games  anime  |  toys
Destructoid is gaming news, community, videos, and sometimes love. Take the tour or jump in with Facebook:

 


Kojima wants to do zombies; George Romero wets self photo

Kotaku, by way of Games Radar has a snippet from the latest issue of EDGE magazine (the European answer to American gaming print journalism), in which Hideo Kojima, developer of the Metal Gear series, and close, personal friend of mine, goes into great detail about his ideas for a game centered on undead hordes; aka zombies. Here's a quote:

"The zombie idea I have is a bit different," Kojima told Edge magazine during an interview published in this month's issue, explaining that he's "less interested in the idea of the living dead than the fact you can turn people just by biting them". Perhaps a new idea for any third-party peripheral makers looking for the next big Wii gadget?

Kojima goes on to explore his idea, stressing that he'd like to offer a "truly online version" of the zombocalypse. "Imagine a large town where half the inhabitants are zombies. Users would subscribe, get inside the town and get bitten. At that stage they become undead and can't control their character - all they can do is modify the camera angles." So far, so very, very Kojima.

"They'd see their character attacking humans and have to pay just to watch!" Koj continues. "The only way they could end it is by opening another account, hunting themselves down and killing themselves. Of course, the problem is that your second character can get bitten as well."

Highbrow art-gaming? Check.

Shambling undead hordes? Check.

Necrotic cannibalism? Check and double-check.

If Kojima ever gets around to making this game, I will give him my child. Not just make him a godparent, no, I will actually mail my daughter to him. If he wants to eat her, that's his business. Anyone who can make me a zombie game like that deserves a delicious baby from time to time.


Continue: More Hideo Kojima stories





prev next

43 comments | showing # 1 to 43

tehuberone's Avatar
tehuberone at 02/16/2007 04:43
Sounds like an interesting concept, but not being able to control your zombie ruins it.
Fana7ic's Avatar
Fana7ic at 02/16/2007 04:55
This is going to suck if you caan´t control it.
Clark-Nova's Avatar
Clark-Nova at 02/16/2007 05:11
I just want a Dead Rising MMO.
Shinigami's Avatar
Shinigami at 02/16/2007 05:19
I have dreams about this kind of shit at LEAST once a month.

Now I can pay money for it too!!
Fana7ic's Avatar
Fana7ic at 02/16/2007 05:29
Get left 4 Dead this is all you need.
stomm's Avatar
stomm at 02/16/2007 05:42
I agree with Clark-Nova, that would be sweet. Especially if major cities were recreated accurately like the Getaway, but with zombies, (narrrrrrrrrrrrrrg errrggggggggggggggggggg)
Justice's Avatar
Justice at 02/16/2007 05:50
Yeah paying to play and then getting bitten str8 away without a refund sucks asses
iRaf 's Avatar
iRaf at 02/16/2007 06:14
that actually sounds pretty cool. if I read it right, if your character is bitten, you turn into a zombie and cant go back, so you use your other account, to find yourself and kill yourself.
Fana7ic's Avatar
Fana7ic at 02/16/2007 06:33
Or get bitten too at your other account and buy a third -.-
Justice's Avatar
Justice at 02/16/2007 07:17
Money Trees FTW!
teknomusik's Avatar
teknomusik at 02/16/2007 07:27
Snore-fest... Paying monthly for something like that, hahaha!
Snaileb 's Avatar
Snaileb at 02/16/2007 07:34
It does sound pretty stupid... two accounts? Phhhhffft..
Brandon Undead's Avatar
Brandon Undead at 02/16/2007 07:51
This idea is so bad I have to think it is a hoax. He actually said, "They'd... have to pay just to watch!"?

K0j!m4: lol
F4nb0y5000: wtf? my walletz!
K0j!m4; pwnt!
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 02/16/2007 08:17
Yeah I posted about this on another site about how the computer would probably "hide" your first zombie character making it harder to kill it so you have to keep paying for a zombie.

This is a flawed idea...heart is in the right place though.
ShinAmano's Avatar
ShinAmano at 02/16/2007 08:25
That may be the worst idea ever...seriously who wants to pay to get bitten and not be able to play anymore, but keep paying...

Kojima thinks his shit does not stink...well i have news for him...
HarassmentPanda's Avatar
HarassmentPanda at 02/16/2007 08:31
@BlindsideDork

You wouldn't have to open another account and kill the zombie to stop paying. You would just cancel the account. There is no way they can keep charging you if you don't want to pay.

Kojima is a brilliant game designer. He's right up there behind Shiggy, but: "They'd see their character attacking humans and have to pay just to watch!" What a dick.
Brandon Undead's Avatar
Brandon Undead at 02/16/2007 08:57
Kojima doesn't hold a candle to Shiggy. Sorry.
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 02/16/2007 08:59
I'm thinking out loud here on this concept. I honestly don't see what's different from it and Resident Evil online from a few years back, but my thought process is this...

You're trying to survive from the zombies, right? Well, treat it as such. Put a large survival element in there, give 'em the Dead Rising capacity of zombies in the maps.

