Q&A Ryan Payton
The Metal Gear Solid 4 producer sneaks onto the page
What development challenges did you face on MGS4 and how did you try to evolve the genre?
Metal Gear Solid 4 was the first major project I was involved in end-to-end, so I didn’t have much perspective on how challenging the project was compared to other games. Looking back now, however, I think it’s safe to say that MGS4 was incredibly ambitious and the team deserves a lot of credit for tackling it head-on. Development was marred by its incredibly ambitious scope but also inadequate tools, which is one reason why the group went on to develop the Fox Engine.
Another challenge during the development of MGS4 was how lopsided the game was in terms of cinematics and gameplay. If MGS4 had a more consistent gameplay through line, it would have allowed the team to create a deeper and more enjoyable experience.
Ironically, I believe MGS2 suffered from similar problems, and given how MGS4 was a direct sequel, perhaps the challenges we faced were preordained.
What was your approach to developing stealth in République?
Themes of surveillance were core to République, which is why we leaned heavily into what gameplay surveillance cameras could offer. Using that as a jumping off point, we got excited about how hacking combined with stealth could be our special sauce.
We often talked about the player (who hacks) and Hope (who stealths) being like great tennis partners. Looking back, however, I think we could have gone much deeper with that design. I hope one day to have another try at it.
You’ve worked on console, mobile and VR with MGS and République. Do theses different platforms necessarily change the approach you have to take to stealth in any way?
One of the fun and challenging aspects of game development is how important the platform can play into the design of a game. We originally designed République to be a mobile-first ‘one touch’ experience that was easy for anybody with a smartphone to play, so obviously that impacted much of the game’s designs.
If I were to revisit the stealth genre, I’d very much like to do it in first-person in VR, as there is a lot of room for innovation and thrilling moments that developers have yet to explore! Presence is such a fundamental aspect of VR, and I think we’re only scratching the surface. I love playing games like Resident Evil 7 and Firewall Zero Hour and peeking around corners to spy my enemies. It’s such a simple yet immersive movement that tells me there is a lot yet to explore in the VR medium.