Metal Gear Solid's Shadow Moses facility location and how it has come to occupy such a revered place in the history of great video game settings.
The space is a triumph of both level design and in creating an atmosphere of narrative realism and intrigue.
Given how small the actual playing area is, how has Hideo Kojima and his team managed to achieve such a sense of scale and deliver so many different meanings?
What is it about the facility that stands the test of time and has been so influential for other designers?
Hideo writes: "We experimented with magnetic motion capture in "Metal Gear Solid: Integral", and in MGS2, we adopted optical motion capture for the first time. Was the shooting done about 25 years ago? Well, back then, everything was trial and error, but every day felt fresh and exciting."
A chat with MGS Delta Snake Eater producer Noriaki Okamura about the past and future of Konami's stealth-action series.
It's not going to be the same without him regardless so honestly it would probably be better just to try to do your own thing while staying in the same genre and general gameplay style.
This but also the story is wrapped up only thing to expanded on is another mgs rising or spin offs.
I mean they could have done an alternate timeline directly after MGS2 which just tells a new story, that way they get to continue Snakes journey while respecting Kojimas final chapter, his Universe would still be untouched.
Maybe in this new game Snake didn't age
They will eventually try to continue the story, it's a given so I'd rather have them doing an alternative timeline than messing with what Kojima has done.
@Foxtrot
You mean before shadow moses as that is when he was injected with fox die anyone knows that.
If they went this route then it would open up a flood gate of crap the topics they covered the deaths blood scenes would never work in today's modern games.
The story in metal gear solid 4 was already a huge step down from the first three. Then the story in V was minimized and totally forgettable. One of Kojimas art directors could definitely make a solid metal gear sequel.
Also when you compare Stranding to Kojimas previous games he could easily be a Neil Druckman type where most of his best ideas were from people he worked with.
For example all of the MGS covers and the art style associated with Metal Gear wasn't even created by Kojima.
comparing Neil Druckman ahole coffee fetcher to someone that worked in the industry from the days of msx should get you a ban.
@Michiel1989
Because he took a ip that he had no right to say he created but does then at every interview he act's he is the father of naughty dog and a god at game development even the tvshow i will not watch.
People that worked there sense the 90's crash days were thrown out over 85% from the last count 2 years ago of the original team is gone majority left when he took over.
Sony looked at all the people that made jax/crash/uncharted/tlou leaving naughty dog went meh then praised neil gave him the keys to the kingdom. Sense then the entire team has been a dam joke they only made 1 new game in 6 years just a port studio now.
Oh i also like the tlou2 mp mode they promised that was changed then cancelled but hey tlou2 ported 3rd time for pc pay pay pay again like skyrim.
Fuck ND fuck naughty dog 2.0
mate... you already compared him to a guy that was 16 years older than him and then ask why he hasnt worked in the industry as long as kojima. Time exists.
Do you really think all of ND will let Neill flaunt around if he didn't have a severe impact on how the game turned out? So you're saying the rest of ND is stupid that they're playing along with his masterplan to take over ND.
It's pretty obvious from your comment you're just salty about tlou2. You didn't like a direction he took the game in, stop acting like he's a terrible human being.
So they should keep making the games they make now and never make anything else...cause thats how uncharted and Horizon came about, oh wait. TLOU would never have existed if you had your way, they would be making jak n dexter 13. I rather have them try something new and fail at it than never try to do anything else ever.
I think someone could take the torch, but they’d really have to be a mega fan and understand the narrative and quirkiness and humor of MGS and just Kojima’s design principles. Make bosses that revolve around “themes” and “gimmicks” and bring freaking David Hayter back for the English dub.
I have been saying for years that Kojima is not needed to continue this franchise. Revolver Ocelot could have a trilogy on his own with the established lore and it would be fantastic
Salman From Tech4Gamers writes "Once a big deal in gaming, stealth gaming, all about sneaking around, planning, and staying cool under pressure, seems to have faded away."
"The decline of the stealth genre can be traced back to several factors. One big problem is that many games today sacrifice stealth for more action-packed scenes.
