Snake Eater Operation Arctic Air Space ～ Bolshaya Past Base

This time the sneaking in is done using the Black Bird. Last time the sneaking in was done using the HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) descent, we wanted something more elaborate for the second one. The coloring being silver is because of Shin(kawa Yoji) and Mataan (Mechanic Design). For me personally, I wanted black color. (Lockheed YF-12A Black Bird, prototype, completed in 1962. Before final design went into mass production for the US Air Force in 1965, entire project got cancelled due to budget cuts made by US Secretary of Defense Robert Strange McNamara.)

The image here is pretty much the same as the prologue, but because it is not the transport plane, the feeling of speed is wholly different. And like in the prologue, the captions appear one word at a time in the 60's fashion.

"Payload" is referring to Snake.

Flying in the drone is an honor on par with that of Allan Shepard successfully orbiting in space. If any accident happens here Snake will become the "Six Million Dollar Man". Press the R1 button in the drone and look around in first person view... There is a poster of actress 菊地由美 Kikuchi Yumi! Oh～! Miss Yumi! (Allan Shepard, first American in space, 5.5.1961, aboard "Freedom 7", orbited earth for 15 minutes.) (Kikuchi Yumi, actress, Godzilla Final Wars, 2004.)

Snake : "俺たちの「ＦＯＸ」も死ぬのか？ Will our 'FOX' die as well?" This is a play on words. It is a reference tie in with the FOX DIE in the first MGS.

フォックス Zero : "いや、狐はまだ狩られない No, there isn't yet a fox hound." This is also a play on words. The line itself means the FOX Unit is not yet hounded, or being targeted and hunted by the government. But it is also saying that there is not yet a FOX HOUND Unit. (The word "hound" is used in the line in its verb form, meaning "hunt".)

The Boss is being referred to as a Voyevoda (ヴォエヴォーダ). Voyevoda is Russian for warrior, knight in training, leader of an organization, or someone with power in the military or the government. If the name is used on a woman, it can also mean a lady knight or a lady warrior. Looking in a cultural viewpoint of Russia, where numerous famous queens had appeared in its history, this is definitely not unthinkable. It is even a poetic and good name to call her.

The aurora borealis is shining in the background because they are taking the North Pole flight route. (Their previous flight route is now being watched with increased security, which is why it is necessary to take a different flight route.)

The drone is the D-21B Reconnaissance Drone. (Lockheed D-21B Reconnaissance Drone, first successful launch 3.5.1966, released from the Lockheed M-21 which is a variant of the Lockheed YF-12 and SR-71 Black Bird. The "D" in D-21 stands for "d"aughter, and the "M" in M-21 stands for "m"other.)

This is the second time they're sneaking into the same place, and because the place is under strict threat alert status and close surveillance, the Migs catch the drone's image on their radar.

The appearance of the Migs is for Mataan (Mechanic Design). The Mig pilots are wearing pressure suits, while Snake is only wearing combat uniform. This is the instant Snake becomes super-human (laughs). Later, this scene turns into an homage of the atmosphere entrance scene in "The Right Stuff".

The drone is flying like a Tomahawk, sneaking into the Soviet territory flying at super low altitude to avoid radar detection. It crossed the country's border. (BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile, US Navy, officially named 9.26.1975.)

The scene of Snake rolling on the ground during landing was done in motion capture in real time speed. I really wanted the challenge of doing something much cooler. It's similar to Snake's facial expression at the end, as if saying "can't do it!" (laughs).

Snake's radio communication pose is purposedly done to be reminiscent of the nanomachine communication pose in MGS1, crouching down low and touching his head with his hand, to push the radio switch.

His face dons the Black face paint because it is night time. (In the finished game, Snake is not wearing any face paint at the beginning of the Snake Eater Operation.)

After the radio conversation with Major Zero ends, call Para-Medic and she'll tell Snake about his physical condition being not fit for release from the hospital. After this mission, Para-Medic's medical doctor's license got taken away, and she lent a hand in the movement to establish the paramedic system.

Upon entering the jungle, the first thing to do is look for animals and stock up on food. That is the iron rule. This is a game like the story of the ant and the grasshopper. The Green Tree Python hanging off a tree at the entrance of the forest, that was put there as a reminder for the players telling them that there are snakes on the trees.

Snake : "どうしてここに？ Why are you here?" It being a pretend defection, The Boss knows about the Snake Eater Operation.

