Hideo Kojima Meets Indonesian Game Developers, Offers Encouragement

Renowned game creator Hideo Kojima has met with members of Indonesian indie studio Separuh Interactive in Japan. The meeting revealed that Kojima has been following the development of their game, 'Agni: Village of Calamity,' for several months. According to Bayu Arafat, Co-Founder and Marketing Director of Separuh Interactive, Kojima had already seen trailers and gameplay footage of 'Agni' prior to their meeting. In response to this interest, Separuh Interactive plans to provide Kojima with a Steam code for the latest demo version of the game. The connection between Separuh Interactive and Kojima is a result of a long journey, with communication beginning around the Tokyo Game Show (TGS) in 2016. Bayu mentioned that he had started communicating and met Kojima several times from 2016 to 2019, with the COVID-19 pandemic causing delays. The studio's request for a meeting was made around TGS 2025, but it was only realized this year. During the visit, the Separuh Interactive team was given a tour of Kojima Productions' studio facilities, including the cafeteria, though recording was not permitted. They presented Kojima with a prototype action figure of the character Agni and a Gundam-themed batik as a belated birthday gift. Kojima expressed his delight in seeing fans inspired by his work become game developers themselves. He offered words of encouragement to the Separuh Interactive team, advising them to 'grow slowly and stay humble.' Bayu stated that this message was the most memorable part of the encounter, emphasizing how they learned to remain humble despite Kojima's esteemed position. Kojima's works have significantly influenced 'Agni,' particularly in its art direction, which draws inspiration from Kojima's cinematic games. Separuh Interactive, identifying as an indie studio with an SME scale, emphasized that receiving direct feedback and attention from Kojima serves as a major motivational boost. Separuh Interactive hopes their journey will inspire other Indonesian game developers who are struggling, encouraging them to continue creating and aiming for the international market despite the challenges. 'We want to inspire local game developers who are still struggling like us to keep creating until they reach the international stage, even though there will likely be many challenges,' Bayu concluded.