No matter what entry of the series you look at, Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear games, even in their original, 8-bit guise, always pushed the boundaries of what was possible with contemporary technology. This is especially true of the Metal Gear Solid series, the first game of which was released for the PS1 back in 1998.
Metal Gear Solid popularised the stealth, action-adventure genre; though numerous games had flirted with stealth mechanics before, no one had ever done so as successfully as Kojima in Metal Gear Solid. Blending these addictive mechanics with an impressively layered story, delivered using in-engine cut scenes, and even adding some fourth-wall-breaking moments (who could forget checking the actual Metal Gear Solid CD case for a code, or switching controller ports to fool Psycho Mantis?), Metal Gear Solid is rightfully regarded as a groundbreaking, iconic classic.
So perhaps it’s surprising, given the level of technical wizardry in Metal Gear Solid, that Kojima used a very lo-fi, analogue method to build levels and test camera angles in the game. A behind-the-scenes video shared by Pirat_Nation on X shows Kojima using a handheld camera to swoop in on a LEGO model, with a split-screen effect giving an insight into how this worked, alongside actual game footage, video of Kojima holding the camera and even the camera’s view itself, swooping down onto the LEGO-built stage. We’re calling it the Hideo Kojima LEGO method, and it’s unbelievably awesome!
The game footage, in the bottom left, perfectly recreates the moment that Kojima moves the camera towards the scene, and shows how vital the role of the LEGO model was in capturing the exact movement that Kojima wanted.
In the footage of Kojima alongside a colleague, there’s a tantalising glimpse of the larger LEGO model that formed the physical version of the stage that appears in the game. Though very brief, it’s an absolutely fascinating look at the different tools that designers can and do utilise to create games.
Despite the fact that Kojima left Konami (and Metal Gear itself) behind in 2015 to form Kojima Productions, going on to create Death Stranding, we’d love to see Solid Snake popping up in LEGO form. If Sonic the Hedgehog, Mario, Minecraft, and Animal Crossing (oh, and soon Zelda too!) can make the leap to plastic bricks and mini-figures, why can’t good old Snake give it a go? Imagine popping him into a LEGO cardboard box and sneaking past the guards in your own Metal Gear Solid LEGO levels; if ever there was a time for the Futurama ‘Shut Up And Take My Money’ GIF, this is the one! Are you listening, Konami?
