Yoji Shinkawa was a special guest of the 2018 edition of MAGIC, organized by Shibuya Productions. So we took advantage of his arrival in Monaco to ask him some questions. Even though it was useless trying to make him talk about the universe and the plot of Death Stranding, the famous illustrator still agreed to answer, sometimes briefly, our questions about his career, his way of working, or even his favorite projects.



Gameblog: You have been collaborating with Hideo Kojima for many years. Why do you think this collaboration works so well?



Yoji Shinkawa: I don't know exactly why it works. Maybe because we like the same things.



Such as?



The same kinds of movies. Like Blade Runner for example.



You recently worked on Death Stranding. How is working on this title different from working on a Metal Gear Solid for you?



There isn't really a difference. In all the games we work on, we do things quite naturally, we do the things we want to do. For example with Metal Gear Solid 1, we did not say "we're going to sell a lot". It happened naturally. The main thing is that we create games that we would like to play and we create worlds that we like.



Death Stranding features actors, some very famous, whose faces appear in the game. Does the use of famous faces have an impact on your way of working?



In fact, working with real actors is easier for me. I start by meeting the actors and thanks to that, I get to have an idea of the kind of people that they are and the characters that they will be. After that, I will create the whole image of the character, whether it's their clothes or everything around. For me, it makes things a little easier.



You worked on the Metal Gear license for many years. What is your best memory of this series?



My best memory is Metal Gear Solid 3 because it was not only very interesting to create but also very enjoyable to play.



In what way was it very interesting to create?



First of all, it was a very simple story to understand. The game evoked many themes but they were all very interesting and easy to understand, such as the Cold War context between the Americans and the Soviets. And besides that, there was also the espionage side. I really like the action-espionage side.



Of all the characters you have drawn, what is your favorite and why?



It's very difficult to choose. But if I had to select one I would say Gray Fox, the Cyborg Ninja. One of the reasons for that is that he's a sad character who has a sad story too. In addition, he sacrifices himself to help Solid Snake, which is something very Japanese. Besides all that, I like the design of the character.



When you have to create a character, are you given specific information about its history and the story of the game or are you given vague concepts and then it's up to you to make suggestions ?



It depends. There are situations where I'm given details or sometimes you just give me keywords. It's really on a case by case basis.



And between the two, what is your favorite way of working?



When I have to draw, I like simply being given a keyword. But this sometimes turns into a riddle because you have to guess exactly what the director is waiting for and what he means by this keyword. So even if that's what I prefer, it's still very difficult.



From the point of view of design and aesthetics, what do you think of Metal Gear Survive?



(In English:) No comment. (Laughter)



You draw your characters in 2D in a traditional way. What does it make you feel when you discover them in 3D and in motion on the screen?



It is very moving.



And when you discover them moving on the screen, do they sometimes not match the image that you had in mind when you drew them?



It does happen. But since we make everything as a team, the result may also be better than what I had in mind.



You've worked on a lot of games with robots, soldiers, and so on. If you had the choice to work on any project, without any constraints in terms of design or aesthetics, what would you like to draw?



I can't think of anything but robots. (Laughter)



That way, at least, there is no frustration on your side.



Oh yes, not at all frustrating! (Laughter)