How many of you have wondered what will happen the day some of the industry's greatest visionaries are no more? Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, John Carmack, Sid Meier etc.? Will it create a creative vacuum or have they already passed on many of their skills to the next generation?
In the specific case of Nintendo, the future seems thankfully quite secure with good internal knowledge sharing, where people like Miyamoto have not been directly responsible for games for quite some time. But more as advisors. But Kojima has gone a different way, and in preparation for his passing, when it happens, he has left a kind of creative testament behind him.
In an interview with Edge, Hideo Kojima says that after turning 60 and suffering a more serious illness during the pandemic, he began to reflect on his mortality, as well as the future of Kojima Productions. This led him to create a USB stick filled with game ideas, which he handed over to his personal assistant with the hope that the company will continue to create unique games even after his passing.
To Edge (thanks, VGC), Kojima said:
"Turning 60 was less of a turning point in my life than my experiences during the pandemic. I fell seriously ill at that time, and also had an eye operation. Until then, I didn't think I was old, you know? I just didn't feel my age, and I assumed I would be able to create for as long as I live"
"But then I became sick, and I couldn't create anything. And I saw lots of people around me passing away at that time. I was confronted with death. Of course, I recovered, but now I was thinking, 'Wait, how many years do I have left to make game or a film?' Perhaps I have ten years"
"I gave a USB stick with all my ideas on it to my personal assistant, kind of like a will. Perhaps they could continue to make things after I'm gone at Kojima Productions... This is a fear for me: what happens to Kojima Productions after I'm gone? I don't want them to just manage our existing IP."
What do you think of this solution, should more big game creators do the same?