You knew?!
We had a couple of run-ins in the past.
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The Solid Snake method?
Yes, the Solid Snake method.
cut into a film reel of developers sitting in front of computers coding
You see, in 1998 Konami both developed and published an action-adventure stealth game, starring a returning hero, code-named Solid Snake. His usual way of conversation evolved around a normative active listening technique very popular in Japan.
cut into more film reel of cherry blossom trees
This eventually was turned into a meme on the internet.
film reel ends, Hexbear is in front of you again
…“Big Chungus”?
Didn’t you ever watch old cartoons Snake? Big Chungus is the name of a single panel of a 1940s bugs bunny cartoon. It was turned into an internet meme a year or so after you destroyed the Patriots AI thing in that really fucking confusing couple of weeks where we met Drebin. So they arent even to blame for it.
…Hex Bear? Like the animal?
Yes Snake. Your contact in Pakistan. Named after a radical communist resistance group in Karachi. It got destroyed after repeated ideological struggle sessions involving cats, but it’s exceptional meme skills still inspire the common people to this day
I can hear this comment. Like I can hear the cut into the film reel, I know exactly what it looks like and sounds like, I hear it in Liquid Snake’s voice. Thank you.
I’m glad you like it!
kinda ran out of steam at the end but I was trying to go for the authentic MGS1 cutscene experience
sorry i still don’t understand what the method is
Snake tends to just repeat the last part of someone’s sentence in a question inflection. Prompts them to keep talking and makes you look more engaged with them. Goofy as hell with his 2000s Game Protagonist voice but it works pretty good
2000s Game Protagonist voice?
think the batman voice where you yell growl
it’s a method of continuing a conversation by asking the end of the other person’s sentence as a question. for example:
them: i like this cake, it tastes like my childhood
you: your childhood?or
them: i went on a hike in a national park
you: a national park?As a question?
So, you just walk up to people having a conversation and listen as if you were a part of it? Is it expected that they address you at some point? If they do, should you reply or just keep staring?
There should be some Shinkawa art along with the stock footage
Can’t believe how many people you got with this, it really does work
it’s a method of continuing a conversation by asking the end of the other person’s sentence as a question. for example:
them: i like this cake, it tastes like my childhood
you: your childhood?or
them: i went on a hike in a national park
you: a national park?
For anyone interested in why Snake’s echo questions are so prevalent, it’s because the localizers starting with Metal Gear Solid decided to translate ですか, or desu ka in that way.
In Japanese conversation, ですか is sometimes at the end of a phrase after a key noun as a way to clarify or keep a conversation flowing. You see it a lot of the time translated as something like “you say?” or even “huh?”.
“I’ve been reading a lot of Snake x Ocelot yaoi.”
“Snake x Ocelot yaoi, you say?”
Linguistically, this is an example of backchanneling, which in Japanese is called Aizuchi. When translating MGS, instead of adding something like “you say?” all the time, it was usually just left as the phrase or noun repeated in question inflection. It’s gramatically/linguistically correct, but the sheer amount of it (and the meme-worthy nature of the series) makes it stand out as a very Snake-y way of speaking.
Additionally, if anyone’s interested, here’s a great article written by Jeremy Blaustein, who was the English localizer for Metal Gear Solid 1: The bizarre, true story of Metal Gear Solid’s English translation. It’s not very long, but I love the detail he goes into about his thought process behind some of the decisions. It also illustrates why MGS1’s localization feels slightly different from the rest of the series. I just love Metal Gear so I love reading all about it.
Reminds me of the style of conversation ELIZA used.
Weizenbaum chose to make the DOCTOR script in the context of psychotherapy to “sidestep the problem of giving the program a data base of real-world knowledge”, allowing it to reflect back the patient’s statements to carry the conversation forward. The result was a somewhat intelligent-seeming response that reportedly deceived some early users of the program.
That’s fascinating.
The last time I saw Hideo Kojima, we were both naked.
Oh, I’m going to like this article.
