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Kojima: Fox Engine Not Ready To License To Third-Parties

Ben-Dutka 7 Comments

The Fox Engine has all sorts of potential, so will other developers get a crack at it?

Well, not in the near future, anyway. Hideo Kojima has commented that his promising new engine could be used for a first-person shooter or even a new Silent Hill installment, but it can't happen just yet.

In speaking to Gamasutra , Kojima said the engine would require a huge amount of work before it could be used in any other game besides the upcoming Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain .

"Right now it's a bit too difficult. While, yes, the engine has been shared around internally at Konami, a lot of maintenance will be involved if we're to get the Fox Engine in a workable enough state to license it. At the moment there are no plans to license it to schools or other organizations."

So for now, licencing the engine to third-parties is "off the table." That doesn't mean we won't see it at some point down the road, though. And besides, we'll all be able to see it shine in MGSV, and you can bet that Kojima's team will make full use of that tech, so gamers can fully benefit. It's kinda what that team does : Make great stuff for core gamers.

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Kojima: Fox Engine Gunning For Total Photo-Realism

Ben-Dutka 9 Comments

Everyone is eagerly anticipating the first public demo of Hideo Kojima's Fox Engine at the Game Developer's Conference next week.

In the meantime, the Metal Gear guru spoke about his goals for the new engine, and the kind of future that we can expect from new tech. In a series of Tweets translated by Kotaku , Kojima said the Fox Engine is going to be awfully special:

"The concept of the Fox Engine is photorealism. The age of fixating on pictures and sound in games is over. Now the questions are: How free is it? Does it connect to the internet and is the gameplay smooth? Even so, a certain level of realistic atmosphere is required. At Kojima Productions, we're aiming for a line where even simple CG models look photo-realistic when you zoom out of the game screen."

Kojima also spoke about the release of 1998's groundbreaking Metal Gear Solid , and reminded us that at the time, it was believed that the use of pre-rendered movies would disappear:

" We looked to the future and chose to have video sequences in the game that used polygon models instead of pre-rendered graphics. Now they make VFX movies with game engines. With Peace Walker, we tried a handheld system with the age of cloud technology. People laughed at us then, too. "

Finally, Kojima ended by saying that developers must continue to look forward to the future and not get bogged down by what all the corporations and "businessmen" want. That's a refreshing thing to hear amid giant publishers demanding yearly installments in rapidly stagnating franchises. One could never say that about Metal Gear , or anything that Kojima does, in truth. Guys like that would never let such a thing happen…would they?

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Kojima: Prepare For The Fox Engine Unveiling On August 30

Ben-Dutka 20 Comments

We've been so patient. We've let him do what he needs to do. And the long-awaited unveiling isn't far off…

For a while now, Metal Gear Solid fans – and in fact, anyone who's a fan of Hideo Kojima and the progression of the video game industry – has been looking forward to the master's new project, which uses the hotly anticipated Fox Engine. To date, we've only seen and heard snippets concerning the new engine, including this picture that Kojima Tweeted a while back.

Now, according to a new update at the PlayStation Blog , where Kojima reminisces about 25 years of MGS, that Fox Engine will be unveiled on August 30. We're not sure if this means we'll also see his new game at that time; the engine isn't done, but Kojima still wants to show it off:

"The Fox Engine is nearly finished, but the only way to be sure it works is to create a game at the same time and improve the engine with our tools as we go along. Production studios in Japan are nearly extinct, a fact that we have recognized for nearly 10 years, and although the Fox Engine is not finished we are ready to show what it can do…on August 30th in Japan to be more specific."

Okay, we're excited. Even if the title is still a long ways off, it seems like forever since MGS4 landed and we're kinda going through major Kojima withdrawal. Aren't all hardcore gamers?

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Will Kojima’s Project Ogre Be The Last Great PS3 Exclusive?

Ben-Dutka 18 Comments

So we hear that Hideo Kojima will unveil his hot new Fox Engine at the end of August.

We don't know if he'll be showing off the secret "Project Ogre" at that time (although we'd like to assume we'll see pieces of it during the Fox presentation), but it has got us thinking: Might this title be the very last great exclusive for the PlayStation 3?

The generation has to end sometime and we already know about God of War: Ascension , Beyond: Two Souls , and The Last Of Us . But for Sony, a company that prides itself on top-flight exclusives, they'll probably want to keep churning out the AAA PS3 exclusives right up until the end. We're still hoping for The Last Guardian , but based on the recent update that involved the phrase "technical issues," we have our reservations about the future of that title.

And we can probably assume that Kojima's game is still a long ways off. So it'd be a logical conclusion to say that it'll either launch very late in the PS3's lifespan or very early in the PS4's lifespan. Dare we hope that it'll be a launch title for Sony's new console…? That'd be insane . Perhaps the reason it's taking a while for the Fox Engine to really get going is because Kojima and Co. are preparing it for a next-gen machine. But even if that isn't true, it's probably true that Project Ogre – whatever it may be – could become the last big reason to own a PS3.

As for whether or not it'll be exclusive, there are a few things going for Sony aficionados: Firstly, Kojima has always expressed his loyalty to Sony and at times has expressed his dislike of Microsoft. Secondly, his announcement that the Fox Engine will be unveiled on August 30 came at the PlayStation Blog. That doesn't automatically translate to "exclusive" but it's still a good sign. Thirdly and lastly, Kojima has always believed in the power of the PlayStation platform, and has said it's the only platform capable of handling his lofty visions. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is not his baby, remember. Spin-off.

So come the end of 2013 or somewhere around there, Kojima might give the PlayStation crowd one last thrill for this generation.

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Kojima Reveals A “Major Change” For “FOX Experiment”

Ben-Dutka 10 Comments

Even when the words are translated, it can be difficult to fully comprehend Hideo Kojima's Tweets.

The latest tells us so much and so little at the same time: If you check his Twitter page , you'll see an announcement that – depending on how you interpret it – is either very interesting or mildly alarming.

"Today I made a major change in direction after reviewing the experiment over FOX. Not sure if it was the right decision but this is my way to proceed. I gotta believe in myself as always."

Now, your guess is as good as ours. He could be referring to his still-secret Ogre Project, or he could be talking about some other project that utilizes the FOX Engine. Or maybe he's specifically talking about the engine itself, and not any particular game… Either way, one gets the feeling that such a "change in direction" might lead to a longer wait for gamers, especially if it involves a drastic alteration in a project that's in the midst of development.

But that's being all sorts of pessimistic and as always, we really have to wait until Kojima elaborates before coming to any conclusions.

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Kojima Teases New Title With…See-Through Underwear?

Ben-Dutka 23 Comments

Okay, so…this is a little strange.

Now that Kojima Productions have passed along development of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance to Platinum Games, they get to work on the master's new project, which uses the oft-discussed and much-hyped Fox Engine.

So Kojima went on Twitter and posted a screenshot of his "new title," which features an obvious military theme. Most don't really see anything too special about that picture (and I don't, either), but Kojima followed up with another Tweet and said something…kinda bizarre.

"One of the key features about 'Fox Engine,' here's the transparent technique. See-thru underwear."

And that's what you see here in this article. Are you impressed now? Why exactly did Kojima want to show off the capability of the Fox Engine with transparent garments? Is that tough to do from a programming standpoint? Will we be seeing a lot of see-through underwear in this new game? In truth, I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to be looking at in that picture…

You got me a little confused on this one, Kojima. How's about you just unveil the game?

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