[mag]

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Doubtful. If it was a movie it would almost surely be in the action section, and movies are what inspire Kojima anyway.

If we're using your bookstore analogy, it's unlikely that it would be located anywhere other than science fiction. Scifi is where all of those kinds of books are located--Halo, Resident Evil, etc. I've even seen a Metal Gear Solid comic in the science fiction section at Barnes and Noble. So I'm not just making this up.

If it was a movie, it probably would be listed under action, but that still doesn't mean it's not also science fiction. They're two completely different kinds of genres. Action has to do with the tone and pace. Scifi has more to do with plot and setting.

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

If anyone will be sucking up a loss it'll have to be you, but frankly, I don't care if you consider MGS to be science fiction. I just never have. And when I mentioned it to several people I know: "Do you think the Metal Gear Solid games are science fiction?" they laughed in my face and asked me where I came up with such a stupid idea.

Well, you do live in Texas. So it doesn't surprise me that you're surrounded by people who don't know what they're talking about.

I don't really care what your opinion is or how many people you know who also don't know what science fiction means. You are wrong. Factually wrong. There is no reasonable definition of the term science fiction you can come up with that would not include Metal Gear Solid.

Originally Posted by Once A Villain

Besides, as action adventure Metal Gear Solid is far more successful. As science fiction, it would be weak. In other words, it holds up much better against action stuff. Against sci/fi stuff it would likely be considered a joke since the sci/fi elements are about as intelligent as what we see in SpaceBalls (some of the ideas are actually fine, but even fictional science is demeaned by having villains that float around in a pack of hornets or exist as a ghost and challenge you in some sort of almost-afterlife). I would sooner call Metal Gear Solid a fantasy myself, which is the same way I feel about Star Wars. When I play Metal Gear games it's the action (including stealth) that stands out in the gameplay, with a lineup of comic book villains to mow down, and about ten hours of movie sequences that remind me mostly of anime with some elements of poor Hollywood film influences. That's what the MGS games are to me.

That was a truly impressive display of stupidity. However, what you're thinking of is what's known as "hard science fiction." That is but one particular subdivision of science fiction. Not all scifi necessarily has to have that level of attention to accuracy and scientific detail. In fact, a lot of hard scifi actually tends to be rather dry and boring. Metal Gear Solid would likely fall more under the soft science fiction label. In soft science fiction, the scientific principles don't necessarily have to be real or accurate in any way.

You can't judge the quality of a work of science fiction based on whether or not it can be used as a doctoral thesis. Metal Gear Solid isn't trying to educate the world about science, just as the majority of the scifi genre isn't trying to educate the world about science. It's trying to tell a story. It's simply using the scientific principles that audiences are already familiar with as a foundation.

It's ridiculous to say that a story is a good action story but a weak science fiction story. It's either a good story, or it's not. If it's a good story, and it's science fiction, then it's a good science fiction story.

Originally Posted by EvoG

Good luck with this guy mag, I feel for you. No really, I even have your emote ready...

Tell me about it. I don't even know why I bother arguing with him. I already know it's not going to do any good. He's invulnerable to logic. But sometimes I see him write something so insanely idiotic that I just have to respond.

mag