From Sapiens to Ludens. 

Somewhere far from Earth. 
A place yet to be explored by mankind. 
Standing there, looking out into the distance. 
The outer shell, which is an armored spacesuit, embodies the evolution of life on Earth. 
Driven by infinite curiosity to explore time and space, it journeys wherever its desire takes it. 
What it holds in its hand is not a spear to conquer, but a flag to mark its arrival. 
We want to create the unimaginable and expand the world through play. 
"It" was born from this concept. 

We are those who play. We are Homo Ludens. 

“Ludens” has been the symbol of KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS ever since the company was founded in 2015.

It was brought to life using the experience and sensibilities of Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa, who had worked together in the creative field for many years.

In December 2022, to mark the company’s 7th anniversary, KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS moved into new offices which feature a 1/1 scale Ludens model—one that has an even greater sense of presence than its predecessor.  

To celebrate the completion of the 1/1 Ludens, we revisit an interview with Yoji Shinkawa from five years ago that dives into the initial design of Ludens along with new content that provides some background about the creation of the model itself. 

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-QUESTIONS FOR YOJI SHINKAWA- 

Q: The 1/1 Ludens is in the reception area of your new office. How did you feel when you saw the finished article? 

There’s a sense of presence to it, as well as a certain realism. I think it’s been done really well. 

1/2 and 1/6 scale figures have also been made, and are being used to decorate the entrance to the office, places like that. But when it comes to detail and overall atmosphere, the 1/1 model is just much more convincing, somehow. 

Not many people will be able to come to the office and see this for themselves, but I do think we’ve created something that surprises those who do see it. I’m looking forward to seeing how people react! (Laughs)  

Q: Can you tell us any stories from the creation/supervision process? 

Ludens was created based on CG data, but it contains around 500 different parts. I didn’t think that having so many small parts would be a problem, but when it came time to assemble them, we realized that the sheer size of the model was making things difficult. Finding the center of gravity and making sure that the different parts didn’t get in each other’s way was tough.

It was pretty demanding, and we made a lot of quality-related adjustments, even down to the actual fabrics used. We were pretty anxious waiting to see the finished article. But I think we did a great job.  

The most important thing for me was that everybody who worked on it seemed to have a really good time. That was great to see. I realized once again that creating something from scratch and seeing it through to completion is just so much fun. It’s the same with games, of course.

*YouTube Video Links
MAKING OF 1/1 LUDENS - JUR x KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS：https://youtu.be/KSDrSBMlDs4

― Revisit the 5th Anniversary interview with Yoji Shinkawa to learn more about the design behind LUDENS.

Q: HOW WERE THE LUDENS CHARACTER as WELL as THE KOJIMAPRODUCTIONS LOGO CREATED? 

I'm a little fuzzy on which one I created first, the logo or the LUDENS character(laughs). I think I made the KJP logo first, back in the early days of the company. And I came up with a character that looked like a cross between an astronaut and a knight. 

The word "knight" is often associated with fighting, but LUDENS is a character that pursues digital entertainment. So, I visualized the character as something closer to an explorer and expanded on my initial design idea. Then, by adjusting the balance between knight and astronaut, I came to the current design. So, the initial concept didn't change too much. 

From the beginning, I started drawing with a mix of elements, not just knights. Then I refined it, adjusting in detail the balance between the elements of the knight and the astronaut. How the viewer sees it may vary according to their perception, but my intention with the design was to portray representative elements of both. 

When I met Mr. Kojima --more than 20 years ago now-- he wanted to make icons for the development team. At that time, he already had an idea of the character and logo that would become the prototypes for what we currently have. I tried to remember those concepts, and you could say I used them as prototypes. 

Q: LUDENS Has a FLAG INSTEAD OF a SWORD. WHAT MEANING DOES THIS HAVE? 

Back when doing sketches, there were elements of a knight already, so I considered giving LUDENS a sword to match. But Mr. Kojima said, "We're not going to be fighting, so I don't want them to carry a sword or a gun, but something else." That's where the idea for the flag came from. 

I think his idea was to explore the digital world and plant a flag on its frontiers, while hinting back to the first moon landing in human history. I'm sure there must have been some inspiration taken from that. 

 
Q: WHAT DO THE GOLD DISCS ON LUDENS' SUIT REPRESENT? 

This was a request from Mr. Kojima. He wanted to have elements resembling Turing machines in the logo; to have calculator-like parts in LUDENS. Turing machines were invented by British mathematician Alan Turing, and they became the base of modern-day computers. The golden disks on LUDENS' body are a play on this concept. So, the idea was for the suit to have calculators that would have a role similar to that of Turing machines. They search and measure various things as they spin. 

Q: DOES LUDENS CHANGE AND EVOLVE? WILL THE APPEARANCE OF LUDENS CHANGE AS THE STUDIO GROWS? 

I think LUDENS will be basically the same, but I'm always considering making. 
upgrades. For example, the new image I made for this 5th anniversary has a booster-like pack on the back. Until now, the back part was a life support system in a spacesuit, but I added an additional booster pack on top of it. Part of the implication here is to "Put your boosters on and go fast!" (laughs) 

Q: WE'RE CURIOUS NOT ONLY ABOUT THE BEAUTY OF THE SUIT, BUT ALSO ABOUT THE PERSON INSIDE THE SUIT. IS THAT an ACTUAL PERSON, OR a concept? 

No, I don't have a specific person in mind and there's no one in particular that it is meant to be inside the suit. In other words, anyone can be that person. It would be nice if everyone could wear that suit and go on an adventure. 

Q: THE LOGO IS VERY ICONIC AND BECAME QUICKLY RECOGNIZED BY a LOT OF PEOPLE. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHY? 

It's strange, isn't it? Is it because it's a skull...? (laughs) Perhaps because it resonates in a world where diversity is a hot topic, or maybe because it inspires to imagine many different things.

It was the first logo and symbol of our studio when everything first started, so maybe it made a strong impression. 

Q: WHY a SKULL? 

I don't have a negative image of skulls. It's something we all have. No matter what color, gender, or race you are, you have a skull. I think it's a representation of the human race. The logo is about human diversity as well as universality. 

OTHER STORIES 

When we first started to create the company's logo, Mr. Kojima brought up the idea of a ballet dancer jumping. As ballet is a "comprehensive art", he said he wanted to achieve that digitally. But I had a hard time digesting this idea. So, one of the ideas that I proposed was a mixture of an astronaut suit and a knight from a digital world, something that Mr. Kojima had suggested in the past. Then, he added the idea of the Turing machines and the flag to this. By the end, the concept of the ballet dancer was completely gone (laughs). 
 

I like the digital world, but I also like the analog world, as you can actually touch and feel things there. That's why I'm happy to see the KJP logo used on merchandise and other items, and I always look forward to new merch. 

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YouTube Video Links 

• MAKING OF 1/1 LUDENS - JUR x KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS 
  https://youtu.be/KSDrSBMlDs4

• Akio Otsuka's "Otsuka Stroll" Exploring KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS' new studio 
  https://youtu.be/Z5EotG7Dqoc

• KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS NEW STUDIO TRAILER 
  https://youtu.be/txC5uq7U1eI