The Joy of In-Game Photography

How hundreds of hours of gaming have improved my photography skills.

Image taken from Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Ubisoft

I’m an enthusiastic amateur photographer, and my holidays are marked by the hundreds of photos I take. Beautiful views, historic artefacts, even the occasional snap of my food.

The camera is the first thing on my packing list. I used to pack two or three lenses for my trusty Nikon on every trip (and invariably leave the one I needed at home), and factor in time for photography when planning my excursions.

I just didn’t expect this to happen in a virtual world as well.

And yet, since Grand Turismo 4 came out in 2004 (which introduced the first real photo mode in games that allowed users to export images), virtual photography has become a more popular part of modern gaming.

Not long ago, I finished playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — this had photography as one of the game playing techniques. Once you had guided Indy to finding the camera, taking photos at certain spots became a vital part of the game, and a way of getting hints to solve puzzles.

But it wasn’t just at those moments you could take photos — it was anywhere you wanted. And there were moments where you could take a photo and then give it to a character in the game. It was a fun…