​MGS 2 and MGS 4 Documentaries

Metal Gear Solid 2 was quite interesting because they took inspiration and elements from so many sources and put them together. More specifically, I noticed how one of their characters was based off a Spanish dancer. When I saw that, I imagined they would just base the looks on him; however, the character replicated the dancer in movement as well. I also liked how they went to a sound designer who worked on films for the sound design of their game because they wanted to give the game that sort of feeling and the designers liked the type of sounds that that designer has done in the past.

Compared to MGS 4, the documentary didn’t show as much about the design of the game and how they went about doing that. It focused more on the editing of the game to bring it from what it was to the best possible game they can produce at that time. It was interesting to see what the designers cared more about when making the second one versus making the fourth one. With the second one, they were more focused on taking their vision and turning it into life whereas for the fourth game, they had this reputation to uphold. Thus, there was so much pressure to make last minute changes and improving the game to meet the standards they set.

My process of designing and working on projects isn’t that far off from what I noticed in the two documentaries. Similarly, I’d start with the basics and get everything I want into the project and then spend whatever time I have refining and changing things so that it’s as good as I can make it. I likely won’t change my process much because I find that getting the bare minimum down and then building from there is a good way to work because if you run out of time to complete something, you will still have something to show that’s complete rather than partially thought out.