OctoCamo



OctoCamo is a form of smart camouflage that can, within moments of coming into contact with almost any surface, replicate both its pattern and texture. Preset patterns and textures can both be loaded and saved to memory for later use. It applies thermal technology to regulate the temperature of the suit to better blend with what the suit is mimicking, allowing the user to stay as hidden as possible even under thermal imaging (as the suit does not cover the head, some other form of concealment must be found to disguise the head). A muscle suit is also built in, increasing the physical strength of the user somewhat. It was inspired by the mimicking abilities of the octopus, hence the name. It can also replicate two different objects at the same time, as evidenced when, after the Gekko destroyed a cardboard box full of watermelons (believing it to be Snake using his cardboard box), a watermelon rolled over and made contact with his right thigh while he was disguised as rubble, causing his leg to briefly gain the color and textural appearance of a watermelon before he deactivated the camouflage.

History
Solid Snake was fitted with the OctoCamo suit prior to his deployment to the Middle East in 2014. Beauty and the Beast Unit member Laughing Octopus also possessed a version of OctoCamo, used in tandem with FaceCamo, which was able to replicate extremely complex objects, such as medical equipment and the Metal Gear Mk. II. Liquid Ocelot's warship, Outer Haven, also utilized Octocamo technology on its hull, and was capable of generating complex structures, such as the "Mt. Snakemore" formation on its helm.

Although the name "OctoCamo" is generally used to refer specifically to the suit worn by Solid Snake, the technology actually came from DARPA, explaining the use of similar technology by others, including Laughing Octopus (as aforementioned) and Drebin 893, whose Stryker has this capability. Otacon, who invented the suit for Snake, claimed he actually based it on designs that Sunny found on the internet. Snake's reduced body strength caused by his premature aging made the muscle suit especially useful. The OctoCamo was eventually destroyed when Snake was traversing Outer Haven's microwave chamber to reach GW's server room.

Trivia

 * A similar technology to the OctoCamo was developed for FOXHOUND in the late 1990s, known as the Chameleon Suit.
 * A kanji symbol is printed on Snake's OctoCamo suit, together with the words "to let the world be." This symbol is called an "Otakon", a portmanteau of Otacon's name and the Japanese word for "spirit." It is Otacon's personal logo and appears on equipment designed by him.
 * The detail and complexity of the technology, especially the more detailed designs it can achieve, are more akin to a cuttlefish rather than an octopus, as while the latter does possess the ability the former accomplishes much more detail and intricacy in its camouflage.

Behind the scenes
The OctoCamo's first appearance was technically in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus, the expansion pack for Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, due to Solid Snake's appearance as Old Snake. However, its camouflage properties are not actually accessible.

In Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the player is able to go into a menu, accessible through the pause menu under "Camouflage," to change details of the Octocamo, such as applying camouflage that has been saved from before. The PlayStation 3's Sixaxis controller can be shaken to revert the OctoCamo back to its default appearance, both during gameplay and cutscenes. In addition, although the cutscenes (more specifically the opening cutscene where he evades the Gekko with his OctoCamo and tricks them into smashing a cardboard box full of watermelons) show that the OctoCamo is capable of generating multiple camouflage patterns at once, gameplay only allows for the player to insert one camouflage pattern at a time.

In Metal Gear Online, under the game conditions of Sneaking Mission (SNE) one player participates as Snake, and is fully equipped with OctoCamo, along with optional FaceCamo under the item menu.

An early form of OctoCamo is used by Snake in Metal Gear Solid Mobile. This version doesn't replicate patterns by touch, however; the player has to take pictures of colors themselves using their phone and then transfer them onto Snake's suit. Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D uses a similar camouflage system to the OctoCamo in Metal Gear Solid Mobile.