The Boss was designed based on the image of Charlotte Rampling. The imagery of this battle was "あしたのジョー (Tomorrow's Joe)". Notice the dust cloud of the forest coming upwards from the bottom?

The Boss' outfit and Andalusian horse are both white, to represent purity.

For the CQC combat moves between Snake and The Boss, we motion captured the performances twice, once with Mr Yoshida (Snake's motion actor), and once with Mr Mori. And we chose which take looked more painful to keep. In the end, most of the attack moves that ended up in the game were performed by Mr Mori.

The motion capture actress of The Boss, 平田絵理子 Hirata Eriko, during the filming of this line "帰れっ!" ("Go back!"), was already bursting out in tears. She had already read the script, and already knew how the story develops. So her acting during this scene is filled with heat and intensity.

When The boss says "我が息子達" ("my sons"), she is referring to the Cobra Unit. It is a tie in with MGS1. The Cobra Unit is the "Sons of The Boss (ザ･ボスの息子達)", and the Fox Hound Unit is the "Sons of Big Boss (ビッグ･ボスの息子達)".

The deciding CQC move of The Boss tossing Snake onto the ground was motion captured off of the movements of Mr Mori (Motosada 毛利元貞, Military Adviser). The above waist shot of The Boss in this scene was known as the "アンヌ隊員 Team Member Anne" cut. Doesn't it look like her? (友里アンヌ隊員 Team Member Anne Yuri of Ultraman Seven, played by ひし美ゆり子 Hishimi Yuriko, aka 菱見百合子 Hishimi Yuriko.)

The space suit looking outfit The Boss is wearing is the sneaking suit. If the player goes to a certain location you can find a black colored sneaking suit for Snake to wear. I would like him to wear that during the ending battle. Black and white, fighting in a field of white flowers. This shows which one is really the black one. This sneaking suit is to be further developed into the sneaking suits worn by Snake in MGS1 and MGS2.

The Boss aiming the Patriot at Snake was added later. In the original script The Boss doesn't aim the gun at Snake. (Original script refers to the initial finished script, the script with which all voices were recorded.)

Because the Patriot Pistol has a short barrel, its bullets rotate like hollow point bullets. You can see it rotate in high speed camera (slow motion). Its sound at this time sounds like the threatening noise a rattlesnake makes with its tail. There is no one who hears this sound and lives. (I don't think this rattlesnake sound idea is implemented in the game.)

The Boss, even after the drone has already exploded, still continues to hold down the trigger. It is as if she is trying to suppress and quiet some kind of anger that she continues firing. Here's a short shot of Snake's face, Snake sees it. The flame spreads in the forest. In an instant the forest becomes a sea of fire. This is a demonstration of the Patriot's power. It even shoots continuously. The forest of Yakushima (屋久島) burns. (屋久島 Yakushima, where the forest of Dremuchij was modelled after. Because of it, the area is commonly referred to as such among the production staff.)

With the lightning strikes, The Sorrow appears behind The Boss. Go into first person view and you'll see The Sorrow standing very close next to The Boss, almost as if he's leaning on her. If you don't press the button then it will only be Snake's facial expression.

The Boss flipping and covering herself with the manteau gave the modeling team a really hard time. That one cut took them several days.

The Boss' black colored manteau covering her white sneaking suit is another black and white symbolism.

Seeing Snake wearing her bandana, The Boss scolds him, but really she is somewhat happy in her heart.

The horse crushed Snake's hand, he should have gotten serious injury.

Eva : "少し遅れたかしら？ Am I a little late?" This line is spoken in English.

Snake : "「愛国者は」？ 'Who is the patriot'?" We considered having the shibboleth (code phrase) be "パトリオット patoriotto (patriot)", but decided to keep "愛国者 aikokushya (patriot)". It is clearer as a word tie in with the "愛国者達 aikokushyatachi (patriots)" of MGS2 this way. (In the game, the phrase is pronounced 愛国者 aikokushya (patriot), and the captions read 愛国者 aikokushya (patriot) only.) (Shibboleths in history: 「がぎぐげご Ga-gi-gu-ge-go」 - After the 関東大震災 Great Kanto Earthquake (9.1.1923), this shibboleth was used to identify Koreans from Japanese, due to the Korean syllable system's inability to pronounce the "G" sound without an audible accent. Koreans were believed to have poisoned the water supplies after the earthquake, and were executed once identified. 「ばびぶべぼ Ba-bi-bu-be-bo」 - This shibboleth was used in wartime to detect Korean spies, due to the Korean syllable system's inability to pronounce the "B" sound without an audible accent. 「Lollapalooza」 - This shibboleth was used by Americans during World War II (1939 ～ 1945) to identify Japanese from Chinese, due to the Japanese syllable system's inability to pronounce the "L" sound without an audible accent.)

