the green tree python

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note: this post was written many years ago. i don't exactly remember when

i recently played and finished "metal gear solid 2: sons of liberty" and "metal gear solid 3: subsistence" on playstation 2. while i thoroughly enjoyed the former, the latter is what left the bigger mark. there's much to be said about the fantastic story and characters, even almost two decades later, but the thing i had the most fun with was interacting with the environment

there's one particular area called graniny gorki south. it's night time. there are no enemies around, just a couple of primitive traps you'd find in the vietcong game and a lot of wildlife. rabbits, snakes, frogs, birds, and a japanese flying squirrel. if you block out the dead scientists hanging from trees, the environment is actually rather unremarkable in terms of story importance which is precisely what made it magical to me. i spent roughly 40 minutes just taking in the scenery, taking a long, hard look at the local fauna through binoculars and observing the animals' behavior. it's hard to describe the emotion the map invokes in me. fortunately, the english dictionary has a word for it that comes close: tranquility

i think there's also a term for the gaming experience i had: bringing one's own fun. it mostly applies to sandbox games like g-mod or the alpha versions of minecraft, both games where there really is no driving force motivating you to play other than your own imagination. what makes the experience special in the case of mgs3 is that it's actually a very driven medium. perhaps i'd even go as far as saying that it's on-rails action in a good way. it's expertly paced, interspersing the tension-filled or all out explosive moments with lots of quiet. time to reflect, time to talk to your colleagues via radio and learn about the world you move around in. there's no one unpromptedly screaming in your ear about how you should hurry and better do this or that before the entire world dies in silence due to your inaction

the last time i felt bliss in a video game like that was when i finally got into stardew valley after multiple tries and it wouldn't let me go for days. that game is the definition of comfort food. again, what makes my experience with mgs3 much more interesting is that it's a playable magical realist thriller about espionage. an engaging spin on the events of the currently very relevant cold war and its consequences for civilian, soldier and politician alike. an enchanting story of love and betrayal. and yet, there were a lot of times where i happily chose to remove myself from that cosmos to stalk, observe and listen to the crows and avadavats. for me, the game evokes the concept of slow living and being present. forgoing the hunt at times to simply exist, taking in one's surroundings. granting yourself some respite from the hardships placed upon us. once more, a very current affair

snake eater/subsistence is also edutainment software. the protagonist is backed by a team of experts assisting from afar, mainly by creating a flow of information. every piece of equipment, every camoflage pattern, every animal, every potential health ailment, every environment, every situation encountered is an opportunity for you to pause the action and call the respective specialist for more details on what is in front of you. and they will be happy to provide those details to you. all you have to do is ask them to. for example, did you know that the coral snake is one of the most venomous species of snakes you can encounter? it sports an interesting skin pattern typically consisting of red and black scales. the purpose of the colorful attire is letting predators know they are venomous and therefore suboptimal prey. it's apparently also pretty tasty. there's actually another type of snake with a very similar dress-up called the milk snake. despite what the name might imply, it looks dangerously similar to the colorful coral snake. unlike its lookalike however, it is entirely non-venomous to humans

I’m a negative of a person. All I want is blackness, blackness and silence - Sylvia Plath