User:Solutain/sandbox/Midnight Steak

= Midnight Steak (Metal Gear character) = Midnight Steak is a video game character removed from Metal Gear, created by Hideo Kojima and developed and published by Konami. Steak is the original concept for the player character and primary protagonist of Metal Gear (video game), released in 1987.

Designed by Hideo Kojima, Steak's character was scrapped from the game mere weeks before release at the insistence of publisher Konami. Known information of Midnight Steak is sourced from testimonials from the game's development team as well as data recovered from a near-complete prototype.

Characteristics and Gameplay
Steak's inclusion would not have altered gameplay mechanics significantly and would provide mainly superficial deviations from the released version of Metal Gear. Steak would speak little throughout the game, offering occasional dialog in the form of situationally appropriate quips. Dialog varies by localization region. Steak's lines in the game's European English translation include:


 * "Get ready for some beef!"
 * "This is just the wurst."
 * "Your life is at steak."

Steak's appearance resembles marbled beef. Long-range attacks involve propelling the bone of T-bone steak s with a crossbow. Short-range melee attacks involve impacting enemies with a rib eye steak, as with a blunt object. Short-range stealth attacks involve pacifying enemies from behind with a strip of skirt steak, as with garrote wire.

Removal from Final Title
During translation, Konami's localization team grew increasingly concerned with the conflicting tone Midnight Steak brought to the game, eventually spurring Konami to demand the character's removal. Midnight Steak was reworked as Solid Snake, bringing changes to character model and dialog.

This change significantly affected director Hideo Kojima's attitude towards the rising video game industry. Following Kojima Productions' split from Konami in 2015 as an independent game studio, Kojima stated in a 2016 interview, "Metal Gear could have been such a different series. To have a publisher fundamentally alter a game's vision so late in its development is something I simply cannot condone." Kojima would later go on to hint at the inclusion of Midnight Steak in a future, standalone title.