Hideo Kojima Has A Crazy Idea For a “Forgetting Game”

Legendary game creator Hideo Kojma might have shot to fame with the Metal Gear Solid franchise, but the artist is also known for pushing game ideas that are so far out, that they are considered either crazy or genius.

While Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is still in the oven, Kojima has discussed some of his game ideas, and hearing about them will make you appreciate Kojima’s brilliance even more.

Kojima Has Game Ideas Based On Concepts About Life

Kojima aired the latest episode of his podcast KOJI10 and in it, he gave listeners an insight on how he thinks when it comes to game design.

One of Kojima’s ideas involved the passing of time as a game mechanic. “It starts out with the player being born, you’re a child and then gradually over time you become an adult. In the game, you fight various enemies. Like with the previous example (MGS3’s The End), if you keep playing the game, you will become a 70 or 80 year old man. However, at this age you will be weaker, your eyesight will worsen. When you are a teenager you’ll be able to run faster but by the time you reach 60 you’ll slow down a bit,” Kojima shared (via IGN).

Kojima explains that while your character might be in better physical condition when they are younger, they will have more knowledge and experience as they get older. This will, in turn, affect your strategy for dealing with enemies. Kojima thinks that no would buy this kind of game, though people in his podcast rightfully expressed interest in it.

Another game concept he has is when the player creates something that takes time to age/mature such as wine or cheese. This will require the player to continue gradually playing the game over a long period of time.

The last idea is possibly the best one, and it’s about a “forgetting game” where the player have to “play through quickly.” The core concept of this is the main character gradually forgets important info and abilities if the player takes too long of a break from the game. For example: if you don’t play the game every day, the main character will gradually forget things such as how to fire their gun or even what their job is. This would build up until the player is finally unable to move. “Players would have to take a week off work or school to play it,” Kojima joked.

I have to admit, those are games I’d be interested in playing — especially the one about the aging thing. Of course, Kojima has to release Death Stranding 2 first, before he can even consider developing some of those concepts into actual games.

Given how Kojima has already said he wants to hand off the next Death Stranding game to someone else, perhaps he’ll have time to do some of those games. I mean, he still has a feature film, a horror game for Xbox and that espionage game for Sony to go through, but maybe after? Maybe we’ll see these concepts into one of his games, even.

As for Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, it’s set for release on June 26, 2025 on the PS5, and it’s been confirmed recently that it will feature multiple graphical modes.