A 3DJUEGO days ago he was one of the very few means who enjoyed the opportunity to play Death Stranding 2: On The Beach at the Kojima Productions offices in Japan. In addition to being able to bring some impressions of our hours with the title before its launch on June 24, there was also the opportunity to chat with several of those responsible for the Japanese study, among whom I was, neither more nor less than, Hideo Kojima.
Although it is a sequel and perhaps no surprise causes a title whose playable scheme is based, above all, on walking through idyllic places carrying many kilos of materials and shipments, the truth is that the Japanese creative and his team are experts in leaving the expectations of the entire community, as they demonstrate their incredible trailers, which are an event in themselves.
Therefore, an opportunity as this is as precious, in which in addition to participating in A round table con Hideo Kojima Together with other colleagues, it was also possible to share impressions and ask questions to Yoji Shinkawa, Hiroaki Yoshiike, Takayuki Uchida y Akio Sakamoto; Art Director, Level Chief Designer, Technical Director of Art and Head of Technology at Kojima Productions, respectively.
A sequel with many novelties
Beyond the largest images than the life they propose and the faces of the new actors that appear, and if we focus on playable portions, the trailers shown until the date of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, surely they have attracted attention for two very specific things: the role of the role of climate And how this affects environments, as well as the news that the action receives With respect to the first part.
Sand storms will not let us see that there are more than a couple of steps ahead.Precisely about those Great climatic eventsof which we have seen floods and sand storms, Hiaroaki Yoshikeke spoke to us: “In terms of world design and level design, the game is basically going from one point to to a point B, going from one place to another. We think that natural phenomena introduce a little destruction to which you had to consider adapt […] The encounters with these phenomena are completely different among the players. You can find them or maybe you can pass without being presented. We try to be a realistic climate but at the same time this is Death Stranding, so weird things happen too. “
Another leg of this evolution of the conditions in Death Stranding 2 regarding its first part is the Implementation of a day-night cycle. Hideo Kojima tells us how it reached him and what he implies: “Time is, in a sense, one of Death Stranding’s themes. There is also beauty at the sunrise and sunset, and in contemplating the sky. I could not include that in Death Stranding, due to some circumstances with the engine at that time. But this time, I could implement it.”
The day-night cycle will allow us to enter enemy bases with stealth.Of course, not everything was pink, and It took a lot of retouching until you get to the desired place. “At first, the night scenes we created were too dark and everyone fell into the cliffs. We put lights and adjust the lighting over and over again. But we realized that doing it too realistic does not work in a game. In addition, as the scenes also reflect the time of day, so the lighting also has to reflect it. It was very hard for our developers. It was more cinematographic, but the team told me that the sun came out and gave at a certain point, “Kojima tells us.
“[Death Stranding 2] It is a game focused mainly on deliveries ” – Hideo Kojima
With respect to combat and that biggest approach to action, first A WARNING OF HIDEO himself: “I am not recommending people to shoot more or anything like that. But there are so many people around the world asking me to do another Metal Gear, that I have added more options for combat. Of course, this is a game focused mainly on deliveries. You can avoid the enemy taking the longest path, you can quickly spend using a vehicle, or you can fight against the enemies; I wanted to leave that choice in the hands of the players.”
Optional, but much superior combat
In the director’s cut of the first Death Stranding, several things were added that added variety to combat, but nothing to do with everything that its sequel will have … No matter how optional. Yoshiike says that “it was very difficult to try to maintain the balance between combat and deliveries”, but that “in the study there are people who know how to make combat and stealth, we try to maintain the essence of Death Stranding.”
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Con Hideo Kojima.In the same way, we do not turn on the alerts, because it has been sought that the combat is not routine and Do not fall in a formula repetition based on a rewarding action, but empty from the point of view of design. This is commented by Yoshiike: “We take a look at each area and build them with their own ‘Lore’, so that, as you move from place to place, you have different experiences. We try to mix it as much as we could with the order of the missions, providing multiple ways of approaching the same fight, offering direct fight, stealth, or you can avoid the enemies completely and steal the camps without seeing you.”
Yoji Shinkawa, one of Hideo Kojima’s most faithful collaborators and artistic father of Metal Gear, comments that there was enough work in his department because of this greater focus on combat. “The vehicles, for example, in the previous game you could not shoot from the vehicles, but this time you can do it. We had to change the designs based on those game concepts. Some of our designs changed halfway,” Shinkawa explains after recounting that this iteration process for a sequel, especially for the expectations created by fans, which the creation of novel arts for a title never seen before seen before.
It is true new generation
That arrival in PlayStation 5, or rather the development with this platform in mind against PS4, has allowed some important technical improvements such as those day-night cycles, or the weather events, but also some additional features. Akio Sakamoto states that although “the conclusion is that it is not so different” to develop for new generation, yes that It has allowed artists to give more freedom By having fewer technical limitations, as well as improved loading times increase immersion while playing Death Stranding 2.
No one will take away the most contemplative moments in Death Stranding 2.We all know the importance of that story about sticks and strings in Death Stranding. It was the first thing we read, and served to light a “rope” game in which to help others was very satisfactory, as well as violence something that had harsh consequences. This impregnated the plot, but also the gameplay with mechanics such as those of the likes and the construction of bridges, or the gaps originated by the BTS when a corpse is found.
Death Stranding was almost like the Simpsons and their premonitory capacity, coming to talk about the confinement in our homes for the COVID-19 a few months before it occurred. There was something of that “we will leave better” that was so sang there by 2020 that made the game resonate stronger. Internet saved us during the pandemic, but It seems to be a ballast A five years later según whom: “Everything leaned towards metaverso. When you turned on television, everyone talked about the era of metovers and there was no need to interact with people. I felt that we were going through a terrible path. Communication between human beings should not be so.”
The Monorraíl will be the star of more than one game.However, Hideo Kojima, as a large part of the population, no longer believes that beautiful words and good intentions are the only viable solution for society; And that forced him to reescribir Death Stranding 2: “I had the idea of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach before the pandemic, but after living it, I felt that it was not right and rewritten it. It is the strangest thing. After creating a game with the theme of ‘we connect instead of dividing and isolating ours […] You will see it, there is a character in the game that expresses what I felt during the pandemic. “
Luckily, Hideo, we will not take long to try Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, since it goes on the market in just over a month. That is also good news for a kojima who recently stated on his social networks to be “physically and mentally” after turn like a good creator in this projectsomething that commented again in front of us when asked about the thing that has rewarded him most of this development.
“During the pandemic, I thought I would never be able to finish it. We began to capture from 2021. At that time, I could not go to Los Angeles and direct, it was prohibited by the studio. Therefore, we had to do it at a distance. Of course, the actors would have to go to the studio. But I had to explain everything from home, things like ‘Stop here and walk there and do that, and we were very difficult. iPads and smartphones, but it didn’t work well. […] So, what has been the most beautiful of this project? I think I am simply very happy that we could finish development and get to fruition, “he explains.
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