Celebrated game creator Hideo Kojima once again revealed his fascination with space and game development on the latest episode of his "KOJI10" podcast. Given the chance to travel into space, Kojima said his first priority would be breaking through the atmosphere and seeing Earth with his own eyes before experiencing weightlessness. Only then would he consider venturing farther to the Moon, Mars or Venus.
Kojima admitted, however, that he is extremely prone to motion sickness. He even vomited after riding a swing as a child, meaning he would probably suffer from space motion sickness. Despite that risk, he still wants to experience atmospheric reentry, eat in zero gravity and even develop a game specifically designed for weightlessness aboard the International Space Station, better known as the ISS.
"You can turn completely upside down, so the controls would have to change. Send me to the ISS. I could stay there for six months, make the game and then come back," Kojima said. In his view, zero gravity would not only change how characters move but could completely upend players' understanding of verticality, direction and control logic.
He added that some design ideas could only emerge from actually living in space: "You can't know the answer unless you really live in space. You can't come up with these things on Earth."
Under Kojima's hypothetical plan, he would spend time living in space and determine what kinds of gameplay would actually be fun or practical in that environment. He would then bring those mechanics and control concepts back to Earth to finish development.
Kojima has even mapped out the next phase of his imaginary production schedule: "I'd figure out the gameplay and controls first, then return to Earth to make the game. After that, I'd go back up again." In other words, he would not just visit the ISS for research—he also wants to make a second trip to test the finished game in space.
Still busy developing "OD" and "PHYSINT," Kojima joked that he would prefer to visit space for some other purpose, "but I don't have any other skills."