Back-In-Black
Banned
I've always been a big fan of Hideo Kojima's work and the stories he tells in his games but one thing I'm consistently amazed by is the level of accurate detail he maintains in his stories. Yes, Metal Gear is clearly fictional with some insane crazy shit going on up to and including ghosts. But, everything else within the background of this world is very much grounded and real. However, the level of detail he places in the grounded elements of his story boggles my mind as someone who is a history buff and also has deep knowledge of military/governmental matters. This is especially impressive since Kojima is a Japanese developer who was born and continues to live in Japan and yet his knowledge of U.S. governmental workings surpasses a majority of Western games.
Examples:
- In MGS1 we learn that DARPA helped fund and develop Metal Gear alongside the fictional defense contractor ArmsTech. Of course, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a real organization. And, would be the exact governmental agency which would likely be responsible for developing Metal Gear if it were real. They are the ones actually developing rail guns right now.
- Colonel Campbell is a Colonel. This is a small matter but most games, even Western ones, don't know hack shit about military rank. As a result, in any other regular game Col. Campbell would likely be made a General because people vaguely understand that Generals are in the military and generally regarded as important. But, within the fiction of the MG story a General would not be the one placed in charge of such a mission in MGS1, it would more realistically fall under a Colonel's command.
- Armstech President talks about the Pentagon's "black budget" in MGS1. Again, a really minor detail that only policy nerds understand actually exists. The Defense Department does indeed have a "black budget" funded by Congress. It allows them to fund projects without publicly disclosing them. This is EXACTLY how you would get something like Metal Gear funded.
But, there is so much more! Though the one thing that I always enjoyed in most of the MG stories is how Kojima treats the politics within his world. While MG deals with governmental conspiracies and whatnot most fictional stories, including western ones, typically have the government as some monolithic entity carrying out one nefarious will. However, the MG universe is much more realistic and complex. The CIA has plans that go against the wishes of the Defense Department, the KGB is at odds with the GRU which is also at odds with the Politburo, the Navy is competing against the Army, etc.
Again, all of this detail is amazing coming from a foreign developer. Metal Gear despite some obvious Japanese tropes at times feels more Western than any Western developed game out there. How does this man do it? And, why don't other developers take their research as seriously as Kojima?
Examples:
- In MGS1 we learn that DARPA helped fund and develop Metal Gear alongside the fictional defense contractor ArmsTech. Of course, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a real organization. And, would be the exact governmental agency which would likely be responsible for developing Metal Gear if it were real. They are the ones actually developing rail guns right now.
- Colonel Campbell is a Colonel. This is a small matter but most games, even Western ones, don't know hack shit about military rank. As a result, in any other regular game Col. Campbell would likely be made a General because people vaguely understand that Generals are in the military and generally regarded as important. But, within the fiction of the MG story a General would not be the one placed in charge of such a mission in MGS1, it would more realistically fall under a Colonel's command.
- Armstech President talks about the Pentagon's "black budget" in MGS1. Again, a really minor detail that only policy nerds understand actually exists. The Defense Department does indeed have a "black budget" funded by Congress. It allows them to fund projects without publicly disclosing them. This is EXACTLY how you would get something like Metal Gear funded.
But, there is so much more! Though the one thing that I always enjoyed in most of the MG stories is how Kojima treats the politics within his world. While MG deals with governmental conspiracies and whatnot most fictional stories, including western ones, typically have the government as some monolithic entity carrying out one nefarious will. However, the MG universe is much more realistic and complex. The CIA has plans that go against the wishes of the Defense Department, the KGB is at odds with the GRU which is also at odds with the Politburo, the Navy is competing against the Army, etc.
Again, all of this detail is amazing coming from a foreign developer. Metal Gear despite some obvious Japanese tropes at times feels more Western than any Western developed game out there. How does this man do it? And, why don't other developers take their research as seriously as Kojima?
