Subj : Metal Gear Solid staff didn't work nights during development 'to
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Mon Sep 11 2023 13:30:04

Metal Gear Solid staff didn't work nights during development 'to reduce the 
monthly electricity bill'

Date:
Mon, 11 Sep 2023 12:11:48 +0000

Description:
Hideo Kojima stopped staff working nights on Metal Gear Solid 1 to reduce the 
electricity bill.

FULL STORY
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Hideo Kojima has revealed that during the production of the first Metal Gear 
Solid game, he asked staff to stop working nights - to reduce the company's 
utility bills. 

Taking to Twitter/X on the famous game's 25th anniversary, Kojima revealed 
and described some details about the game's development in a lengthy post ( 
via GamesRadar+ ). It pulled back the curtain on his process and feelings at 
the time, including the changes he experienced leading development of a game 
for the first time. 

This included reducing costs by altering staff working patterns: "To reduce 
the monthly electricity bill, I asked the company to stop working at night," 
he said. Kojima could make this request as " MGS1 was the first work I 
produced on my own." 

Prior to this he had "planned, written, designed, and directed the game, my 
superiors had been responsible for production" so MGS1 was a turning point 
for the game creator - which included making such important staffing 
decisions. Even if it was just to lower the bills of the company. 

And while removing night work wasn't a decision made to directly avoid 
'crunch' - when video game development staff work well beyond their normal 
hours in order to get a game finished for a deadline - it could have been a 
happy by-product of the move. 

25 years is a lifetime, and a lot has changed since the seminal stealth 
action game was released. The series continued to be one of the most 
forward-looking and envelope-pushing in the industry, and there's now a 
confirmed Metal Gear Solid 3 remake on the horizon as that game approaches 
its 20th anniversary, as well as a re-release of the first three MGS games 
(and others) coming out this year. 

As for Kojima, he eventually left Konami and returned with Death Stranding in 
2019, with a sequel to that game confirmed and in the works. 

 The Metal Gear Solid games have a special place in the gaming pantheon as 
some of the very best single-player games ever made - check out our picks for 
similar solo experiences.



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/gaming/metal-gear-solid-staff-didnt-work-nights-duri
ng-development-to-reduce-the-monthly-electricity-bill


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