The twist? When you go zombie, instead of losing control, you need to be impaired in some way. And not just a uncontrolled character. I think the zombie's field of view needs to be either masked or altered in such a way to where the zombies CANNOT see the humans as anything other than food. Put it under some sort of rudimentary heat vision or something, but it could be worked out. And give incentive other than just watching to play as a zombie.

Unfortunately, as a game character, the zombie is as disposable as they come. Imagine you get in a really intense fight, you die, succumb to the zombie you, and then 2 seconds later, Frank plows into you with a red convertible, along with 300 other people. Not as much fun anymore eh? I think an online component to a zombie game is good. We've seen Land of the Dead incorporate small scale war well with zombies, I don't see why that would be a bad thing. I'd do some UT-styled Assault missions to get from checkpoint A to B through a horde of zombies.

BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 02/16/2007 09:21
dvddesign

I was thinking the same thing as the image issues. Maybe they see just a plain body, or something. Don't know if that would be too hard. Maybe have their vision be impared as in you can only see so far and you can't see everyone. Perhaps a lock on feature that you pretty much zone everyone else out but althoughs you to drag along a little quicker and have more attack power?

Also to eliminate the death, perhaps have a ton of zombies and you can start as a zombie but make it able that when you die you can control one of the other zombies around?
Sphinx 13's Avatar
Sphinx 13 at 02/16/2007 09:29
A first person zombie would be kinda fun I think. But You would for sure have to control the zombie.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 02/16/2007 09:30
Wouldn't playing as a zombie in 3rd person be better than 1st?
BluDesign's Avatar
BluDesign at 02/16/2007 09:36
Yeah, actually, Blindsides, I like that idea. Make it similar to a Madden thing, where one person has a whole team of zombies under their control. Use a button press to switch between zombies and have their motions when not controlling them just be a general forward motion. I think putting something like this out there as a Warcraft III/Age of Empires RTS would make for an interesting game using that methodology.

galagabug 's Avatar
galagabug at 02/16/2007 09:42
actually, if priced right, this sounds really bad ass.

the game would get increasingly more difficult, as more accounts have turned in to zombies.

whats the differnece between your character getting bit and losing control over losing your last life in any other game? you put the quarter in, and try again. at least you get to see what your 'dead' character is up to, which has its own novelty.

but this all depends on the pricing model, if it was expesnive to open an account, then its a pretty lousy idea. if its no different than a quarter in an arcade machine, whats the big deal? maybe $3 a life or something...

it would also have to have no rpg elements, leveling up your character just to lose it indefinately blows. losing a couple dollars or weapons, but being able to start on fairly even footing as everyone else could be amazing.

imagine cooperating with a bunch of people and pretty much reenacting the bus scene from dawn of the dead. awsome.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 02/16/2007 10:03
galagabug

Yeah I could understand if it is $3 a life...but do you really think they would do it for cheap? I would say the lowest price they would dare to do would be at LEAST $10.

But I think you have the general idea of how it could be well done. I'd pay $3 for a life to run around and play around with a group of ppl but it would suck if you did horribly and just kept dying, I would be PISSED!

But I think another issue is that some people will probably want to play as a zombie.
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 02/16/2007 10:38
Kojima needs to stop getting high before interviews. This idea is awesomely insane, but not nearly at the level of Keita Takahashi's Meow Meow Grandma concept.
galagabug 's Avatar
galagabug at 02/16/2007 10:40
@blindside

its all in how the game is presented, i don't see where the appeal would be in playing as a zombie if the game is a zombie hunting game. the play mechanics that can be applied to zombie players are so limited. maybe a stripped feature set as novelty, like someone said earlier, with restricted view and control, but if the emphasis is on zombie hunting, this could defiantely work.

i am not too familiar w/ pricing models of online games, but don't you buy the disc, then pay monthly fees on games like warcraft?

maybe you could buy the disc for like $40, and it would come with 5 lives or so, then you could be additional lives for $5 or less.. that seems fair.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 02/16/2007 10:49
Yeah who knows what their pricing would be but I don't see them charging low prices for lives when you they can charge more.
MrFudge's Avatar
MrFudge at 02/16/2007 11:05
I haven't really played any online games, but surely you could open two accounts on one subscription, like in WoW or something.

Also, if you're mates were playing, they could kill you so you get your account back. I think it all sounds pretty badass. They could reset the game every now and then anyway.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 02/16/2007 11:13
Have different time periods where there are lots of zombies out or few.
Dexter345's Avatar
Dexter345 at 02/16/2007 11:53
I'm really surprised so many of you are saying that this sounds like anything other than an attempt at money grubbing on Kojima's part. Sign up another account if you die? That's ridiculous.
MechaMonkey's Avatar
MechaMonkey at 02/16/2007 12:08
relik's Avatar
relik at 02/16/2007 12:53
It's official...

