I like to believe Hideo Kojima took inspiration from me when creating Venom Snake
I've probably gone completely insane, and I'm almost certainly delusional. But for years I've genuinely enjoyed believing this little theory.
Back in 2013, when Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance was released, I had the incredible chance to meet Hideo Kojima in Italy, together with the legendary Yoji Shinkawa. I won a contest that gave me the opportunity to meet them in person.
I didn't just ask for autographs—I also handed Kojima a letter that I had written specifically for him.
In that letter, among many other things, I tried to explain the impact he and the Metal Gear series had on my life, especially when I was a kid.
I played Metal Gear Solid on the original PlayStation when I was around 9 or 10 years old, shortly after it came out in Europe. I was completely blown away—not only by the gameplay, but by the story and its characters, especially Gray Fox.
At that age, I was absolutely convinced that I wanted to become a fighter pilot or have some kind of military career. In the mind of a ten-year-old, there was nothing more noble than serving your country and protecting the weak. It was obviously a very naive and idealized vision of the military, but I genuinely thought that was my future because I couldn't see any downside.
Then came Gray Fox.
His final speech and his conversations with Snake affected me far more than I could have imagined. The idea of becoming nothing more than a tool in someone else's hands—fighting wars that weren't mine, possibly even hurting innocent people along the way—really stayed with me.
It made me rethink everything.
I eventually gave up that dream and started looking for a different path. For other reasons as well, I ended up choosing what felt like the complete opposite: I decided to become a doctor.
Instead of dedicating my life to potentially taking lives, I wanted to dedicate it to saving them.
When I met Kojima, I was still a medical student.
Today, I'm a physician.
I still remember him smiling when I handed him the letter. And something that always stuck with me is that after the event, he only posted one picture from that day on Twitter... and it was the one with me.
Fast forward a couple of years.
Metal Gear Solid V comes out.
Pretty early on, people begin to suspect that the protagonist might not actually be Big Boss. But imagine my surprise when the ending reveals that not only is he not Big Boss... he's an ordinary person.
A character that the player creates.
A way of saying that anyone can be a hero.
And not just any ordinary person.
A doctor.
Now, yes... it's almost certainly just a coincidence.
But out of every possible profession they could have chosen—and arguably many that would have made more sense—why a doctor?
Let me be just a little bit egotistical and keep believing that maybe, just maybe, Kojima remembered the story of that Italian kid who told him that his game had convinced him not to become a soldier... but a doctor instead.
And hey... the opening song of Ground Zeroes, Here's to You, was written by Ennio Morricone, an Italian composer, in honor of two Italians.
Surely that has to mean something, right? 😄
You might ask why I'm talking about this only now, after all these years.
Well...
A) I never wanted to bring it up because someone might convince me that this is all completely in my head.
B) Kojima is currently in Italy... and who knows, maybe we'll end up grabbing a coffee someday.
Me with a stupid face, Kojima-sensei and Shinkawa-sensei in Milan, 2013
