Metal Gear Solid Delta producers discuss animation, difficulty, and the series’ future with Famitsu

News 🚨 In a just-published interview with Famitsu, Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater producer Noriaki Okamura and creative producer Yuji Korekado share some insight into Delta and the decision-making that came with remaking this iconic game. Here are some takeaways from the interview.

Improving quality while keeping game design the same:

"Korekado: In the beginning, we envisioned only updating the graphics. As long as the backgrounds and character models were cleaned up, we decided to leave the rest of the game as is. In fact, at first, we made a prototype with the animations and other elements as they were, but it just didn't feel right."

"However, I couldn't help but notice some discrepancies. Even though the graphics had been improved, we felt that the game could not be played comfortably unless the system, viewpoint, character animations, and other aspects were evolved to match the current hardware performance. I had this concern, but I was convinced of it when I started making the game."

"As a result, we reworked almost all of the animations and updated many parts. For example, for the knife motions, we dug out the video data from the training course we took when the original version was created, and while looking at the correct knowledge again, we used current technology to express the motions."

I was surprised that you were able to use the audio from 20 years ago.

"Okamura: We were able to record without much degradation from the original version, so the sound quality is acceptable even today, but the number of channels has changed for background music, etc., so we have improved the quality accordingly."

New features that make it more fun and easier to play

"Korekado: the difficulty drastically changes depending on the viewpoint. The 'new style' allows for a broader, more linear field of view, and since you can shoot while moving the character (Snake), the difficulty became much lower than we had originally intended."

"However, if we adjusted the difficulty to match the 'new style,' then the 'legacy style' would become far too difficult. So, we boldly decided to split the gameplay styles into two distinct options."

"The 'legacy style' retains a difficulty level similar to the original version, while the 'new style' has been adjusted from scratch."

Are there any little details such as items that were in MGS3 in this game?

"Korekado: We plan to include almost all of the gimmicks and Easter eggs from the original version, as well as items such as Weekly Famitsu and Calorie Mate. In addition to Kerotan, Garko has been placed throughout the map."

When do you think it will be released?

Okamura ... (Silence).

Korekado ... (Silence).

It seems like you can't reveal that just yet (laughs). So, is there a rough estimate for when you might be able to announce the release date?

"Okamura: That’s a tough question (laughs), but actually, the game is already in a state where it can be played all the way through, so I don’t think it will take several more years from now."

"However, what we prioritize most in the development of this game is not to betray the expectations of the fans. We want to make sure it’s properly finished and in a finalized state before we announce anything."

Will there be any remakes of previous series in the future?

"Okamura: I think we should think about it after we finish making this work. For example, if we were to remake the original Metal Gear Solid or Metal Gear 1 and 2, there would be some parts that would not work with the same methodology as MGSΔ, including redesigning the level design."

"Korekado: We believe that making all of our titles playable on PC will maximize the chances that they will be enjoyed for 10 or 20 years to come, so our mission is to make that happen."

*Please note: If there are any mistakes in the translation, we apologize and will follow up to correct them accordingly.

Source: https://www.famitsu.com/article/202410/19148
Source: https://x.com/MGSMGN/status/1841561748983447701