The internet might have made us more connected than ever before but according to game developer Hideo Kojima, never before have we also been more isolated from one another.
In a BBC Newsbeat interview, Kojima shared that his newest game Death Stranding focuses on the theme of ‘connection’ and the need to build connections in an era defined by the isolationist policies implemented by Donald Trump and UK’s decision to leave the European Union.
“President Trump right now is building a wall,” Kojima told Newsbeat in the interview. “Then you have Brexit, where the UK is trying to leave the EU, and it feels like there are lots of walls and people thinking only about themselves in the world.
The game, which releases on November 8, will have the player traversing through a desolate wasteland where they have to focus on connecting various people and location together. Players will be made to carry objects from location to location to re-establish previously broken network connections.
“In Death Stranding we’re using bridges to represent connection – there are options to use them or break them,” Kojima explained. “It’s about making people think about the meaning of connection.”
In the game, players will not be able to interact with other players directly but will instead be able to leave helpful resources that can be picked up by other players.
Kojima has also mentioned that he hopes the game, which stars numerous famous actors and actress such as The Walking Dead Norman Reedus and Hannibal Mads Mikkelsen could connect with players in a way that social media could not.
“When we’re connected we have a responsibility over each other, social media doesn’t seem to have that responsibility for example,” Kojima said. “Caring for each other is what makes people feel good. We’ve always been like that in the past, I want people to remember that and feel it in my game.”
Death Stranding will be released on November 8, 2019, for the PlayStation 4 and will be making its way to PC in early 2020.
Germaine is a fun-sized introvert who loves nothing better than sleeping in on rainy days. She can be found reading fanfiction and manga while still waiting for her Hogwarts acceptance letter. It’ll come eventually.
Si Jia
Sherry Toh
Trinity Sun
