Legendary game director Hideo Kojima says he doesn’t spend much time playing video games—despite being one of the industry’s most celebrated auteurs. Speaking at the New Global Sport Conference (via Rolling Stone), the Death Stranding 2 creator explained that he usually plays “maybe one game a year” because games require a significant time commitment, and his inspiration comes from the world outside gaming.

“I don’t play games so much,” Kojima said. “I watch movies, read books, meet people, and go to museums. I’m not copying anything from a game. And there are a lot of game creators just watching other games.”

For Kojima, drawing from diverse sources is crucial. He cited Ghost in the Shell director Mamoru Oshii and Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo as examples of visionaries whose work was shaped by influences beyond anime, including European cinema.

“I think young people are playing games a lot, and that’s good,” he added. “But on top of that, I want people to feel art or see art and then digest it themselves and create new games. We should think outside the box and be stimulated by things all around us.”

Kojima emphasized that while he does test his own projects, he avoids immersing himself in too many other games, choosing instead to pull ideas from film, literature, art, and everyday life. “Games take a lot of time, and I probably just play maybe one game a year. What’s happening outside the game world is more important to me to incorporate into my game.”

The message? For aspiring developers, and maybe even gamers, Kojima is essentially encouraging everyone to “touch grass”—not as a critique, but as advice for creating more original, meaningful art.