based gameplay with the  MSX2s hardware limitations in mind. Since the MSX could barely  handle conventional action games (due to the fact that the screen  would flicker when too many animated objects were present, and the  hardware couldnt handle scrolling very well), Kojima decided to  make a game where the player had to avoid contact with the enemy  instead of fighting. Kojima got the idea from  _Great Escape, The (1963)_ (qv) and originally wanted to make the  game about a POW escaping from the enemys prison. However, Kojimas  co