Uncharted: Golden Abyss (SIE Bend Studio, 2011) is a game for Playstation Vita, where photos are implemented as a collectible item.
Photos are the most complex of the Collectibles. You can see black and white versions of Photos in the Mysteries menu, but it is still difficult to track down Photo locations. When you find a Photo spot, a camera icon appears. Activate the Camera and you will be able to set the Zoom (the Camera screen displays the correct Zoom you should use for each photo).
Once the Zoom is set and you are in the correct position, you can snap a shot. Your shot will then be rated. If you get 100%, you can tap the check mark and save the Photo to the appropriate Mysteries menu. If you don’t get 100%, make sure your Zoom and position are correct, find a good element of the black and white photo to help line up your shot and try again. This takes practice!
In Endless Ocean Blue World (Arika, 2009) you play a diver who can take photo assignments for magazines. Pictures of rare fish and other animals are rated from clients. The camera simulation allows to zoom and to change F-stops.
Players’ discussion on how to achieve an A-rating within the game: https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/954373-endless-ocean-blue-world/54367209
A selection of videogames that attempt to incorporate photography (or better “photographing”) as game mechanics to a certain degree.
Polaroid Pete (Gekisha Boy Gekibo)
Gekibo: Gekisha Boy – screenshot of the 1992 PC game version
Gekibo: Gekisha Boy – screenshot from the 1992 PC game version
In this PC game from 1992 (ported to PS2 in 2002, and with a a sequel titled Gekisha Boy 2 released for PS2 in 2001), photography plays a big role in both story and game mechanics. This makingGekisha Boy one of the earliest examples of videogames to incorporate a camera and the act of taking pictures as core game mechanic. In each level the main character has to take snapshots of events happening around him, with points being assigned according to the player’s ability to catch the “decisive moment”.
Fatal Frame
In this series, the game takes inspiration from the Victorian born art of ‘Spirit Photography’. It lets the player capture images of spirits through a Camera Obscura, while exploring abandoned ruins and fend off hostile ghosts.
Dead Rising
the main character of Dead Rising is a photo journalist, Frank West, who has to survive a zombie-infested environment while documenting the events with his camera. Shots taken with the in-game camera are evaluated (genre of the photos is analysed, e.g. brutality, drama, …) and rewarded through a point system.
Spiderman 3
Spiderman 3 lets you play as Peter Parker, and in some missions you are required to get pictures for the Daily Bugle. A basic camera interface allows you to zoom and frame an image before taking the shot. Pictures are given points (photo score).
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
in an easter egg within Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the player is transported to a white environment where it is possible to take pictures of the female character, posing as if in some sort of weird erotic photo shoot.
Grand Theft Auto V
in GTA V, there are a number of missions where you work with/for a paparazzi photographer and you have to take pictures with a DSLR or with your in-game smartphone camera.
Camera Sim 3D
Camera Sim 3D is a DSLR simulator, developed with the purpose of teaching the basics of photography and how to operate a DSLR camera. It is still in production at the time of writing, but a live demo is available online.
the original article included “Life Is Strange” as one of the games about photography, but it was not featured in our list because the mechanics for taking a picture in the game offer very little control or similarity with the act of photographing (no possibility of framing, zooming, focusing).
Some video games have attempted to incorporate ‘photographing’ as core parts of the game mechanics. These have sometimes an educational feel, often including rating algorithms that analyse the composition of the game-photograph.
Afrika
National Geographic’s Afrika is a simulation game that make you “become a photojournalist in the wilderness of Africa[…]. Africa’s wildlife is rendered in accurate photorealistic detail. As a photographer, you’ll use licensed, real-world photography equipment to complete assignments and capture images of everything from bathing hippos to a cheetah on the hunt. Explore the land, find new animals, and earn a name for yourself as a professional photographer.”
More than 70 animals to find and more than 100 missions to complete
Animals behave and interact with each other just like their real-world counterparts
Explore environments ranging from grassland to marsh to forest
Innovative photo grading system teaches you the skills of a professional photographer
Originally published for the Nintendo 64, in Pokémon Snap you have to take pictures of pokémons and then you submit a selection of your photos to prof. Oak, who will review them and grade them. Your photographs will be rated based on ‘technique’, ‘size’ and ‘pose’ and number of pokémon photographed (e.g. you will score higher if the pokèmon you portrayed was facing the camera).
in-game photography 