If any game developer is likely to make it into space, it's Hideo Kojima. He's just so well connected. He recently divulged how he'd treat a trip to the cosmos, and of course, his itinerary would include making a game of some description.
The Metal Gear Solid creator got into what his jaunt into the stars above would be like during an episode of the Koji10 podcast. "Before going to the Moon, Mars, or Venus, I'd like to get above the atmosphere and see Earth," he says. "That's the first thing. Then I'd like to experience weightlessness."
There's just one problem, though: he gets travel sick. "I might get space sick, though," he explains. "I get motion sick easily. Swings made me throw up as a kid, even though I was on the gymnastics team."
You and me both, dude - I can't do boats whatsoever and going over hills too fast in a car can make me spew. Zero gravity might be a challenge. Anyway, he then adds he'd like to atmospheric re-entry, and try eating while floating around without any Gs.
Then he gets onto how he'd approach game development up there. "I'd also like to make a game to play in zero gravity," he mentions. "You can turn upside down. So the controls would have to change. Send me to the ISS, and I'll make it there over six months before coming home."
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is one of the controlling bodies of the ISS, and that sounds like a pitch. Kojima isn't sure how the game would be, but he's confident he'd figure it out while up there.
"I'd spend some time up there looking at Earth, think 'I'm bored,' then I'd ask myself what kind of game I'd want to play," he explains. "You can't know until you've lived in space. You can't figure it out on Earth. I'd think about what might be fun or useful. And the controls would be different, too. You might be upside down."
All true and valid. I'm not sure Death Stranding 3 would inherently work if you're making it for astronauts who're just floating around. At this point, his hypothetical sabbatical to the International Space Station turns into a second tenure.
"I'd work out the gameplay and the controls. Then I'd come back to Earth, make the game, and go up again," he muses. "I'd take a second trip."
I mean, that only makes sense. He'd have limited resources and mobility on the station. Best to come down, then return for playtesting and launch. The man leading OD and Physint wouldn't mind contributing in other ways, but games are really his big selling point here.
"I'd like to go for another purpose, but I don't have any other skills," he finishes. Get some astronauts in for body scans, and you might have a chance here, lad.
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