On the evening of Tuesday, November 6th, a very humble and gracious Hideo Kojima raised a glass to toast the efforts of his cast involved with the development of Death Stranding — his premiere title under created under the banner of his new studio Kojima Productions — during the opening reception of the “Fractured Worlds: The Art of Death Stranding” world tour stop in New York. During his welcome speech to attendees of the event, Kojima expressed his gratitude to those who worked so hard on the project and his pride in their accomplishments, noting that while it was an uncertain journey he embarked upon three years ago, he was thrilled to be able to finally share his vision with the world.
As part of the Death Stranding pre-launch ramp-up, Kojima Productions hosted a series of events across the world (a notable nod to the nature of the game itself) to forge a closer connection between the game’s development and its fans, by showcasing the art and music. Featuring stunning concept art, sketches, listening stations as well as creation philosophy quotes from Kojima, and nods to the process including all the badges and awards won during the different trade shows where Death Stranding had a presence, the New York pop-up showcased the interdisciplinary aspect of the game as a whole.
“Now I have my own studio, but what I want to do is the same as before,” Kojima told the Financial Times in September this year. ” I want to do monozukuri. Game designing is a holistic thing for me. Working with all the designs, stories, concepts, graphics and sound. That is the meaning of game design.” Throughout the exhibit, this devotion and motivation was peppered throughout the thoughtful curation of the collection.
It was clear to all in attendance that, after years of hard work in the industry, Kojima was truly proud of his accomplishment with the release of Death Stranding, as every section of the gallery felt extremely personal, from the early concept sketches to the feature sculptures present during various trade shows, to the giant motion-capture station in the centre of the room.
Death Stranding, which launched today for PlayStation 4, followed by a 2020 launch on PC, is a hopeful yet complex story of finding the connections between each other, as protagonist Sam Porter Bridges walks across the United Cities of America in an effort to reconnect the alienated population. For those who wish to find their own connection beyond the game, the New York pop-up runs from November 6th to November 9th, with details and reservations accessible via the official website. While reservations are currently closed for this event, fans can follow the hashtag #DeathStrandingWorldTour2019 to find out where the next pop-up will happen.
In the meantime, check out some of the images CGMagazine captured from “Fractured Worlds: The Art of Death Stranding” below:
Fractured Worlds: The Art of DEATH STRANDING will be running at 60 10th Ave. New York, NY from November 6th to 9th.
