With Metal Gear it uses codenames Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, Revolver Ocelot, Psycho Mantis, and Decoy Octopus are descriptive callsigns; the name tells you something about the character.
Death Stranding: the name sounds odd using ordinary modern words, but its occupational meaning becomes relevant again. “Sam Porter Bridges” sounds like a normal surname until you realize that Sam is literally a porter. The old relationship between name and occupation has been restored, making the name feel simultaneously archaic and futuristic.
Physint could take this in a more spy-oriented direction. Rather than occupational surnames, we may see codenames functioning as identities that can change, persist, or eventually be replaced, much like Snake becoming Big Boss, or Solid Snake later becoming Old Snake.
Depending on the world in which it is set, PHYSINT could approach naming in several different ways.
If it takes place in the far future, like Death Stranding, a similar naming convention might already exist within the culture. If it is set in a more contemporary or near-future world, however, the names might sound quite ordinary. Codenames could also be more mundane, depending on the circumstances in which the characters find themselves. Rather than using elaborate aliases, NOCs might operate under fake names, callsigns, or both.
If the game is set in a smart city or surveillance state, using an obvious codename could itself flag someone for investigation, especially if spoken language is being tracked at all times. Characters might have to discuss unrelated subjects to disguise what they are really saying unless they are in a blind spot in the system.
Codenames could be kept deliberately innocuous and tied to a social framework, functioning more like gamer tags, usernames, or email addresses.
For example:
X_kill_lot_X
SolidSnake@.ID
The “@” and “.ID” might not be spoken at all. Instead, they could become suffixes, like “-san” in Japanese, or function as markers with their own pronunciations. They might even be pronounced differently depending on the context, such as "add-odd"
If they have codenames, my vote for the two main characters would be “Hide” and “Seek.” For example, Bill Hyde and Charlee Seik could be their NOC identities, or the last names could be swapped between them. The alternate spellings make them look like conventional surnames while preserving the “hide and seek” connection and making the names feel like deliberate aliases. This would be like a Mulder and Scully type of deal. I've I spoke about this in a previous POST.
Example of NOC cover
Their NOC cover could be a company creating Immersive Reality (IR) a medium combining games, film, and real-world spaces. In the industry, it’s called IR; on the street, “I Am.” Its creators are Immersive Reality Architects (IRAs), and in this imagined history, Kojima is regarded as the father of the medium.
IR uses the surveillance network itself as part of the creative process. Because the system is constantly tracking people, locations, movement, and sound, IRAs can use that information to build live, location-based scenarios in real space and time (RST). A scenario might exist at a specific location, where other players travel there to experience the same environment or navigate a deliberately constructed situation.
These scenarios can be shared live. These would be similar to internet challenges today where "I AM" would be socially compelled to do the most viral IR at the time. "I AM" player could relocate or recreate them elsewhere using the same assets, rules, and boundaries. Some experiences are designed for a specific location; others can be transported anywhere. If this new media set in a world where global travel is free, fast and unrestricted, the entire planet effectively becomes part of the medium.
That gives the NOC an unusually legitimate reason to be everywhere, record everything, communicate in coded ways, and interact with the surveillance system
because they’re supposedly just creating the next generation of entertainment.
The surveillance state would also use this fad to elevate certain types of viral behavior and create viral content as propaganda.
This would stack two different games on top of each other: the one where you're making content and the one where you're doing the espionage.
A surveillance state could be interesting, but also tricky depending on how heavily it’s used. It’s been done before, and I could see Kojima wanting to move away from his previous works and do something new. At the same time, he might want to make something that wraps everything up too a proverbial epilogue to his body of work.
DONE IN THE SPIRIT OF PLAY
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