The following is a translation of an interview with Konami developers Mineshi Kimura and Noriaki Yamamoto that was published by the Japanese website CG World Entry on February 21, 2018. While this article mainly serves as a promotional piece for Metal Gear Survive, it actually covers quite bit of Metal Gear Solid V too and even briefly touches upon on Mr. Yamamoto’s work as a pixel artist for the Castlevania games released on the Nintendo DS. This was actually the fourth in a series of articles published by CG World aimed at CGI artists hoping to join the video game industry, with previous entries focusing other games and companies such as Dark Souls III by FromSoftware and Monster Hunter World by Capcom. I might translate those too in the future.



The original Japanese article can be read at the following page:



https://entry.cgworld.jp/column/post/201802-c-konami.html

Profiles

Mineshi Kimura - Project Manager. Joined Konami in 1997 after graduating in graphic designs from the Tama University. He has been involved in the mecha and graphic production of the Metal Gear franchise from the original Metal Gear Solid (1998) up to Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015). He served as project manager in Metal Gear Survive (2018).



Noriaki Yamamoto - Graduated from the Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Tokyo University of Science in 1997. Joined the Konami School in 1999. He was involved with the Castlevania series, creating pixel art for characters, weapons and icons, up until Castlevania: Order of Ecclessia (2008). He was involved in the modelling and designing of weapons and mecha in titles such as Neo Contra (2004), Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (2014), Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) and Metal Gear Survive (2018).



Konami Digital Entertainment - The digital entertainment subsidiary of Konami Holdings (itself, originally established in 1973 as Konami Industry) which branched off in 2006. They are involved in the planning, production, manufacturing and sales of console games, mobile games and card games. Currently headquartered in Minato, Tokyo.



Metal Gear Survive - The latest installment of the Metal Gear series, released on February 21, 2018. A spinoff of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015) that reconstructs it as a survival game while retaining its high sense of action. We’ll be covering the designs and modelling of the mechas and weapons that appear in the game during the latter half of this article.



Determining the Designs and Coloring of a Character



First of all, can you please tell us about your career up to this point and your current employment

Kimura: I’ve learned graphic design from the Tama Art University and then I’ve joined Konami in 1997. Since then I’ve been involved with the making of the mechs and scenery for the Metal Gear series. From Metal Gear Survive and onward I’ve been mostly in charge of project management, leaving the creative process to other people, starting with Yamamoto. My job is to support everyone else on their work.

Yamamoto: After studying mechanical engineering at the Tokyo University of Science, I studied 3D CGI and game development at the Konami School, joining the company in 1999. I was in charge of drawing pixel art for the characters, weapons and icons in the Castlevania series until 2008 and I was also in charge of designing and modelling the mecha in Neo Contra, which was released in 2004. I’ve been in charged of modelling and designing the weapons and mecha of the Metal Gear series after being assigned to the Metal Gear Solid V project. There are also many setups that I use myself. The tools that I use include Maya, SoftImage, ZBrush, Substance Painter and Photoshop.

Kimura: Since Yamamoto’s specialty is mecha, I think the content of what we will be talking will fall out of the scope of this article series. Nevertheless, Yamamoto was in charge of the modelling of Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, the leading mecha of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. He started with the idea of wanting to transform it. Therefore, we have many stories that could be helpful to those who want to create a robot.

We’ll look forward to it. It’s pretty unusual for an artist to had majored in mechanical engineering, but it seems to be advantageous when it comes to designing mechas. But before you tell us about Sahelanthropus, can you talk about your involvement with the Castlevania series? We would like to cover your work, from the past to the present, in chronological order.



Yamamoto: I did the pixel art for characters, weapons and icons featured in Dawn of Sorrow (2005), Portrait of Ruin (2006) and Order of Ecclesia (2008). In this case, we would designed the characters in pixel art first and then we would ask the illustrators to draw detailed designs and artwork for the characters.

You mean the pixel art was done before the official art?



Yamamoto: That’s right. Since these are video game characters, we prioritize their visibility while moving on-screen when it comes to deciding their designs and color schemes. We actually implemented the pixel art in the actual game, refining it to perfection while checking out its visibility while moving.

Pixel art for various Castlevania protagonists. From left to right: Soma Cruz from Dawn of Sorrow, Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Aulin from Portrait of Ruin, and Shanoa from Order of Ecclesia. Each character has a design and a color scheme that helped emphasize its visibility on-screen. In the case of Soma for example, white was chosen due to how it’s easy to view on the dark LCD screen used by the portable game machines at the time. Jonathan and Charlotte appear and fight on-screen as a pair, so they were color-coded to make them distinguishable.



Official art of the same characters from the 2010 gameCastlevania: Harmony of Despair. The official art was based on the existing pixel art.

