Acclaimed videogame designer Hideo Kojima recently released some early concepts of Death Stranding.
At this point, the game was still called Dead Stranding, and Kojima still didn’t have anywhere close to a fully developed image of what the game would look like in its final form. Kojima’s character designer, Yoji Shinkawa, sent him some early concepts while the two were simply talking about what the game might become.
Kojima posted a tweet with the drawings for his followers. The caption translates roughly to: “Recovered some of Shinkawa’s old artwork on my iPhone from the beginning of the Death Stranding project. Without any planning, he drew these space warriors while we were still only talking. Initially, it was also called DEAD STRANDING.”
If anything, the tweet is a nice reminder that the artistic process has no defined starting point. Sometimes a story idea comes first, or sometimes you just start with some simple character concepts.
Of course, we know the rest of the story. From there, Kojima began constructing the narrative and universe that would become Death Stranding. Since its release in November, Kojima’s first solo title under Kojima Productions has garnered a generally positive response from critics and fans of his work. Praise centers around the game’s gorgeous graphics and conceptual unique while complaints cite confusing plot points and the sprawling nature of the storyline as a source of discontent.
Kojima is taking no time off following Death Stranding’s release. He has already talked about his plans for 2020—hinting that some new games are even in the works. In a series of tweets, Kojima outlines his intentions and speaks to the changing landscape of the entertainment industry. There have been no clearly defined announcements, but Kojima wants the world to know that he’s plotting his next moves.
It’s not apparent exactly what Kojima’s next “steps” will be, but it is clear that he has no plans to slow down anytime in the near future.
