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[ashecitism]

Courtesy of Lnds

Can't create a new thread and I didn't see this posted anywhere.


Hideo Kojima's new studio will be capped at 100 staff

You can expect to see the full interview tomorrow, but while we wait for that to land, here's what he had to say (via a translator) about his plans on keeping the studio relatively small, and thus efficient.

"I'm aiming to keep the staff less than 100 people," he said, before adding later: "I am searching for technology and at the same time hiring new people, and visiting the (...) studio to get inspiration about what kind of studio I want to make/create."

He then joked about what he had seen on his travels. "I've found that at any studio the kitchen is very important... I saw at DICE in Stockholm they had 40 microwaves, and also there's so many coffee makers, and I understood that that is very important."


Then Kojima-san discussed his plans moving forward, at which point he made one of few the references to his past work at Konami. "At the time of the Metal Gear Solid the staff was over 200 people, something like this..."


The translator continued, later adding: "He wants to connect to the developers directly... So it will be around 100 people, but not more. Keep it that size."

Kojima on why he's modelling his studio on Media Molecule

"We aim to make a kind of small, intimate type of studio, and I felt like Media Molecule in London is quite similar to what I'm trying to make," the former Konami developer told us via his translator.

Kojima then went on to discuss how many Japanese studios have a macho culture, with middle-aged men handing orders down through the ranks (he likens it to the military). This is obviously not something he wants to replicate with his own endeavour.

"At Media Molecule... it looks like the kitchen is the most important part," he said, once again remarking on another studio's cooking facilities, "and there are quite many female people working too, so it's kind of a strange feeling."


The more balanced workforce clearly resonated with him, because he then mentioned it had a "very, very familiar feeling at the studio, and that is what I want to create."

 

[FantasticMrSnake]

kitchen..!?

edit: he's right, in my current work, they charge for coffe and it's a totaly bummer

 

[dc89]

KojiPro will spend $80m and 5 years building a kitchen.

 

[SomedayTheFire]

"At Media Molecule... it looks like the kitchen is the most important part," he said, once again remarking on another studio's cooking facilities, "and there are quite many female people working too, so it's kind of a strange feeling."

uhhh

 

[Mr. Giggles]

kitchen..!?

edit: he's right, in my current work, they charge for coffe and it's a totaly bummer

We have beer in my kitchen.
The coffee is always free.

The kitchen is the most important aspect, no kitchen -> no development studio.

No development studio -> no game

Think about it

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

what strange creatures, these women

they too can work?

 

[Newtype-001]

Gotta get that kitchen

 

[JordanKZ]

KojiPro will spend $80m and 5 years building a kitchen.

Yes, but it'll be the most complex, well developed, existential crisis inducing kitchen in all of existence

 

[Creaking]

uhhh

Spoiler

shoom!

 

[Footos22]

Makes sense. I expect Japanese game developing conditions are way less relaxed then media molecule.

just look at Platinums drab office and then see media molecules is like night and day

The less you make your environment like a prison the better the output of individuals

I know where i'd wanna work more

 

[SprachBrooks]

kitchen..!?

edit: he's right, in my current work, they charge for coffe and it's a totaly bummer

That's messed up and indicative of how the company value their own employees.

 

[duckroll]

Needs a better clickbait headline: Kojima wants a great studio kitchen, would love to see more female employees in it.

Seriously though, probably not what he intended to say (maybe?), but some it comes off that way and it's pretty funny in an inappropriate way!

 

[30yearsofhurt]

Can you smell what Kojima sama is cooking?

 

[Possumowner]

what strange creatures, these women

they too can work?

But only in the kitchen.😃


/S

 

[AlanOC91]

kitchen..!?

edit: he's right, in my current work, they charge for coffe and it's a totaly bummer

In my old job we could go down to the canteen and grab a tea or coffee any time of the day for free. It was so good and I abused the crap out of it.

In my currently public service job you gotta pay for the tea or coffee Q_Q It sucks.

 

[gofreak]

Gold standard kitchens.

 

[Rymuth]

uhhh

what strange creatures, these women

they too can work?

^

 

[Sjefen]

 

[dc89]

Yes, but it'll be the most complex, well developed, existential crisis inducing kitchen in all of existence

I'm in.

 

[Diprosalic]

love me some female people.

 

[Alx]

It makes me wonder if coffee is a thing in Japanese companies, if he only realizes it now after decades of working in the industry. It might be another of those cultural things ; also Scandinavians are known for drinking a lot of coffee compared to anybody else, so that may be why he was impressed.
I don't know where he intends to locate his company, but while it's a good thing to take inspiration from others, matching them 1:1 is not always appropriate.

 

[Mr. Giggles]

Gold standard kitchens.

But where's the microwave oven?
But where's the coffee maker?
Points for the ping pong.

6/10. Would maybe eat at

 

[johnnydrama]

Such a lust for food.

