When Hideo Kojima, the celebrated creator of the Metal Gear Solid videogame franchise, took the stage at Sony's press conference during E3, all he needed to say was two words: "I'm back!" The crowd jumped to its feet and responded with rapturous, sustained applause.
Kojima, 52, is revered among gamers and perhaps best described as the medium's Steven Spielberg, though David Lynch might be a more apt comparison. Metal Gear Solid set a standard for cinematic storytelling, and he infuses every game with a personal, often esoteric, authorial flair. Kojima built his career on that series, cranking out sequels until last year, when he left Konami after the company canceled his game Silent Hills. (It's still not clear whether he quit or Konami pushed him out, but the parting did not appear amicable.)
Since then, he's launched the independent studio Kojima Productions, signed a deal with Sony, and made what looks like a head-scratcher of a game called Death Stranding. Kojima clearly isn't afraid of confusing the hell out of people: In the trailer that debuted at E3, a character played by The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus crawls nude across a beach, tethered to an infant by a long black umbilical cord. The baby disappears, and Reedus is shown surrounded by dead whales and other marine life. Floating crosses appear in the sky, and ... the end.
WIRED spoke with Kojima after the show to find out more—or, really, anything—about the game.
WIRED: I've watched the trailer for Death Stranding and I'm still confused. What the heck is this?
Kojima: It's a teaser, so the only thing I can say is, watch it. You can see the crabs, the whales, all things, they all have these umbilical cables. Norman, as he stands up. It's a very important part, this connection. That's the keyword. What people are playing today in open-world action games, or linear action games, it will compare naturally to them. It will feel familiar. But after an hour or two of playing, you will start to feel something different, something new that you haven't played. The story is about connections, what you call "strands" in psychology---how people are connected.
