Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Director J.J. Abrams Says Hideo Kojima Is a "Master of the Form"

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is set to release soon and conclude the Skywalker Saga, which means that the cast and crew are doing the usual promotional rounds both stateside and internationally. It would appear that at some point during this, director J.J. Abrams and Poe Dameron actor Oscar Isaac visited Death Stranding developer Kojima Productions, and more specifically met with Hideo Kojima himself. Abrams was, of course, already familiar with the man, but he's gone on the record now to call Kojima a "master of the form" of combining the fun of a game with "the satisfaction of a narrative story."

Abrams, in a recent interview with IGN, discussed the ways in which narrative and games intersect, and more specifically how Kojima has done so throughout his career as a designer. The full interview is worth a watch, but, as noted above, the most interesting takeaway is how Abrams refers to Kojima as a "master of the form" at the end of it.

"The dream, though, is that the storyteller, the game designer, the filmmaker, they actually have a secret, more important thing that they're also doing," Abrams said after talking about how the main aspect of a game isn't always its only one. "That there's actually another layer, another reason for the thing to exist. Another message that they're trying to express. And when something is made great, with that intention, I think it resonates, and it has a power that's greater than just the thing that you think it is."

"If there's an intention that goes deeper in the creation, it's felt in the playing," he added. "The idea that you can combine both, and he's done this before, and is clearly doing it again, telling a great story and doing it in an interactive medium, it's a tightrope. It's a very challenging thing. But if there is a master of the form, of taking what is the fun of a game, but the satisfaction of a narrative story, you know combine those together into one piece, that master is Hideo Kojima."

J.J. Abrams and Oscar Isaac visited Kojima Productions. pic.twitter.com/XBmLzkcOTZ

— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) December 9, 2019

What do you think of Abrams' comments on Kojima? Have you given Death Stranding a shot as of yet? Let us know in the comments, or hit me up directly on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk all things gaming!

Here's how PlayStation's official product page for Death Stranding describes it:

"In the near future, mysterious explosions have rocked the planet, setting off a series of supernatural events known as the Death Stranding. With spectral creatures plaguing the landscape, and the planet on the verge of a mass extinction, it's up to Sam Bridges to journey across the ravaged wasteland and save mankind from impending annihilation."

Death Stranding is now available for PlayStation 4, and it was recently revealed that the game would also be coming to PC in 2020. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the recently released video game right here. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the last film in the Skywalker Saga, is scheduled to release in theaters on December 20th. You can check out all of our previous coverage of the J.J. Abrams-directed movie right here.