Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1524863
54 M PS E . O R G was a non-union game. I said, "I would love to do another one of your games, but the rules have changed. We're going union, and we're renting a proper studio." And they agreed to that. So, we had a lot more professionalism with that. But the animation was already all done, so sometimes we'd have picture, sometimes we'd just have the two guidelines, and the actor would have to be finished when the guidelines touched in the middle. So that was a little bit challenging for them to match the timing. Sometimes we'd have the Japanese actors' audio, so we could hear the volume levels or whatever. We didn't always have full picture to go off of. EM: As you were reading that script for the first game, before you're even bringing actors into record, were you seeing nuggets in the script and thinking, pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's wife, I've been plucking mother pheasants my whole pheasant plucking life." EM: Claps. That was incredible. That's what the actor did for you? KZS: Yeah. And she didn't write it down. I just remembered it. I don't know how, but it just stuck in my brain. That was over 20 years ago. Pretty funny. EM: So, you're beginning on the first Metal Gear Solid. What did you see in that story and those characters that inspired you and your choices on it? KZS: The writer was there with us, and they had already done the Japanese voices. We did have the Japanese ADR. We did a good portion of that to picture. It's really kind of fascinating how Metal Gear was recorded. We were in a production compound in the middle of Hollywood. It was Valentino's old property, and it had some old buildings that were the production offices, and we were on the first floor of the home in the hardwood living room. Very little soundproofing, the floor squeaked. There was a stop sign outside. And there was no separation between the actor and the whole team. So, we couldn't make a peep while they were acting. They did it all to picture. They were in groups, so if David was acting with Jennifer Hale's character, she would be in the room with him, and that part was nice because then they had some interaction. But it took forever because of all the technical problems that were had. So, we made a game. People liked it. And we came back to do Metal Gear Solid 2, and I said, "I'm happy to do that," but it was also a non-union game. The first one Metal Gear Solid streaming panel with Kim Mai Guest, Paul Eiding, Jim Piddock, Kris Zimmerman Salter, David Hayter, and Tasia Valenza.