Snake : "「愛国者は」？ 'Who is the patriot'?" This question is answered several times in the game. In the ending, the President declares that Snake is the patriot. But Eva reveals the truth, and The Boss is the true patriot.

Surrounded by four GRU soldiers, barehanded and weaponless, and aimed at gun point. Even if Snake wanted to activate CQC, his eyes can't see clearly.

Eva : "伏せて！ Get down!" This line is spoken in English.

Here it comes! The Mauser! ("M712 Schnellfeuer", 1896, German, 7.63mm x 25mm caliber, 30cm length, 1.3kg weight, 900 rpm. Refined model "M1932 Schnellfeuer Pistole", 1932, single or full automatic.) I have wanted to use this gun in the past but every time was unable to. This time I wanted to include this gun no matter what. However, the actor didn't know the Mauser so it caused a lot of trouble. In this scene, Eva shoots using a special technique. Shooting the pistol horizontally, firing consecutively. It was said that robbers in China shoot using this technique, this is a hint to Eva's origin.

This cut, of Eva shaking her head with the moon in the back, the hair simulation was very difficult.

First person view here when Eva introduces herself! Fan service. That's 峰不二子 Mine Fujiko (from ルパン三世 Lupin III)! Eros of the 60's. For 18 and above. If Eva didn't unzip the front of her jacket, there would be no point to her character.

First person view at this time and you'll see Eva's cleavage. Only the people who's seen in first person view can be able to understand Snake's feeling.

In this scene in the Sokolov Room, Snake was originally sitting on the bed half naked (shirtless), and treating the injuries he received from The Boss. In the finished game, he smokes a cigar.

Eva : "…誘惑してみる？ ...Want to try and tempt me?" Snake : "ＡＤＡＭはどうした？ What happened to ADAM?" About Snake not responding to her flirtatious remark, Eva is dissatisfied. And it shows on her face. She is thinking, "this man is no fun."

Snake keeps thinking about Eva's shooting skills from before, that is why he starts talking about Eva's Mauser, even though it is not related to the mission.

Eva : "西側にはないやり方でしょ？ It is a technique that doesn't exist in the West, right?" Because it is a technique of China.

Snake only glimpses the carvings on the side of the Mauser Military, and already he knows it's a copy. Eva directs the focus to the value and rarity of the pistol, to shift the focus away from the fact that it got seen through that the gun was made in China, because it can expose her true identity.

The carvings on the Mauser Military are for the gun maniacs. There are Chinese words written on it. It's made in China. Here Snake is given a 45, and Snake is overjoyed. Snake = gun maniac theory. Here Hirano So and Toyota So and Shinkawa had a lot of fun authenticating all the weaponry. The second gun Eva gives Snake, the tranquilizer gun she places on the bed, that's the same gun that was disassembled by The Boss on the rope bridge reassembled.

Snake has already described the gun in some detail. But if you want even more detailed descriptions, call Sigint on the radio.

Originally Snake was going to get a completely original gun, a fictional gun fit for a spy. But the staff kept saying to me why don't we do this, why don't we do that, and one of the ideas was that Snake is a gun maniac. So the idea of Snake going on and on about the gun came about, like he's a gun maniac in a gun shop, looking at all the new arrivals in the display case. So we rewrote Snake's dialogue here. I heard the idea came about because of Mr Yoshida (Snake's motion actor), who is something of an expert on guns, and would explain about guns a lot.

During conversation, Snake is immediately already starting to carve the grip of the gun. This was a technique taught by Mori Motosada. We were having trouble thinking of how Snake could hold the gun and the knife at the same time, because it is more accurate to aim using both hands, but Snake has a knife in the other hand, and Mr Mori said just carve the grip. So we used that in the game.

Eva doesn't understand why Snake is carving the gun grip. She asks, so Snake can explain it to the player.

Snake weakening at the knees when he tries to stand up was not written in the original script.

