Lights, Controller, Action!

Photographers often say, “The best camera is the one you have with you.” For modern fans of video games, that camera happens to be a controller.  Thirty years ago, the term “photo mode” would’ve meant nothing to gamers. Game designers and industry pioneers first created games for the act of play in the digital space.  As the industry grew, games evolved to include engaging narratives and lore. Today, we find ourselves entering game worlds that have such fidelity and striking art direction that any given frame of a playthrough can be frozen, printed, and hung on a wall. This leaves both gamers and developers with a small quandary: how can we create something even more out of these meticulously created worlds?

The answer has become abundantly clear with the explosion of the photo mode. Photo modes are changing the way we engage with games and are inspiring a community of virtual photographers (VPs). Let’s take a look at where this popular feature began, and where it’s going. Throughout this brief history, we’ll hear from numerous VPs and how they’ve come to harness this burgeoning feature to express their own creativity and create visibility for the games themselves.