Let's talk about the movie clips of MGS 2 that were shown at this year's E3. Since the earliest announcements of the PlayStation 2, much has been said of the "Emotion Chip." In MGS 2, what kind of effort was put into the computer AI, and does the game take full advantage of the "Emotion Chip?"

The enemy AI has been made much more intelligent when compared to that of MGS 1. Enemy soldiers will work in teams and will fight Solid Snake differently depending on where the fight is taking place, what weapon Solid Snake is equipping, etc. Expression of light and shadows (shadows bending along staircases, etc.), heavy rain blown in strong winds, rain splashing against the raincoat, etc.—the Emotional Engine calculation powers are used to realize such effects to enable the player to feel the air, temperature, and moisture in the game environment.

One of the things I noticed during the showing of the clip was the camera work. While the previous MGS took most of its cues from Hollywood action movies, the camera work in MGS 2 seemed more reality-based like it was filmed on a steady cam. Why the switch in cinematography, and will that reality-based style be consistent throughout the entire game, or will it be more of a blend of different types of shots?

I've spent extra time working on the camera since MGS 1. I strive for camera work as if someone is actually filming what's going on with a real camera instead of camera work done in CG. As for the game portion, the camera work is done so that the game play is not obstructed in any way. In the video, the camera not only shows actual camera work in the game but also special camera angles set for the filming of the video. In the final product, the priority will be camera work that allows smooth game play. And wherever possible, cinematic camera work will be implemented.

The most riveting part of the movie clip was during the shootout between Snake and some soldiers. During the shootout, boxes, cans and fruit are being blown to bits and pieces in the crossfire. What inspired the scene and how hard was it to pull off?

Shootout scenes in the kitchen are something you see in many Hollywood films. I had this created because I wanted to play the game in such a situation. If you keep on shooting the potatoes, you can blow them up in bits. What was difficult was that since none of the kitchen shootout is a demo, and not always would the enemies shoot the potatoes and pumpkins as I want them to. Just like in Jackie Chan movies, we recorded the kitchen shootout over and over again and edited the best-looking portions from each take.

Special thanks to Hideo Kojima and Alex Josef over at Bender/Helper Impact for helping us setup the interview.

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