Designing Mecha Like It’s A Toy

Can you tell us the circumstances that led you to propose a transformation gimmick to Sahelanthropus?



Yamamoto: I was assigned to the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (2013) project during the middle of its development. Because of that I wasn’t assigned on any of the large mechas, but I was devising mechanisms for even the smallest things with the aim of high quality. After that I was assigned to the Metal Gear Solid V project and was put in charge of modelling the Sahelanthropus, and I think that’s when the opporunity presented itself.

So the evaluation of your previous work had a great impact on your next one.

Yamamoto: Not only that, but it also helped in clarifying what I like to work on everyday. If you keep going on and on, you will eventually find work that you will want to do. I think everyone likes to leave the most important work to someone who likes it and knows it well.

Kimura: Yamamoto’s specialty is plastic models. He’s always building one. Moreover, since he majored in mechanical engineering in college, his love for mecha and engineering oozes in his work.

Yamamoto: I’ve been building models since childhood and I like transforming mecha, so I often thought about their gimmicks. When I started drawing in 3D CGI, I started making such gimmicks myself and began appreciating mecha even more. I was pretty glad when they put me in charge of Sahelanthropus. Because it was the most prominent mecha, I did my best without holding back.

Design illustration of the Sahelanthropus drawn for Metal Gear Solid V.



The 3DCGI model of the Sahelanthropus. Initially it only had the upright bipedal form on the left, but the ability to transform into the Rex-like form on the right was added thanks to Yamamoto’s proposal.



Yamamoto: Ever since I first saw the design of Sahelanthropus, I wanted it to transform into a shape similar to Metal Gear Rex (the mecha from the original Metal Gear Solid). I have a personal passion for Rex and I’m sure many fans of the series feel the same way. While Sahelanthropus was almost unchanged from its original design, we thought of adding a gimmick that allowed it to transform into Rex forum and experimented with a rough a 3D model. The transformation gimmick was well-received, so we were able to adopt it without any issue.

That specifcation change must have had a significant effect on the game.

Yamamoto: We were able to get such proposal accepted since we were involved with the Metal Gear Solid V project from the very beginning. When it gets to the stage of having to come up with the details, we designed it under the assumption that it will be turned into a toy such as a figure or a plastic model, so we make sure that the individual parts will operate without interfering with each other. As a result, the transformation can now occur within the game without the individual 3DCG parts having to overlap with each other. My experience with plastic models helped me in this regard. Because the gimmick with knee is quite complex, I thought it would’ve been impossible to reproduce without metal parts, so I was surprised when the official toy ended up using actual metal parts.

Kimura: I think it’s a great benefit to have the intuition of knowing how to adapt it into a toy. Moreover, I think it’s wonderful that we could add our own original ideas such as wanting a transformation gimmick and not just do what we’re told to do.

The transformation process of Sahelanthropus. “I thought a transformation might be possible if you can somehow manage with the dexterity of its upright form, but I what I actually struggled with was the transformation of its feet.” says Yamamoto. “The actual Metal Gear Rex has so-called ‘reverse joints’ for its feet and I was asked to reproduce in Sahelanthropus’ second form. But if we reproduce it too closely, we cannot used the same rig as its standard form, so we solved this issue by making the knees double-jointed.” Kimura added “Using the same rig consistently will make it easier for the animator to work with. When making a character during game development in this matter, it is necessary to consider points such as whether the thing will collapse if another rig is added or if there will be any issue if more animation is added.”

Sahelanthropus, as it appears in the game.



Making Things Without The Knowledge

Can you tell us about other things that Mr. Yamamoto was assigned to while working on Metal Gear Solid V?

Kimura: From Metal Gear Solid V and onward, we’ve been designing all the mechas that appear in the game. Yamamoto in particular was in charge of designinf the tanks and jets, as well as modelling the Walker Gears. Although the Walker Gears are an original design, we aimed for a sense of a realism that wouldn’t make them stand out too much from real weapons, so we came up with a design that matches the historical background of the 1970′s and 1980′s by researching weapons used by actual military during that period. We followed that same process when designing the wardrobe and props used by characters. If someone without the knowledge ended up coming up with the designs, they might look cool at a glance, but they’ll lack sense of realism, so it’s not a job you could just give to anyone.

Yamamoto: Since weapons are industrial product, each part has its significance and its purpose. It’s essential for the manufacturing to have good productivity. You design while thinking whether this part will be designed by pressing, welding or minting. Good maintainability, such as whether they can be easily removed with bolts, is also important.



It seems that the setting verification and investigation during the prior stage takes a lot more work than the actual designing and modelling.

Yamamoto: The work itself is not all that time consuming. Given that we model each part one by one, research how the paint scrapes off and how it gets dirtied, and then try to reproduce that, that’s what actually takes our time. (laughs)

How long does it take to build just one mecha?

