The one, and only, Hideo Kojima, recently tweeted on one of his greatest innovations in Metal Gear Solid – so he believes.
In a series of tweets, Kojima shared his pride in the game’s radio communication system.
Kojima explained that he developed the radio comms system to assist players who were infiltrating enemy territory alone, as it can be difficult to control NPCs in team infiltration scenarios. His idea was to support players with voice-only communication and involve a sub-story on the radio side, without requiring any drawings. Throughout all MGS games, players can use the radio to communicate with NPCs, providing support and advancing the game’s storyline.
Kojima believed that the “buddy system” would help players adapt to the game’s unique world and gradually become familiar with its worldview, objectives, and operation system. He takes pride in this feature to this day, stating that NPCs’ radio comms are now considered standard in most action games.
An example that we immediatly think of is Resident Evil 4, also making such use of radio comms in the recent Remake.
Kojima also acknowledges the importance of four-legged companions in the game. Not only as friends, but also as a substitute for human NPCs. In one of his tweets, Kojima explains that it is challenging to make NPCs accompanying the player in the game appear human, not just in dialogue but also in posture synchronization with the player, route control, and motion. As it is not yet possible to make them look natural, dogs are a good option.
Kojima highlights the advantages of dogs as they are intelligent, non-verbal, loyal, non-tool users, and action-oriented, which makes them an ideal choice for aggressive companions in the game. In summary, dogs are a far better option than some of the poorly functioning AI-operated companions in other action games.
It is clear that Kojima still holds the MGS series close to his heart. Despite the feud with Konami, let’s hope to see a Metal Gear Solid 6 in the future.
