For those who’ve followed this blog for the past couple weeks, you know that I have a newfound appreciation of (obsession for?) work that blurs the line between videogame player and author. While most of the videos I’ve found do extra manipulation outside of the game (e.g. video effects), here’s a video that turns the available tools from Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater into a space for composition. Normally, it’s a stealth action game; in this video it’s a photography sandbox. The author manipulates soldiers in the game, either by tranquilizing them or scaring them into submission. 

Many of these moments highlight the more obscure programming decisions in the game – more than one shows the guards’ total distraction by the placement of adult magazines in their midst, for example. At their best, however, these moments show the game as a compositional space and the intimate understanding of the game engine necessary to create something like this, especially when the game engine is not open for modification.