Kojima has disappeared up his own poop shoot!
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 02/16/2007 13:19
I think it'd be interesting, providing subscription costs are kept down. Otherwise, who wants to open up another account for $10 a month on top of your other one which you're trying to kill?
Jecrell's Avatar
Jecrell at 02/16/2007 13:52
Fuck you guys, this is simply awesome.

You make a badass zombie hunter and then your zombie hunter becomes a zombie by accident or on purpose. Then you go and make another zombie hunter to kill your former badass zombie hunter.

The concept itself, unused in gaming today, is just cool. Plus, we need more Zombie MMOs.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 02/16/2007 14:44
More Zombie MMOs?

We have Zombie MMOs to start with?

WHERE? I want!
Brandon Undead's Avatar
Brandon Undead at 02/16/2007 15:01
Traditional zombies and MMOs sound like about as good a combination as peanut butter and dog shit. How about an MMO based on the movie Deep Blue Sea, where some of the players are intelligent sharks, and t3h peoples better not get wets! If the shark eats you, you are lunch, and you pay to watch digestion! New profile! Equip Frickin' Lazer Beam to Frickin' Head!
kevinski's Avatar
kevinski at 02/16/2007 15:11
You know, until he got to the part about not being able to control zombies, this almost sounded like a non-text-only version of Urban Dead. http://www.urbandead.com/
kevinski's Avatar
kevinski at 02/16/2007 15:12
http://www.urbandead.com/ <-- For the lazy. :P
Lezbro's Avatar
Lezbro at 02/16/2007 16:25
Booooooring.

Zombies suck.

No more fucking zombies!
Im OK's Avatar
Im OK at 02/16/2007 17:08
My initial reaction to the headline:

"So... then, he's doing Metal Gear Solid 5? Snake will surely have died of FOXDIE by then."
Mxyzptlk's Avatar
Mxyzptlk at 02/16/2007 17:38
A few of you are assuming a bit much, he's not actually making this game. This is just his crazy ass concept right now, nothing more. It says that in the article.
GnappyAssassin's Avatar
GnappyAssassin at 02/17/2007 03:36
GnappyAssassin's Avatar
GnappyAssassin at 02/17/2007 03:38
That was ghey^

Anyway,

A) If it's all on one account, just different profiles, I could see it working.

B) I need Dead Rising.

C) Urban Dead's the shit, even though I was dead by the second time I logged in.

D) The Japanese are fucking nuts, and I love it. Look at Katamari Damacy.
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!

 
New on Destructoid.TV play all videos

Loading
Loading Destructoid Videos




    Win this!
    We're giving away an Xbox 360, Modern Warfare 2 & more!



    Dtoid Twitter    Got news?   tips@destructoid.com

    Reviews & Previews
    Mahjongg Artifacts 2 review
    Dragon Age: Origins review
    Lost Winds: The Winter of the Melodias review
    Osmos review
    Space Invaders Extreme 2 review
    Half-Minute Hero review
    JU-ON: The Grudge review
    Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble review
    Thexder Neo review
    Domino Rally review
    more reviews
    PS3's 256-player MAG
    Rooms The Main Building
    Skate 3
    Hudson's bringing back the Bonk
    James Cameron's Avatar
    Bomberman Battlefest
    Calling
    Bad Company 2's multiplayer
    Partying like it's 1959 in BioShock 2's multiplayer
    BioShock 2 through the eyes of Big Daddy
    more previews


    - The Dtoid Army is 49660 strong -

    Showing Cblogs with 3+ faps   show all

    Call for entries: do the wrong thing

    New to Dtoid? Read the survival guide




     Originals
    Jim Sterling: How to respond to a videogame review





















    More Destructoid Originals




     Popular now more






















    Team Destructoid   tips@destructoid.com
    Nick Chester
    Editor-in-Chief
    Niero
    Founder, publisher
    Jim Sterling
    Reviews Editor
    Hamza Aziz
    Community Manager
    Dale North
    News Editor
    Rey Gutierrez
    Video editor & director
    Anthony Burch
    Features Editor
    Colette Bennett
    Tom Fronczak Brad Nicholson
    Ashley Davis Ben Perlee
    Conrad
    Zimmerman
    Chad Concelmo
    Jonathan Holmes Jonathan Ross
    Brad Rice Jordan Devore
    Will Maddock Matthew Razak
    Dyson Joseph Leray
    Topher Cantler Samit Sarkar
         
      Adam Dork
    Daniel Lingen
    Joe Burling
    Mikey
    Stella Wong




     

     
      get involved

    register or login
    post a blog
    post a forum
    enter a contest
    contribute a news tip
    suggest a feature
    be a guest editor
    support

    new member's guide
    login assistance
    tech support
    report abuse
    email our editors
    read our dev blog
    nuclear crisis?
    keep in touch

    RSS feed
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Myspace
    Flickr
    Game nights
    Meetup+play online
    seriously

    about Destructoid
    advertising
    terms of use
    privacy policy
    jobs at MM
    buy our crap
    our network

    Tomopop
    Japanator
    Despingation?




    Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press
    living the dream since March 16, 2006