Time to put all that E3 feedback to good use

With the recent confirmation that what was shown at E3 was more of a tech demo than work-in-progress, you may be disappointed at the prospect of no Metal Gear Solid at all on the 3DS. Well, you can now breathe a sigh of relief because Hideo Kojima has cleared a few things up with regards to the demo and where it leaves us with an actual final product.

The construction of the demo was so secretive that even though it was developed by staff at Kojima Studios after work was done on the making of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PSP, only the people directly involved knew about it; leading to other members of staff thinking they were on holiday as it was being covertly worked on on a separate floor of the studio.

Series creator Kojima explains that there were actually two versions of the demo that was playable at E3. A "long version" was produced first, but after a request from Nintendo to shorten it in order to allow more people to play through it, a "short version" was made; which eventually became the most-played version even though both were available on the E3 floor.

The point of the demo was to show what was possible on the 3DS. Although it was based on Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater on the PS2, Kojima goes on to say:

The high level models are about the same quality as the stuff we made on the PlayStation 3, although it's tough to see this. If we'd had a bit more time, we could have made something better...What we wanted to do this time is show that we're making an entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise that can be enjoyed in goggle-free 3D on the 3DS.

He also hints that the application of the 3D effect would play an important role in the final version of the game. Noting that gamers may grow tired of objects "popping out" of the screen over long periods of play, he expects there to be a certain emphasis put on objects going "into" the screen. Other considerations include the co-op system seen in Peace Walker.

Although the game will be similar to the PSP's latest instalment in terms of gameplay, Metal Gear Solid on the 3DS will be more of a revisit to a past instalment, Kojima said:

The reason we made it based off MGS3 is because there are many who played MGS for the first time through Peace Walker, so we thought the timing would be just right. Everyone wants to know the story of The Boss...MGS3's story can't change, so we're thinking of Co-ops, 3D and portable-like elements.

At this moment in time, it is still unclear who will direct the 3DS game; even though Kojima was in charge of the demo, his involvement with the final product isn't set in stone. When asked about the release of the game, he admits that getting it ready for the launch of the 3DS may be difficult, but getting it released within the first year of the handheld's launch would be an important target to aim for.

[source andriasang.com]