I’ve always been a big proponent of having a photo mode in games ever since that feature was first introduced. Being able to pause a game and grab images has been a ton of fun and easily one of my favorite things about this current console generation. I’ve been able to make a lot of great content over the years thanks in large part to photo mode, from videos like my Driveclub montage to fun posts right here on Gamer Crash. Here are a couple of links if you’re interested: Horizon Zero Dawn, Photo Album 1, Photo Album 2.
While the feature is nothing new to the Uncharted franchise, the recent release of The Lost Legacy has given me a new appreciation for the underrated game feature. While playing the other night, I came upon this just epic view of a local Indian village at night. While it’s unfortunate that the city was partly on fire due to a civil war breaking out, the contrast between the night sky and burning yellows and oranges of fire really struck me.
Here’s a photo. Don’t worry, no spoilers here as this image is taken from the very first mission in the game.
Now, many photo modes also give players plenty of setting and options to tinker with including special filters. Here’s the same photo, with a different filter applied to it.
This second image really struck a chord with me. I sat there staring at it in amazement. I was floored at just how different the same picture looks all because of a new filter applied to it. It’s fascinating how such a simple change like applying a new filter can completely change the context of a picture or cause people to interpret the same image in a completely different way.
With this deep red hue applied, it gives the image a whole new meaning. It’s almost scary in nature now, providing a more foreboding feeling or sensation. To me, this could easily be a screenshot pulled from some horror game.
By the way, not to suddenly shift the tone of this article, but Naughty Dog took an element from Horizon Zero Dawn and went a step further with it. Inside photo mode you can change Chloe’s expression during gameplay, but what’s cooler is that you can also do this during cut scenes as well. Needless to say, this gives you plenty of opportunities to create some really outlandish or wacky photos. No matter if you’re watching an incredibly tense, emotional, or contemplative scene, you can capture something like this:
or even this:
I’m curious though, have you ever messed around with filters and found something similar? Are you a fan of photo mode in games?