Yamamoto: It depends on the model. Some will take around two weeks, while others will take more than a month. If there are elements that affect the gameplay, then further validation and adjustments might be required. For example, if someone order us to have a vehicle that shoots long-range missiles, then a 3D model will be implemented in-game, actually move it, verify it, and make any necessary adjustments.’’

Many of the vehicles shown here were designed by Mr. Yamamoto.



A couple of tanks designed by Mr. Yamamoto.



A fighter jet that Yamamoto was in charge of designing. “One of the methods of designing an aircraft is called the ‘area rule’.” says Mr. Yamamoto. “It states that shortening the cross-sectional area reduces air resistance. Many real-life fighter jets are designed based on this rule. By applying the same rule to the fighter jets we design for the game, our sense of realism is improved.” The jet’s design follows the area rule such as the main wings having a small fuselage in order to enlarge the cross-sectional area or shifting the position of the vertical and horizontal tails. Such attention to detail reinforces the sense of realism in the game.

D-Walker, a Walker Gear used specifically by Snake.



D-Walker, as it appears in the game.



Working With Partner Companies

What kind of work did you do in Metal Gear Survive?

Yamamoto: In addition to designing and modelling the weapons and mecha, several 3D models were also outsourced to partner companies. In past, when we outsourced some models for another project, parts of my instructions were unclear and the resulting 3D model was very different from what I’ve conceived in my mind. Based on that reflection, this time we started by making a rough 3D model, implemented into the game, and verify if it doesn’t feel out of place even while moving. After that, we create a design sketch and sent it to our partner company along with the previously-created 3D model.

Concept drawings of the JET Hammer designed by Yamamoto. “We render the outline only as a rough 3D model and then we draw over it using Photoshop” says Yamamoto. “I was conscious of how mechanism would actually work and the realism in the composition of parts. I think we came up with a unique item thanks to that.”



A CGI model of the JET Hammer developed by an external company based on the prior image.



Kimura: Our work is practically done when creating the design drawing. (bitter smile) I think Yamamoto’s responsibilities were pretty large, since the instructions I gave him were quite detailed. But it was because of that we’ve been able to come up with 3D models with a higher degree of perfection than ever before. Some of them were approved the first time, which was quite surprising. Prior to that, we usually redid the models at least twice.

Yamamoto: I believe our partners were able to concentrate on improving the quality thanks to the fact that they were not lost when it came to the shapes, sizes and structures. It might seem done at that point, but there’s actually a lot more work to be done afterward such as making the vertices of the polygons suitable for the game, creating various textures and adjusting the shaders.

Does the number of polygons change from the rough shape?

Yamamoto: It depends on the game’s specifications. Sometimes the number of polygons remains almost the same, but sometimes the number might increase or reduce greatly.

Concept art of the wormhole transporter constructed by Yamamoto. “I’ve ordered a design from somebody else, but it wouldn’t hold up together completely, so I’ve decided to redid the design myself” says Yamamoto. “The final design matches the game’s specifications, such as attaching an energy unit that shows its working status or having pole-shaped lights that can be seen from a distance.”



CGI model of the wormhole transporter outsourced to a partner company.



Kimura: While implementing a 3D model into the game, Yamamoto can talk to the directors and planners of game to find out whether it’s fun or not for the game, or whether they have a good feeling or not. I think that’s his strength.

Yamamoto: There are many things that must be said such as “I made this kind of gimmick, so this is how I want it to be used in the game”, “I want you to add this kind of sound” or “I made this kind of weapon, so I want it to be used properly.” Just passing data around will not get you everything, so we verify things after we implement it and try to explain it afterward.

The JET Hammer and the Wormhole Transporter, as they appeared in the game.



All Actions Will Change When You’re Aware of The Users

Finally, can you tell us about your future aspirations?

Yamamoto: It might be fun if I could be focus entirely on creating 3D models all the time, I can’t actually say that. In the future, I feel it might be necessary to take on a management role and bearing the burden in allowing the younger employees to nurture. You need good developers and a good team in order to make a good game. With that in mind, I’ve been mentoring rookie modellers lately.

In what order would you teach them things?



Yamamoto: First I would teach them how to use the basic tools and how we do things in our company. We cannot proceed if the basic tools are not suitable enough. There are many other things that must be taught, but the most difficulty thing that newcomers must learn is to understand a game’s specification. When it comes to game development, a modeller’s goal isn’t just to model things, but to create a game. You need to create a 3D model while considering how it will make a game fun and whether it will work without failure. If you can understand the setup, the animation and even the players themselves, everything can be changed such as how to deal with things, how you will schedule things and how you create data.

Mr. Yamamoto (left) and Mr. Kimura.

