Photo mode, a feature that lets players capture high-quality images within the game, has become a standard inclusion, especially in popular AAA games. I used to overlook its significance, thinking that gaming moments are not like cherished memories worth capturing. However, witnessing how others creatively use photo mode, such as my friend in Overwatch, made me reconsider its value.

While I’ve played many captivating games that made me want to share moments, the urge to utilize photo mode is exceptionally strong with Infinity Nikki and Assassin’s Creed. Experimenting with photo mode in the fashion game, I was pleasantly surprised by the results when I played around with settings like apertures and vignettes. Although my photos are not professional quality, they resemble the ones that receive high praise on the Infinity Nikki subreddit. It’s exciting to discover a newfound talent I never knew I had.

I took that success with Infinity Nikki and translated it to Assassin’s Creed. I’m actually glad the game doesn’t have the feature from the last Assassin’s Creed where your horse automatically follows the road. Without it, I am forced to take in the game’s impressive weather and foliage as I drive ole’ Kikai around rather than looking at my phone after setting him on auto-pilot. That’s how I found my first picture. I was roaming around as Yasuke and I rode by a long road flanked by Japanese maples in full, deep-red autumn foliage. (At least I think they’re Japanese maples. The codex could stand a few more flora and fauna entries, Ubisoft.) The colors were so vibrant and the sound of the wind through the leaves was so invigorating, I felt I had to preserve the moment despite none of it being real. The urge was strong enough that it completely changed my feelings about photo mode altogether.

I saw that entirely fake scenery made of pixels and code and immediately opened up photo mode as though I was capturing real natural phenomena. I placed the camera behind him and zoomed out to see as much foliage as I could fit into the shot, while still keeping Yasuke as the focus of the picture. I then tinkered with the lighting to brighten the leaves and the saturation so their colors would pop. I wanted it to look like a shot Akira Kurosawa could have composed for one of his samurai epics — a kind of thought I’ve never had while taking pictures in real life or in games. This moment completely changed my perspective on video game photography. What once seemed like a cool party trick now felt like a real avenue of creative expression.

Putting the photo modes in Nikki and Shadows through their paces, I’ve discovered game photography is now something I can really, earnestly do, and want to do more of. I hope to get better at it so I can one day take those skills from capturing video games to capturing real life.