Snake : "君は？ What about you?" What Snake means is "Aren't you going to be my guide?", and not "Don't you need a guide?".

Snake : "いや、もう誰も信用できない No, I can't trust anyone anymore." Because he was betrayed by The Boss. Hearing that, Eva's body language is saying "やれやれ yare yare" (similar to "oy vei").

Eva is sending message on the radio to China here.

The next day, after Game Save and sleeping, here Life and Stamina recovering in full is an exception, because it is a practice, a demonstration. (Because during play, Life and Stamina doesn't recover in full just because there is a game save.)

When Snake wakes up, press R1 and it's the close up of Eva's chest, view normally and it's Eva's changing scene. Both good. This is for the players to practice using the R1 button. Also, press R1 lightly and Snake's eyes will be opened narrowly, press it strongly and Snake's eyes will open widely and see better. This is a world first, pressure sensitive eyelids (laughs). And it is put to use for the first time here.

Even when being surrounded by enemies, Snake can still focus on Eva's chest. Pretending to be looking out the window, but looking at Eva's chest.

In this scene, the gun Ocelot is holding is the engraved model. This is the only place it appears. He brought it expecting to be praised by Snake. To Ocelot, he brought a revolver just like Snake said to, but it didn't work, the shock to him is great. Around his neck is the commemorative bullet that jammed before. Ocelot wears it as a pendant.

The bullet is fitted with an attachment, allowing it to be compatible and fireable with a revolver. It is a ring with the same diameter as a Single Action Army bullet, passed through the Makarov bullet, which is made into a pendant. It is adapted to be fired with a Single Action Army anytime he wants to chamber and fire it.

Ocelot : "その構え、その構えだ That stance, it's that stance!" Ocelot seems happy, he's been hoping to see that stance again. He's very happy about meeting Snake. Because he loses concentration, Eva almost gets away from him. Ocelot : "動くな！ Don't move!" That's why he grabs onto Eva harder, and subsequently notices her breasts. Ocelot : "女スパイか？ Woman spy?" He smells Eva, and remembers the smell of her perfume. This smell will later expose Eva's identity to Ocelot during the torture scene.

Snake starts a conversation with Ocelot, because Eva is taken hostage, and he is trying to buy some time and find a chance to change the situation.

Snake : "実用と鑑賞用は違う There is a difference between for-practical-use and for-aesthetic-use." Ocelot : "く… Grrr..." Ocelot is deeply hurt by what Snake just said here.

To Ocelot's surprise, there are no more bullets left in the revolver. The Makarov has 8+1 bullets, but the SAA has only 6, so it's empty. Ocelot is used to the Makarov, and this difference slipped his mind.

Ocelot is about to try to reload, so his hold on Eva loosens, and Eva takes this opportunity and moves into action.

Originally, this scene plays out differently. After Eva kicks Ocelot, he doesn't fall from the platform. Eva jumps down and gets on her bike. Then Ocelot also jumps down, and grabs onto Eva's arm. The two get tangled together, and so Snake doesn't pull the trigger. Eva then steps hard on the accelerator, stands up on only the rear tire like a horse, and attacks using the raised front tire. Ocelot loses balance but still won't let go. And Eva tries to stand with the rear wheel only. And the two struggle on some more. This entire scene is cut in the finished game.

The scene of the jumping bike, we managed to film it with motion capture. It took a lot of time though. The tire mark on Ocelot's forehead, it was very light at first, we made it darker. For a laugh.

Ocelot looks at Snake, his face filled with frustration from his two failures and losses of composure. But he likes Snake even more.

Snake stops Eva from shooting the running away Ocelot because he is starting to like Ocelot.

Snake and Ocelot, from the first moment they set eyes upon each other, they both fell into liking with each other. It is a pure love.

We had considered having real time weather changes throughout the game, but in the end we only implemented it in this swampland area (Chyornyj Prud) and in The End's area (Sokrovenno).

Other than the Hind, there is also the food storage and the weapon storage here at the Bolshaya Past Base. If you blow up the food storage with the TNT, the enemies' stomachs will go empty, so if Snake leaves food on the ground, they will slowly approach. Similarly, blow up the weapon storage, and the enemies' weapons will run low on ammunition. You can of course also blow up the Hind. If you blow it up here, the Hind will not appear later on. In the past there was this arcade gun-shooting game, where if you destroy the radio base, less enemies will appear. This was inspired from that image.