Kojima says “sexy” would have been a better word to use than “erotic” and that there’s a reason the bikini-clad sniper dresses the way she does.

Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima has elaborated on a string of tweets made earlier this week where he spoke about asking Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain‘s artist to make a female character “more erotic” to boost figurine sales and encourage cosplay.

Discussing the choice of phrasing, Kojima said “sexy” would have been a better choice of word. “Maybe the phrase ‘erotic’ wasn’t really [the correct word for] what I was trying to say,” Kojima said in an interview with Polygon.

The character at the heart of the reaction to Kojima’s comments, bikini-clad sniper Quiet, is meant to be unique, according to Kojima. “What I’m really trying to do is create unique characters. One of those is, of course, Quiet. She’s a really unique character. I wanted to add that sexiness to her. It wasn’t really supposed to be erotic, but sexy.”

Kojima also added that his focus on sexiness was a characteristic for the character. “You’re going to notice [when you play,] but there’s limited dialogue with the [Metal Gear Solid 5], and for that reason we really want to show the characteristic from each character,” Kojima added. “Sexy could be for guys, weapons, vehicles, it’s really that characteristic.”

Longtime Metal Gear Solid artist Yoji Shinkawa agreed with Kojima. “From my perspective, it’s not just the characters, but often I look at a weapon or a vehicle and think ‘That’s really sexy,'” he said. “It’s not just the characters, but the mechs and weapons [as well.]”

Model Stefanie Joosten, who provides the motion capture for Quiet, adds that there’s a definite reason the character is dressed the way she is. “Of course, I was surprised to see Quiet’s outfit at first,” she said. “But, you know, it fits in the Metal Gear universe, I think. I don’t think I’m allowed to say a lot about this, but, well, Mr. Kojima has his reasons for deciding why Quiet [is] wearing what she’s wearing.”

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