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Playstation 4 gamers are turning screengrabs into works of art

Polygons never looked so good.

 

Imad Khan

Internet Culture

Posted on Apr 23, 2014   Updated on May 31, 2021, 10:34 am CDT

The premiere game on the Sony’s new console, inFAMOUS Second Son, has satisfied fans and critics alike with its open world superhero concept. Even its developers surely didn’t predict, however, that the game would create a whole new type of fanbase: The freeze frame photographer.

Shortly after the game’s release, gamers on forums like NeoGaf and Reddit uncovered a glitch that enabled them to manipulate the camera during an Orbital Drops. The Orbital Drop is an attack when the game’s main protagonist, Delsin Rowe, blasts off into the sky and drops down with massive power and ferocity. Fans captured some amazing pictures of Delsin as he was apexing.

The folks over at Sucker Punch Studios—the game’s developers—were so “amazed” by the stills that on April 17 they released a patch to take advantage of the Playstation 4’s next gen visuals. When a player clicks L3, the game freezes, and players can adjust the in game camera in multiple ways to capture some beautiful stills.

That feature in turn became a huge hit, and Sucker Punch in turn decided to reward the best of these in-game photographers via a contest. The photo that receives the most favorites on Twitter will win a limited edition statuette of Delsin Rowe.

It’s a little surreal to enter photo mode in the game. Once you click L3, everything just stops. All particles, leaves, raindrops are frozen in time ready for you to move around and capture the best shot. It’s going to be interesting to see how other games incorporate photo mode/gif creators and use it as a mechanism for players to share their experiences with their friends.

Here are the eight photos Sucker Punch has chosen for their finalists. You can find more on this NeoGaf thread. Meanwhile, some enterprising artists have turned the images into animated GIFs.

Blown away at these #SSPhoto on #GAF Amazing, in-game screenshots by community. https://t.co/L6QYOr1JiN #PS4 pic.twitter.com/0Py5RrE5ol

— R3Y (@r3yguti3rr3z) April 18, 2014

#SSPhoto #PS4share pic.twitter.com/xlF7zoB6MM

— Jesse (@Coolio6) April 21, 2014

#SecondSon #SSPhoto #EnjoyYourPower #PS4share pic.twitter.com/hgnxspab45

— Lil’ Miss Gamer (@muchmorebetter) April 20, 2014

#PS4share #SSPhoto #Neon #Power pic.twitter.com/DHhIToomIT

— B.Run (@KillaB618) April 21, 2014

@SuckerPunchProd One of the highlights of the game. So cool! #SSPhoto #PS4share pic.twitter.com/76A4HZhBgQ

— Gavin Are (@Pancakery) April 21, 2014

Delsin and Fetch team work #SSPhoto #PS4share pic.twitter.com/rzSs0G1lf6

— Thabet yusuf (@Thabet_Yusuf) April 21, 2014

Screengrab via R3Y/Twitter

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*First Published: Apr 23, 2014, 5:45 pm CDT