 

[RoadHazard]

I don't work as a game developer (I am in software though), but I can confirm that having a good kitchen with unlimited access to free coffee and tea is indeed important. I would be outraged if I had to pay for my 4-5 daily cups of coffee.

 

[- J - D -]

Kojima subtly dropping some hard truths about the lack of female employees in the Japanese game industry. Or maybe just in their kitchens.

 

[SomTervo]

Loving all this totally mundane news RE NuKojiPro

Also

and there are quite many female people working too, so it's kind of a strange feeling.

Don't you change, Kojima.

 

[AHA-Lambda]

"and there are quite many female people working too, so it's kind of a strange feeling."

Uh...

 

[Rymuth]

What am I looking at?

 

[OverBlood 3]

I guess the engine search meant he got to see how devs are treated when they're respected and not locked in an office all day and treated like shit.

 

[LewieP]

Everyone commenting on his odd statement regarding women will feel ashamed of your words & deeds once the true reason for this statement is revealed.

 

[Primethius]

Kojima's just hoping to find a good idea for his first game on a napkin laying around.

 

[Wagram]

Kojima really went to Media Molecule to obtain new ideas for the Quiet successor scenes.

 

[Hagi]

Uh...

What's uh about that? Shouldn't be too obvious he's talking about it being strange to see so many female developers compared to what he's used to working with in Japan.

 

[timetokill]

What's uh about that? Shouldn't be too obvious he's talking about it being strange to see so many female developers compared to what he's used to working with in Japan.

Well, consider that Nintendo has a pretty large female staff, and it's not just a "Japan doesn't hire women" thing.

 

[m4st4]

uhhh

Incoming 100 page thread.

 

[Big Nikus]

What's uh about that? Shouldn't be too obvious he's talking about it being strange to see so many female developers compared to what he's used to working with in Japan.

Yeah, that's how I interpret it. But it's regrettably close to the kitchen statement, so people are gonna freak out over nothing.

 

[Caronte]

I'm guessing he meant to say the place feels closer to a home than a place to work.

 

[dh4niel]

"At Media Molecule... it looks like the kitchen is the most important part," he said, once again remarking on another studio's cooking facilities, "and there are quite many female people working too, so it's kind of a strange feeling."

That's a weird thing to say. The old KojiPro was a boys club?

 

[Qassim]

Tea (and Coffee.. I suppose) makes the kitchen very important in any British office. It's an excuse to hang around and chat for a few minutes.

 

[Shadax the wizard]

The kitchen is the heart of the development studio.

 

[LeleSocho]

Makes sense. I expect Japanese game developing conditions are way less relaxed then media molecule.

just look at Platinums drab office and then see media molecules is like night and day

The less you make your environment like a prison the better the output of individuals





I know where i'd wanna work more

I would rather work in an office that is modeled like the top one rather than the bottom one sincerely

 

[Zaki2407]

Hey Kojima san, I'm an architect. I can design the best kitchen for you.
Please hire me

 

[SolidSnakex]

I'm guessing he meant to say the place feels closer to a home than a place to work.

Bingo! If you look at their studio it looks a lot different compared to the boring look of other companies. And as far as the kitchen thing goes, these are some of the photos that came out of Kojima and Cerny's trip to Media Molecule

 

[thetrin]

what strange creatures, these women

they too can work?

I'm guessing you've never worked in Japan.

That's a weird thing to say. The old KojiPro was a boys club?

Japanese offices are a boys' club. It's still pretty damn archaic here, no matter what the industry.

 

[Paz]

uhhh

At our peak we had around 100 staff working at Sega in aus, and of them I think maybe 4 people were women, and of them maybe only 1 worked on the game itself (A brilliant artist).

The studio makeup wasn't considered unusual by anyone who worked there and had worked at other major studios.

edit

I'm guessing you've never worked in Japan.



Japanese offices are a boys' club. It's still pretty damn archaic here, no matter what the industry.

Games Industry as a whole is a massive boys club and larger (~100 staff) studios with good gender balance are a rarity all over, unfortunately.

 

[hodgy100]

the kitchen is totes important. we get free coffee, soda and fruit here!

 

[Arex]

Yeah I've worked at both western and japanese games companies, and based on my time there (and what some friends on other companies say), the way they setup their kitchen/pantries, and focus or lack of it, on relaxation areas are quite different lol

 

[hesido]

Lol at the strange feeling. Maybe we wouldn't have super unnecessary streching scenes if he had a few more female co-workers.

 

[jwhit28]

I just imagine Kojima going around fultoning people and locking them in the brig until they agree to be part of the studio.

 

[Mr.Monitor]

What I'm really hoping Kojima meant is he wants to build a more diverse team after realizing that his old one was homogenous compared to other studios.

I just imagine Kojima going around fultoning people and locking them in the brig until they agree to be part of the studio.

Heh, I wonder how much he's thought about the parallels between this whole situation and the last two Metal Gear games. Almost makes you wonder if he hasn't been daydreaming about doing this for a long time.