Hideo Kojima is a man who takes risks. He’s the creative soul behind the politically-charged videogame series Metal Gear, as well as fronting a slew of other games (from the 1988 cyberpunk adventure game Snatcher to the 2001 mecha-enabled power fantasy Zone of the Enders). When he’s not befriending filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro or actor Norman Reedus (of The Walking Dead fame), Kojima’s heading up his own fresh studio. A studio beyond the tight constraining grips of Konami, where he can freely make beautifully cinematic trailers of c-sectioned naked men hugging oil babies. If all that wasn’t enough to get his creative juices flowing, Kojima’s recently announced that he’s joining the Advisory Board for the VR and AR company, Prologue Immersive.
“Year One for VR”
One of Kojima’s throughlines in his games is that of a clear cinematic feel where his film inspirations, like Del Toro, shine through. The precise cinematic style is part of what makes Kojima’s sometimes-puzzling storylines work so well—they’re equal parts bizarre and completely endearing. He tries in ways not many game directors try (which means sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t). It’s what makes his leap to working with Prologue Immersive on advising virtual and augmented reality content potentially exciting. Maybe Kojima can inject just the right amount of risk-taking and wisdom that the field desperately needs.
Kojima is joining longtime friend and collaborator Kyle Cooper, co-founder of Prologue Immersive, and Kimberly Cooper, CEO and co-founder of Prologue Immersive, on the Advisory Board. “Through VR, I am certain [Kimberly and Kyle Cooper] will strive to connect films and video games and take us on to that bridge to the future that lies ahead,” wrote Kojima in a statement with Prologue Immersive. “It would be my absolute pleasure to assist the Coopers on this new adventure they are embarking on.”
Kojima labeled 2016 as “Year One for VR” in his statement with Prologue Immersive. And he’s not wrong. While 2016 may not be the defining year for the technology, it is the year where it has entered peoples’ homes, rather than residing on trade show floors and word of mouth. This partnership of sorts probably won’t lead to an AR mobile Metal Gear Go. After all, that property technically remains within Konami. But rest assured! Konami will probably find a way to make something equally arduous happen in between their pachinko machine and Metal Gear Survive-laden dreams.
Read more about Kojima’s leap to advising VR things with Prologue Immersive here.
