EPISODE ONE
Rewriting History To Save The Son


Hello!
If you’re reading this then you’ve probably made your way here from the video over on The Escapist channel. Welcome!

This project has been on my mind for many years so it’s been an absolute joy to get the opportunity to finally create it.

Metal Gear Solid is a series very close to my heart. Even before touching games like Ocarina Of Time, the first Metal Gear Solid on Playstation One was my foray into richer video game plots. My background up until that point consisted only of Sonics and Crash Bandicoots.

But even back then in 1998, I didn’t fully understand what was going on in the story. The script was dense and made references to larger world ideas (alongside a lot of American references. Like, what the hell is DARPA) that were too complex for my 11 year old Australian brain.

But although I didn’t understand all of it, I was definitely curious about it. What did all of this mean? What were all these references? What was DARPA? What was all this talk about genes?

These questions never left my mind as I pushed forward into the world, hoping that some day I would get some answers. Which ultimately leads us to this moment when I was offered the opportunity by The Escapist to develop an entire series exploring the games.

Initially, I had only planned on exploring the historical details of the series but the more I read and researched, the more Hideo Kojima’s personal struggles stood out to me. I attempted to bring all these elements together and this resulted in Metal Gear Legend: a series exploring the struggles of the creator and the genius of the creation.

Thumbnail for episode one

Thumbnail for the teaser trailer

The style frame I pitched this series with. Leaning into reds and pale yellows

Final moodboard of episode one. I’m happy with where this landed. I feel like it’s close to the initial style frame.

Hideo Kojima from the book Metal Gear Solid Naked (Age 4 - 5?)

Hideo Kojima from the book Metal Gear Solid Naked (Age 6 - 8?)

Young Hideo Kojima from the book Metal Gear Solid Naked

 

SOURCES

Top left: Metal Gear Solid 3: Shedding
Top Right: Metal Gear Solid Naked
Bottom Left: Metal Gear Solid 3: The Countdown
Bottom Right: Metal Gear Solid “R”

Top left: Metal Gear Solid 3: OFFICIAL DVD / THE EXTREME (From the MGS3 Extreme Box)
Top Right: The Cold War / A World History by Odd Arne Westad
Bottom Left: The Creative Gene by Hideo Kojima
Bottom Right: Metal Gear Solid 3 Premium Package

“One Small Step” and other NASA footage:
https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/hd/apollo11_hdpage.html

NBC Broadcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QLCX-vVWok&t=138s

Miyamoto on Apollo 11 & astronauts:
The Creative Gene by Hideo Kojima
https://www.amazon.com.au/Creative-Gene-inspired-creator-Stranding/dp/197472591X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=IW0NU7KB3C19&keywords=the+creative+gene&qid=1692574516&sprefix=the+creative+ge%2Caps%2C286&sr=8-1

Hydrogen bomb footage (reuse allowed)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHRLEMTsLyA

The Art Of Videogames - A Conversation with Hideo Kojima
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZkfMwBBdM0&t=1104s&ab_channel=GhostsDon%27tWalk

Footage of young Hideo:
Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty Premium Disc DVD

Footage of Hideo with lego:
Famitsu Wave Vol.1

Metal Gear Solid 3 / SHEDDING included with the MGS3: The Extreme Box
Full translation:

https://archive.org/details/the-shedding

Metal Gear Solid Naked:
Issued as a standalone book around the time of MGS3. I had multiple paragraphs translated specifically for this project.
I hope to publish these translations soon

Kojima working on Metal Gear Solid 4:
Metal Gear Solid 4 Limited Edition Bonus Disc

Metal Gear Solid 3: The Countdown
Included with the “Metal Gear Solid 3 Premium Package”

Metal Gear Solid “R”
Included with the “Metal Gear Solid 3 Premium Package”. I had multiple paragraphs translated specifically for this project.
I hope to publish these translations soon

Castle Bravo Detonation:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Castle_Bravo_Detonation_USDE.ogv

Extra Castle Bravo footage:
Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie (1995)

Yuri Gagarin + Khrushchev footage:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1961-04-19_First_Pictures-Yuri_Gagarin-selection.ogv

Project Mercury footage:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MA-6.theora.ogv

The Cold War / A World History by Odd Arne Westad
https://www.amazon.com/Cold-War-World-History/dp/0465054935

EPISODE TWO COMING SOON