Veteran game designer Hideo Kojima gave a rare glimpse at his new Kojima Productions office in Tokyo this week, revealing that the studio features a massive motion-capture setup in addition to several large open workspaces for his employees.
Kojima and crew will use the space to develop Death Stranding for the PlayStation 4, along with future projects that require in-depth motion-capture technology.
Kojima was previously employed at Japanese game publisher Konami, where he directed and produced multiple entries in the Metal Gear series. As production ramped up on Metal Gear Solid 5, Kojima’s team released PT, a playable demo version of a planned sequel in Konami’s Silent Hill franchise.
Kojima’s relationship with Konami soured as Metal Gear Solid 5‘s production costs ballooned, however, leading to PT‘s cancellation. Kojima left the company soon after, ending a 29-year tenure.
After his split with Konami, Kojima began assembling staff and office space for his independent studio. While little is known about Kojima’s current project, Death Stranding, the game will feature the physical likenesses of actors Norman Reedus and Mads Mikkelsen, which were captured using technology similar to the motion-capture setup at Kojima Productions’ Tokyo headquarters.
A series of photos released this week reveal that the Kojima Productions studio features an elaborate kitchen and large meeting rooms to accommodate extended game design discussion. Hallways feature framed posters and promotional material from Kojima’s current and past projects.
The photos also reveal a strange white-walled theater featuring a single ceiling-mounted projector, likely for showcase events. The room is starkly lit, and glass cases along its walls contain sculptures and awards from throughout Kojima’s career.
The office’s mo-cap studio has drawn a significant amount of attention since it was first unveiled, leaving gamers worldwide curious as to the creative possibilities it affords. Kojima and his team will demonstrate its capabilities when Death Stranding launches for the PlayStation 4, though a release date is not yet known.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.