For Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear Solid is like a drug, a series he just can’t get out of his veins no matter how hard he tries. Every time a new game comes out he swears it’s his last, but then when the next game starts development, there he is once more, calling the shots and dealing with the stress that comes from being a part of one of gaming’s biggest franchises.

Therefore it should come as no surprise that Kojima has "three ideas" for Metal Gear Solid 5, but like a junkie standing in front of his dealer, he’s pleading with his staff to not take his advice, and actually do something completely new with the series.

"I would like to just make a new game, and the younger staff can work on the new MGS projects. For MGS5, it’s very difficult to explain right now because we haven’t announced anything.

"I have three concepts for MGS5 already. What would be ideal for me with MGS5, though, is that we don’t do those. If the team picks one of those concepts, I have to get involved again, which I don’t want to do.

"There are already so many good ideas from the staff, so if we select one of those, that would be really good. At that point I could really rely on them and take the step back to be the producer, which is the ideal situation, I think."

Truly a unique situation: the man behind one of the most beloved characters in all of gaming wants his underlings to start coming up with their own ideas so he can get out of Dodge. Talk about being trapped by your own creation, I would pity him if it weren’t for the fact that he has already made more money than the next seven generations of my family combined.