Even titles labelled as “stealth” often turn into loud shootouts soon after starting. The emphasis has shifted from sneaky strategies to just charging in and shooting, with stealth almost forgotten."
And that's what disappointed me the most about MGS4. While still a good game, it largely abandoned it's stealth roots that made the series so compelling. Since, I've gotten my stealth fix from the likes of TLOU, Hitman, and less popular tiles like Shadow Tactics.
Hmm, MGS4 had the same liberties as all prior MGS games. You could do a complete stealth no kill run in mgs4 with no issue. While also giving a large array of gameplay variations that enhanced the experience.
No MG game except Revengeance has not been able to have complete stealth runs.
@Lexreborn2
True, there were indeed non lethal runs in MGS4. Perhaps I used the wrong wording, but I was more so referring to the 'guns blazing' aspect of the gameplay. This was something that wasn't easily accomplished in the prior games of the series. One reason being that you had limited ammo. In MGS4, you had virtually all the arsenal and ammo you'd ever need early on in the game by way of Drebin points. This alone made stealth all but unnecessary, and resulted in a much easier game than previous entries. That's what the article's alluding to.
@DaReapa
You could go guns blazing even in MGS1, I know 'cause I sucked at stealth at the time and I still beat that game by simply going gung ho on the lowest difficulty and replaying multiple parts over and over 'till I eventually made it.. And it was never the case that the games simply allowed you to just play Rambo instead of a spy with no punishment, you always had a much harder time trying to be a one man army on higher difficulties than just being furtive, so it was always very much stealth first and foremost, the supposed appeal to action in MGS4 was never an issue, they added more weapons and tactics which made all out war a more viable option in some parts but not all of the game and never the ideal course of action. In fact MGS4 have, just like all other MGS games (even the open world unfinished mess that was MGS5), a score system which will rank your run and the point system, like always, favored stealth, non-lethal approaches... Not only the rank/emblem is tied to playing stealth, the game had multiple item unlocks and trophies which you could only ever get by playing it furtively... Hardly anything required you to play guns blazing.
So can we please stop making bullshit up about MGS4 already? I don't know if you were mad the game skipped your platform of choice in favor of the PS3 or if it devalued your life achievement of beating a silly game by being a little more accessible or whatever else was the issue, but it was some 15 years ago, it's time to let go of this whole they abandoned stealth bullshit, they never did that, in fact, it was the second best stealth mechanics in the entire franchise, behind only MGSV, which allowed an even more complex stealth system (and even more open combat too if you wished, because that's what the increasing technology of different generations allowed) but I would argue MGS4 still took more advantage of their stealth mechanics than MGSV ever realized (largely because of open world vs linear structure, but still...). Yes, you could play like a normal shooter action adventure, but you could even more easily had played it like one of the best stealth action games ever. If you choose not to, that's on you.
MGS 4 most certainly did not abandon its stealth roots. As someone who got pretty much every rank you could achieve in that game. I can assure you, that is not the case.
In my opinion as far as modern stealth mechanics and freedom of approach I think V is the best we’ve had so far
Interesting, I would however add that I think part of the decline in interest in many recent stealth games, Assassin’s Creed as a prime example, has been that instead of the stealth play being the fun, it’s been RPG’d as a character choice akin to playing as a mage or a thief with all the same drawbacks and things which turns many players away (upgrade grinding, obscure overly complex skill and equipment upgrade trees). One thing about MGS, Splinter Cell, early Hitman and early Assassin's Creed etc was that they were games you picked up and played with the game the feature, not supplemental to homework hidden in the pause menu.
The novelty has worn off for 'pure' stealth games. They are too tedious. I personally like a good mix.
"The space is a triumph of both level design and in creating an atmosphere of narrative realism and intrigue."
Pretty much. Shadow Moses wasn't very big when you think about it, but its space was used wisely.
Such a epic game. Glad I was younger amd had time for gaming than. Now it's all this tiktok BS lol.
shadow Moses set the atmosphere for players really well. Even to this day, we still want a remake. Looking back, that was one of the last games Hideo Kojima actually utilized an in door setting. MGS 3, MGS 4, and Death Stranding was mainly outdoors. I wonder of Kojima was tired of indoor gameplay.