Kojima is leaving behind a USB stick with game ideas for after he dies
Don't worry. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon. This was spurred on by the pandemic. "Until then, I didn't think I was old, you know? I just didn't feel my age, and I assumed I would be able to create for as long as I live," he told the magazine. Kojima is 61 years old, which is a spring chicken when compared to luminaries like Shigeru Miyamoto (72) and Sid Meier (71.)
While Kojima isn't planning on leaving this mortal coil in the near future, he does say that he only has so much time left for active game development. He gives himself around ten years before he reaches an age in which his creative energy could be depleted.
So, the idea of a USB stick was born. He hopes it will allow Kojima Productions to carry on as an entity after he passes or retires. "This is a fear for me: what happens to Kojima Productions after I'm gone? I don't want them to just manage our existing IP."
While we don't know what type of ideas are on the USB stick, Kojima did recently introduce a few off-the-wall game concepts regarding the passage of time. He discussed a concept involving memory, in which the main character gradually forgets important information and abilities if someone takes too long of a break from playing. Kojima also discussed a game that encompassed an entire life and another one that would involve the real-time creation of wine or cheese.
The designer also planned on a mechanic that made Sam's beard grow over time in the forthcoming Death Stranding 2. However, he scrapped it because "Norman Reedus is a big star" and he didn't "want to make him look uncool."
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