Back in the mid 2000s when fansitea were a thing Jeremy Blaustein did a semi open interview on the long dead Snakesoup forum. Another user who was bilingual did a borderline paragraph by paragraph comparison of the English and Japanese versions of the both mgs1 and 2 and compared the localization methods and also cleared up some misconceptions that came from the translations of both. For example, the Japanese mgs1 script states that big boss had his DNA jacked for les enfants terribles while in a hospital for injuries suffered in battle, only the English version has Liquid specifically say he was in a coma. Big Boss didn’t have 2 comas.
I’ve been using this for years as part of masking without realizing it. It’s the easiest way to keep a conversation going. The slightly more advanced method is asking related questions but copying the person word-for-word with a raised inflection works in a pinch
MGS is just active listening with vocal fry
Vocal fry?
Do you have to make those David Hayter grunting noises, too?
hrrnnm…
hrrrnnnggg metal gear?!
I sometimes do that in lieu of a response and it gets the point across. Ive got all the speech patterns of a cool action hero but my natural voice sounds like Canadian Robert Smith
Or the Mei Ling method of always quoting proverbs
Mei Ling’s accent is so cute in MGS 1 it’s a bummer they didn’t keep it for her cameo in 4.
Yeah that threw me off. Also, why does Ocelot have a smooth cowboy voice in 5 and a ghoulish crackly voice in 1 and 2?
idk, nanomachines lol
Cause he’s 20-25 years younger. He didnt have a ghoulish crackly voice in Snake Eater when he was 18. A dude in his sixties is gonna sound a bit different than a dude in his early 40s
Naomi’s voice was hit the hardest for the twin snakes/4 voice change. Also Mei Ling was born in America and from what ive heard thats why they decided to do away with the accent.
Oh I thought she migrated to the states, makes sense.
Dunno if they’d let a Chinese immigrant be the data analyst for a rediculously classified mission like shadow Moses. But then again they got who they thought was Miller on board without verifying where his signal was coming from or his identity in any way, like even if it wasnt secretly Liquid homie used to do that whole Diamond Dogs and MSF thing and probably shouldn’t be trusted to the point where he takes part in the mission cause he knows about Alaska. You’re indoors and Snake fucking lives there too
This is unironically incredibly helpful to me. I just gotta hope I remember to not do the voice
The voice?
The Voice is a popular American TV show. It began airing back in 2011 and is still going to this very day! It’s a reality show, Snake. A singing contest, where unknown talent competes before a panel of celebrity judges. It’s based off of a European show called Voice of Holland, developed by the Talpa network. But if you were to ask the average American, they would most likely tell you it’s an NBC original.
A television show?
That’s right Snake, broadcast television. It may seem outdated now, what with streaming services and CODEC, but it’s still out there. Of course the signal is digital now. That all became standardized beginning shortly after The Shadow Moses Incident. The transmission method is still the same as its always been though, by radio frequency. But now because of the use of multiplex transmitters, TV, radio and even data transmissions can be broadcast on a single frequency. Recent developments in video compression have also helped to bring broadcast to the digital age. Although most people are buying wi-fi routers than rabbit ears by a wide margin. Makes you think, the programming used to be free with your television because radio signals couldn’t be controlled, then there was the Cable Revolution of the 80s and 90s, the privileged few would get there own personal selection hard wired directly to their home from the station. Now with things like YouTube,.Netflix and GW with their subscription fees, personalized algorithms nuclear submarines powered by AI our entertainment has become more and more personalized. I can never choose which Japanese Anime I want to watch on the crunchyroll website and often fall asleep while trying to decide. Snake, I know we’re fighting for freedom, but there are moments where restrictions are more free. I hope that helps with your mission. Good luck!
Nono, it doesn’t work well without the voice
One could even say the voice is the key element
key element?
Do the voice. If you can. The roughness doesnt come from the throat, more from your upper palette and nasal passages. Most of my best impressions are of gravely voiced guys like Snake, Lemmy and Randy Savage (my randy savage is absolutely perfect, can’t even be modest about that one). Its also how you do screamy vocals for music without ruining your throat
Psycho Mantis?!
…you’re that ninja
“No! That is NOT Solid Snake!”
Love how he just totally blows his top over a guy using his code name when he’s been chill af considering the circumstances for the rest of the game.
A surveillance camera?
Major… I’M BURNING UP!!!
