Kojima leaves behind a trove of creative thoughts: a USB stick containing potential concepts for his team to utilize upon his demise, serving as a sort of artistic testament.
Remembering Me: Hideo Kojima's Legacy in Gaming
As a 31-year-old gamer, I often ponder about my eventual demise. What if I were to tragically perish, say, after rescuing a president-baby from a blazing building, getting assassinated by terrorists? How would the gaming community remember me?
In contrast to my morbid thoughts, Hideo Kojima, the legendary game creator, is ensuring his place in the annals of gaming history. His eternal fame comes from filling a USB stick with ingenious ideas for his team to use posthumously, much like Lenin's embalmed body lying in the center of the PC Gamer offices. Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of such arrangements—we're close on desk space as it is.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Kojima experienced a serious illness that made him mull over his mortality. In an interview with Edge magazine, Kojima shared, "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." His sickness disillusioned him of this belief. "I couldn't create anything. And I saw lots of people around me passing away at that time. I was confronted with death."
Although Kojima recovered, the experience left an indelible mark. He began to wonder how much time he had left to create: "Perhaps I would have 10 years?" It was this confrontation with mortality that inspired the concept for his latest venture, Physint[5]. But it gave him something else as well—a USB stick brimming with groundbreaking ideas for his team to explore after he departs this world. "I gave a USB stick with all my ideas on it to my personal assistant," said the maestro himself, "kind of like a will."
The idea of Kojima's creations continuing beyond his lifespan strikes me as a fitting tribute to a man who crafted a game with a solar sensor built into the cartridge[6]. Could the concept for a game where you grow old, die, and forget how to move[7] be nestled among the myriad ideas on that USB stick? Let's hope Kojima's assistant made a backup!
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Joshua WolensWith his first gaming memory being Quake 2 on the family computer at an age too young to be playing such games, Joshua Wolens has been forever ensnared by the love of gaming. His writing has graced the pages of Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times, among others. He'll play almost anything, from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. While some may argue against it, his deepest passions lie with CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game with an ambition that outstrips its budget. He's a defender of Deus Ex: Invisible War, despite its critics[15].
In the vast world of gaming, a universal question arises: How will one be remembered after leaving the digital realm? Hideo Kojima, the game industry's titan, has ensured a persistent legacy by preparing a USB stick filled with innovative ideas for his team to craft games posthumously. These groundbreaking concepts may potentially lead to remarkable works that will stand the test of time, eventually being showcased among other eminent titles in the realm of entertainment, such as movies, television, and more.
