Ground Zeroes is Kojima Being Kojima

I think it’s important to point out, before you read any further, I did not play Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.  I’m not a big Kojima fan, I’m not a big Metal Gear fan, I liked the first Metal Gear Solid, but I couldn’t get through Sons of Liberty.  While I don’t think Hideo Kojima is a creative genius – in fact, I don’t think he’s very creative – I respect the droves of Metal Gear fans who have found much to enjoy in the franchise. I’ll be the first to admit, not getting into Metal Gear is my loss as millions seem to really dig the adventures of Big Boss/Solid Snake.

Say what you want about Kojima’s talents – and I do – the man is a lightning rod in the video game community.  Like Peter Molyneaux, or Phil Fish before he disappeared from Twitter, Kojima is good for an argument or two when his games launch, or even when his games aren’t launching.  His most recent controversy is the ending of his prologue to Metal Gear Solid V, Ground Zeroes.  Metal Gear Solid V has had a few issues surrounding it, first people didn’t know how The Phantom Pain and Ground Zeroes related to each other, then they were up in arms over how long Ground Zeroes was, the game seems to have been a breeding ground for internet controversy.

Adding to the controversy is the mature subject matter the game touches on.  Ground Zeroes has had questions about its graphic content for a while, even before the game came out.  Eyebrows were initially raised when the ESRB documented the following scene, “The game includes an audio file in which a female character is sexually assaulted by male characters; while there is no visual depiction, sounds of ripped clothing and struggle can be heard.”

People voiced concerns over Kojima’s ability to handle the sensitive nature of sexual assault, given the franchises reputation.  Earlier, when The Phantom Pain showed a trailer at E3, one female character was shown amidst a sea of men, she wore revealing clothes and her name was Quiet, not a great demonstration of Kojima’s ability to be tactful when handling women.  In fact, given Kojima’s history with female characters and depictions, there was not much hope for his sensitivity toward rape culture.

The unsettling content did not stop with the rape audiolog.  Later in the game characters are forced to dig inside of someone’s stomach to remove a bomb planted inside of them.  Video games have come a long way from the 8-bit era and the scene is hard to watch due to its graphic depiction.  When you think the worst of it is over, the same character reveals there is another bomb inside of her.  The actual location is not mentioned, but the character says, “They put it in my…”  (Use your imagination).

There have been a few editorials calling out the graphic content.  Most simply believe the horrific actions at the end of the game are unearned.  As someone who hasn’t played the game, I can’t comment on the criticism, but it isn’t hard to imagine there was not much development of a character who is off screen for the majority of the game.  It is also a pretty wide consensus that Kojima is not really a great storyteller.  So again, I understand where the criticism comes from, but I think the scene does exactly what many of the people on the Ground Zeroes team hoped, it got people talking.

I would love to try and pitch the same sequence myself, sit down at a table with a bunch of fat-cat executives and tell them about my 2-hour, big-budget video game, starring Kiefer Sutherland, and culminating with a girl having a bomb inserted through her genitalia.  It would be the world’s all-time fastest meeting.  No one would touch the project, much less launch it in March, toe-to-toe with the biggest games of the year.  So how did Kojima pull it off?  Because Kojima has a history of riling up audiences and sparking controversy.  The same character with a bomb inserted in her had a scene in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker where you could take her under the series’ infamous cardboard box and, you know (Use your imagination).  Given the time at which Peace Walker is set, the character is 16 years old.

Kojima pushes these buttons because it gets people talking and when it gets people talking, it keeps Metal Gear Solid in the mindshare of buyers.  Kojima likes to shock audiences, he doesn’t really care if it’s earned or not.  Producers know people will buy the games regardless of the graphic content or the playtime, some people will buy it for those reasons, to see what the franchise will do next.

I have always felt that Metal Gear Solid struggled to find a place as games evolved, as Kojima has evolved.  The man has long talked about moving on from Metal Gear Solid to explore other mediums or stories, but it has never happened.  Maybe the opportunities aren’t there, maybe Metal Gear keeps calling him back.  Either way, while the franchise seeks more mature content and pushes around larger ideas, many of the quirks that keep people coming back to the series seems to linger.  There also seems to be a split in fans about how they want the series to evolve, some would like a more serious direction while others like the goofiness of the games.

I respect Kojima’s desire to be controversial and talked-about.  I can even respect his bravery to mine such nasty material, aware there would be blowback.  He is fun to write about and fun to talk about – and a fascinating follow on Twitter.  In the end, the reason Kojima can put shock-value material in his games is because people will buy them, and buy them in droves.  If you don’t like the material and you don’t like the way the series is going, there’s something you can do.  Don’t buy it.  As long as people feed the franchise, the more power Kojima will get.  All mediums have people who throw caution to the wind and get people talking, even if it is with crass storytelling.  If you think something is wrong with Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes narrative look at your game collection, if a copy of the game is in there the problem isn’t Kojima, it’s you.