Kojima on Metal Gear Solid V Open World

Hideo Kojima the creator of the Metal Gear Solid series spoke what exactly the "open-world" means to the first open-world game in the series.

"I think the term 'open-world' has taken on a life of its own and caused misunderstandings," Kojima said. "Of course it's not going to be a game where Snake fishes all day or changes jobs and pursues a different life."

"The game map is an open world and you have freedom in that way, but in MGS5, it's clear what you're doing," Kojima said. "That may be 'I have to help someone' or 'Destroy this thing' or 'Go gather intelligence at this spot'. Some missions will have time limits, too."

"With MGS up to now, we could only build the interior of wherever you were infiltrating. How you got there was shown in a cutscene, and the player would just suddenly be in front of the entrance," Kojima said. "Once you finished the mission, there'd be another cutscene, a helicopter or whatever would come by, and you'd escape."

"It's not that linear games are bad [...] but really, it'd be fun if you were the one thinking about how and where to infiltrate, what sort of equipment to bring, and how to get out of there," he added.

"I feel that games are interactive media, and the rush comes in being able to use what you're given freely to play," he said. "Open worlds create that for you, and I think the future of gaming lies in them."