often draw comparisons to films due to their cinematic nature and superb storytelling. According to the mastermind developer, this is no coincidence. His games have a unique ability to make players feel as if they are experiencing a movie.

Smash-Hit Game Successes

From Death Stranding to Metal Gear, Kojima has a track record of creating hit games. When playing his titles, one can't help but notice the touch of cinema within them. In a 1999 interview with fellow video game mastermind Yasumi Matsuno, Kojima delves into what he calls his generation's "cinema DNA" and how it has influenced his work.

Unconscious Influence

"My generation really took a lot from the cinema, and much of that remains an unconscious influence on what we make today. I like to call it our 'cinema DNA,'" jokes Kojima. Having grown up with movies, their influence is ingrained in him. No matter what he attempts to create, this DNA always makes its presence felt and gives his creations a "cinematic" shape. For those who grew up in the "manga generation," their art also bears traces of manga.Kojima continues, expressing concern about younger devs. As video games began to take over, he worries that the current generation of young game creators has grown up on video games themselves and may not have had the time or opportunity to absorb the influence of other arts and mediums.

Influence on His Games

In Kojima's case, it's not that he is consciously thinking about movies when he creates. Rather, due to his upbringing with them, everything he makes ends up having a cinematic feel. It's all about the unconscious absorption of elements such as a sense of what's "cool," beautiful framing, and stylish lighting. And this influence is felt in one way or another in his games.The lead concludes that "A single work becomes invested with many unconscious strands." Even though this interview was in 1999, Kojima's words are more relevant than ever. His upcoming project OD, which he describes as "a bit risky" and "a game like no other," is being produced in collaboration with comedian and filmmaker Jordan Peele. Additionally, Kojima has the Death Stranding movie in the works.Hideo Kojima admits that his "work is often regarded as being similar to a movie, but at the core, games are what I create."