Konami has teamed up with prosthetics company Open Bionics to create a prosthetic arm cover themed after the one worn by Venom Snake in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Now, the first such cover has been distributed in the United States to TikTok artist Laiken Olive.
A post on the Metal Gear Twitter account shows Olive, 21, wearing the prosthetic from Open Bionics, titled the “Hero Arm.” It sports the same red and black color scheme as Venom Snake’s, but that design is optional. In the post’s comments, Olive clarifies that the base of the arm is black, and its red sections are a cover. “Having changeable covers means I can be like Venom Snake, Iron Man, BB-8 and so much more with just a pop on and off of the covers,” Olive said.
While the arm can’t recreate Venom Snake’s abilities, it can create realistic hand movements. According to a press release, the custom-built prosthetic uses myoelectric sensors which detect muscle contractions. Those contractions are then converted into movements by the hand.
While the prosthetic isn’t designed after Venom Snake’s arm, Laiken still found that the character’s story resonated with her own. “In Metal Gear Solid, the main character wakes up from being in a coma for nine years,” Olive said. “And I’ve been waiting a decade to have a prosthetic that is functional and intuitive to my needs.” The Hero Arm is now available for amputees in the USA.
This isn’t the first time Open Bionics has collaborated with a gaming company to create prosthetics. In 2016, Open Bionics partnered with Eidos Montreal to create what was described as an “affordable” prosthetic based on Deus Ex.
Similarly, this isn’t Konami’s first foray into prosthetics. The massive publisher engineered a Metal Gear Solid V-themed prosthetic arm that was featured in a documentary titled Bodyhack in 2016.
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