The purpose of the Ruse has always been to achieve two goals. The primary goal is for Kojima to use his Video Games to prove to us that "There are no facts, only interpretations". Yes, I know you are just as sick of hearing it as we all are. There is a reason that Kojima put that Friedrich Nietzsche quote in the beginning of The Phantom Pain, it serves as the thesis for his work on what will one day be known as the Metal Gear Solid V Compilation.
In other words Kojima wants to prove to us through his video games and public persona that everything is surrounded in a sea of misinformation. That there is no such thing as a fact or rather a truth. That the truth is something easily hidden or adjusted to serve those promoting or presenting said information.
It's really important for the Ruse to be taken seriously to understand that it is not about Metal Gear Solid V. The ARG (Alternate Reality Game) we call the Ruse is simply the latest chapter in Hideo Kojima's career as an artist parading as a game developer. With that said, each installment in the Metal Gear Legacy should be treated less as a seperate game and more as a mutually exclusive selection thats part of the same ARG. The ARG is essentially Hideo Kojima's life. How ever the ruse ends for this compilation of games, know that it will not be the end. It will continue with his future products much like how in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty we had a much smaller "ruse" or "ARG" in which Raiden was hidden from us.
Colonel's speech at the end of Sons of Liberty is likely the closest we will ever get to Kojima explaining thoughts that inspired the Ruse.
In the current digitized world, Trivial information is accumulating every second, preserved in all its triteness. Never fading, always accessible. All of this junk data preserved in an unfultered state, growing at an alarming rate. The World is being engulfed in truth. You seem to think that our plan is one of censorship, it is about providing context.
Our Ruse Cruise is an ARG where Kojima is going to show us that despite all of the trivial information that is constantly accumulating regarding his termination from Konami, it was never factual or true in the first place. That we interpreted it that way due to the context provided to us by trusted industry members and affiliates. The very nature of this experiment, or game on Kojima's part constitutes the idea that he does have something worthwhile to teach us. This is simply that Media Manipulation exists.
We were simply part of those "living in gated communities afraid of joining a larger forum, conveniently leaking whatever truth suits them". Even this thread, is simply my interpretation or my truth.
Its a similar concept to the movie The Life of David Gale directed by Alan Parker. It's a pretty shitty movie but it deals with the idea of capitol punishment. Basically, Kevin Spacey plays David Gale who is an activist opposing Capital Punishment. At some point in the movie one of David Gale's fellow activists is discovered murdered and all evidence at the crime points to him being the killer. He is convicted of murder and sentenced to death. After Gale is executed, a video is mailed out that shows the female activist and Gale conspiring to prove the innacuracy of the Justice System. The female activist kills herself, and afterwards Gale plants evidence that leads directly back to him as the culprit. Essentially, Gale and his partner proved that the criminal justice system could fail to protect the lives of innocents, and even execute the wrong person.
Of course in order for an ARG to be successful it really has to accomplish two things. First it needs to be able to make money, increase stock value, spur word of mouth advertising, inspire journalism or in some way shape or form increase revenue's for its company. In this case it needs to be successful for Konami and Kojima. Secondly, the end game of the ARG has to be valuable to consumers.
In the event that the Ruse is real, and we are able to complete Kojima's ARG it will absolutely accomplish all of those goals. Can you imagine Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, and Youtube just collectively losing there heads? The internet as a whole will be foaming at the mouth producing untold levels of junk data regarding the entire act. If it is in fact real, and pulled off correctly it will be unbelievably successful for Konami and Kojima.
So where does Metal Gear Survive fit into this whole thing?
The latest entry into the Metal Gear franchise suggests that we are now at the half way point of the ARG. Much of this information is common knowledge at this point but its important to understand Survive's role to play. In Metal Gear Survive the character is told that they are going to hell, or is already in hell. The setting for Survive is called Dite. This name is lifted from Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri which is a long poem dealing with views on the afterlife. The poem is seperated into three sections.
These sections are titled Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradisio. Each respectively explores the concepts of Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. Furthermore, our AI Companion in Survive, is conveniently named Virgil. This name is shared with a roman poet who guides Dante throughout Hell or Dite. It appears that Survive's Dite takes place underwater, or below some type of suspended body of water as well. This is important in regards to Death Stranding.
