Interview Task

Steffan Griffiths - Interview for BA (Hons) Computer Games Design

[Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater]

KCEJ West’s distinct use of hardware to immerse the player in the Metal Gear universe, in the title - Metal Gear Solid 3, I believe, is an unforgivably overlooked feat in innovation. The simplest idea is often the most innovative, which is why the development team’s use of the internal PlayStation2 clock to continually monitor the player is particularly original.

When Snake’s [the protagonist’s] food rots to various degrees depending on how long the player has left the game unplayed, a completely new level of immersion is reached. This alone could be viewed as an invaluable idea for other developers to expand upon. Yet, Kojima’s team, as is expected, took the concept further - altering fundamental parts of the experience using one of the console’s basic utilities.

If the player is relieved of battling a major boss character - an uncannily aged Russian sniper - due to the game having been saved before the battle, left for a week, and then resumed, the player could logically only feel a sheer sense of gratitude if s/he were fortunate enough to have experienced this mechanic in an initial play-through of the title.

The team even took the concept a step further again, by using the ‘game save’ mechanic to develop character - a truly independent way of adding to the experience. It is a challenge to find another title which is daring enough to insert an entirely separate mini-game to represent the protagonist’s nightmare, induced by a fear of vampires.

It is also disappointing to see other developers not pick up on - or expand upon - these pioneering conceptions. Some industry participants are dismissive enough to even label these details as ‘something only the Japanese do’.