By overtly displaying his name in the beginning of the game, Kojima is making another reference to film and perhaps just other areas of art. Non-commercial art is generally associated with the name of a creator or visionary. Directors of films, regardless of how many other people worked on the picture, are credited with having primary ownership of the picture. Writers of a book might have their name attached to a film regardless of their eventual involvement. Although gamers who have become interested in the workings of the industry might be able to rattle off names of famous game designers, the vast majority of people aware of the existence of video games would have trouble naming a single game designer, let alone associating designers with particular games. By blatantly connecting his name to Metal Gear Solid, Kojima is not only engaging in self-promotion, he is attempting to put video games on the same level of other areas of art, where a single person can claim to have imprinted his vision on what is essentially an ensemble production. In doing so, Kojima adds to the possibilities of a cult of personality in video games, an industry that has been dominated by the abstract entities of companies and developer teams.

But Kojima’s real usage of film techniques is most glaringly obvious in the sequences following the place stamp. One of the techniques is the use of an embedded narrative—as we hear the words of the introductory dialogue spoken, it becomes clear that the story is being told by somebody who is taking part in it. There is also dislocation of time in the narration, as, logically, the narration must be taking place before the visuals—it is unlikely that the Colonel would tell Snake that he would be using a mini-submarine fired from a torpedo tube if Snake were already in said sub. The visuals themselves are riddled with film techniques. During the conversation between the Colonel and Snake, the point of view engages in crosscutting—switching from location to location, visually leading the player through Snake’s initial infiltration of the base. Once inside, there is the animated equivalent of a crane shot, moving across the dock to create a sense of the space in which Snake will be operating.

If the technical cues weren’t enough, Kojima reveals his sources by peppering the game with references to popular films. The opening shot of the nuclear submarine could have been taken directly from Hunt For Red October, and the references to John Carpenter’s Escape From New York and Escape From L.A. are almost too many to list; they include the name of the main character, as well as the plot of infiltrating an island with the intent of rescuing hostages.

Kojima borrows techniques from the world of film because he’s interested in telling a story. Film, and the techniques that it uses, can be used to cause viewers to become invested in the story that’s being presented to them. The sense of space created by camera techniques used in film can really help the player understand the layout of the levels he is traversing, and create a better sense of the game taking place in a world of greater scope than the player experiences. One aspect of this used by Kojima is the presentation of events that could not be seen by Snake given his current position in the game—conversations or events taking place elsewhere in the compound. The cutscenes and codec conversations also manage to present to the viewer the concept that there are parts of the narrative that are being intentionally held both from Snake and from the player. This is essential to the nature of the story in Metal Gear Solid, as it helps the player empathize with Snake’s frustration with being kept in the dark.

However, film is first and foremost a passive experience. The viewer is effectively removed from the rest of the audience through darkness and socially enforced silence. Unlike a play, there can be no interaction between the actors and the audience, and the movie will continue on regardless of the actions of the viewer, short of destruction of the projection equipment. Even presented in the form of a home viewing, the film experience is that of the viewer passively observing. And most importantly, viewers have no control over the presentation or outcome of the story.