Its important to understand that at this point of the Ruse we are all embarking on our journey through Hell, Purgatory, and eventually Heaven. Survive is in classic Kojima style a perfect representation of Hell. A Metal Gear Solid game without Kojima's approval which places its "heroes without names" directly into hell. The irony is almost taxing, Survive is the first chapter of Divine Comedy for us being forced to play through Metal Gear by Konami. In other words, our paradise would be Metal Gear Solid (A), made by Hideo Kojima (B), and produced by Konami(C). Survive nails 2/3 of our needs.
So where does Death Stranding fit into the ARG?
Death Stranding is the second step of the Ruse and it deals with the idea of Purgatory. At TGA 2017 Kojima said “One of the themes of this game is life and death. So I want people to realize that when they die in the game, that isn’t the end.” Additionally, “Death will never pull you out of the game”.
In the TGA 2017 trailer of Death Stranding we see Sam's (Norman Reedus) two allies perish while being dragged off by Unspecified Lifeforms. After the first ally is shot and killed, the man trying to save him has a randomly generated artificial womb appear on his chest carrying an infant. This is the theme of reincarnation put into play. In the TGA 2017 trailer we see Sam engulfed in a massive explosion and then he appears underwater. What's interesting is that in Death Stranding each time you die you are sent to an underwater world.
According to Kojima Sam (Reedus) has special abilities that allow him to travel through this world in first person, and it exists as an element of the game play. This is significant to Survive thematically because Dite appears to be underneath a body of water in hell, and we know Death Stranding deals with the idea of Purgatory which is in between Hell and Heaven. So in Survive we have a sky made of water, and in Death Stranding we have a separate world that exists under water.
The only appropriate conclusion is that the third piece of the puzzle which represents Paradisio will be above the actual water and on earth. Death Stranding exists as a convenient middle ground and nails 1/3 of our needs. It is a Kojima made game, however it is not Metal Gear, and we dont have Konami backing him.
Chapter 3 is supposed to be the final chapter of Divine Comedy; Paradisio. After going through Hell with Konami, and Purgatory with Kojima we will join our Big Boss again in Paradisio or (Outer) Heaven.
A Note on Kojima's Character
Kojima always said that he wanted to direct movies. Theres a great episode of the tv show Icons about him, where he states that he wanted to get into movies but felt it would be too difficult. As a result he saw the emerging success of video games as a medium and decided to jump on board the train. He felt that he could use video games as a means to eventually direct movies. Lets be clear, this was a business move. Kojima stated in an interview with Official Playstation Magazine;
I don't think they're art either, videogames. The thing is, art is something that radiates the artist, the person who creates that piece of art. If 100 people walk by and a single person is captivated by whatever that piece radiates, then it's art. But videogames aren't trying to capture one person. A videogame should make sure that all 100 people that play the game should enjoy the service provided by that videogame. It's something of service. It's not art. But I guess the way of providing service with that videogame is an artistic style, a form of art.
Kojima is an artist parading around as a businessman. For this reason its obvious he deeply respects monetary success in addition to actual art. If you take a look through a great deal of Kojima's tweets you can see how much attention he pays to big budget actors/actresses and movies. Hell, even the announcement trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4 payed respect to The Call of Duty franchise, albeit as satire. So it should come as no surprise that Kojima chose Norman Reedus for PT, and Death Stranding.
Norman Reedus was chosen specifically for his success on The Walking Dead and his near super stardom in the USA. However, whats most interesting is that Kojima appears to be a reasonably big fan of The Walking Dead as a whole. And why shouldn't he?
The Walking Dead is one of the most successful TV Shows in history. Personally, I think its awful, but that is aside from the point. According to Variety back in 2013 the show was pulling in about $11,000,000 in advertising revenues per episode premier. Now imagine re-runs, merchandising, apps, games, and all other additional sources of promotion.
Norman Reedus and The Walking Dead are the link from Metal Gear to Kojima and to Survive. In fact I've never played a game that so closely resembles the action of The Walking Dead TV Show. The use of Gadgets like fences, and weapons like spears is lifted directly from the action sequences of The Walking Dead. I'd be willing to bet if you looked up the defense based action sequences on The Walking Dead they would bare a striking resemblance to the gameplay of Survive. I say this because TWD is one of the few zombie shows/movies that pays a great deal of attention to its characters using the environment to there advantage. Obligatory mention of the "How bout them Zombies eh?" tape in The Phantom Pain.
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