Metal Gear Solid's Torture Segment Is Brilliant
2025-01-21 01:40:00 UTC
Metal Gear Solid's torture segment is brilliant. It puts the player directly in the shoes of the character.
As Snake is being tortured by Ocelot, the player has to mash the Circle button relentlessly for four rounds before Snake is sent back to his cell. The player is given the offer to give up at any time. The stakes for Snake are whether he lives or dies. That doesn't quite work for the player, though. The characters death amounts to a saved-game reload for the player. So, the game introduces real stakes for the player: endure and succeed or Meryl, an NPC, dies permanently.
Having Snake sent back to his cell gives a much needed respite to the player before being tortured again...and make no mistake, mashing the Circle button is brutal. Your tricep will ache. However, a good soldier like Solid Snake wouldn't just use this time to rest. Neither should the player. The character is in a cell with a cot and the dead DARPA chief. He's been stripped of his equipment and weapons...or has he? The player is expected to realize they still have their codec. If not, the player will have to endure more and more of these torture sessions until finally being bailed out by the NPC, Grey Fox.
If the player uses their codec to speak to Campbell, Naomi will use the controller to physically massage the player's tricep. If the player remembers that Otacon has stealth camo, they can call him and ask for a rescue.
After another episode of torture, the character is back in the cell. The guard will go to the bathroom and now the player has an opportunity to escape, had they been thinking on their toes despite at least eight rounds of button mashing. They can hide under their cot to make the guard think Snake has escaped. If instead they called Otacon during the last respite, Otacon will provide some rations and ketchup for Snake to eat. Otacon's not a soldier, after all. However, the player can have the character lie on the ground and use the ketchup to feign an open wound. If so, the guard will enter the cell, giving Snake a chance to escape.
This whole segment is such brilliant game design. The character is clearly being tortured and cleared trying to escape with quick thinking. That's nothing new. However, the game also tortures the player and forces the player to engage in quick thinking. The game even physically soothes the player using the controller motors.
Never before in a video game had there been such a tight coupling between the player-character and the player. It's absolutely brilliant.