Game Characters Who Tweet: Shooter Edition

Editor's note: It must be going on ten years since I last made a pass at GooglyMinotaur, Radiohead's AOL Instant Messenger infobot for their 2001 Amnesiac album. Apparently automated, fictional characters still have a lot to say. -James 

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Game characters from popular franchises are on Twitter and are tweeting their hearts out. Typically, either a bot powers the accounts, or someone has programmed the account to tweet and respond all on its own. Japanese fans have created the majority of these accounts, but some English-language examples such as Resident Evil’s Chris Redfield (not listed in this article) and Red Dead Redemption’s John Marston exist.

This series is (mostly) about Japanese twitter bots — what they say, who made them, and how you can interact with them. This first edition is all about shooter-related bots from BioShock, Metal Gear Solid, Red Dead Redemption, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Check out what your favorite game characters are tweeting about.

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[Male Splicer]: Don’t run! We’ve only just begun! You’re always
running away! And I only want to talk!

Splicers (@Splicers_bot)
Followers*: 12
Following*: 19
Tweets*: 958
Account manager: @2D_exe, formerly known as @MISUZU_exe
Explanation: n/a

BioShock may only have one Japanese bot to its name on Twitter, but the Splicers account contains all the random, foreboding ramblings of Rapture's many inhabitants, including Sander Cohen, Dr. Steinmann, the Rapture PSA broadcast, male Splicers, female Splicers, the Little Sisters, and Mama Raisa, which I think might be the Japanese name for the Splicers that push the baby carriages.

Unlike the detailed Metal Gear Solid accounts mentioned below, the Splicer account doesn’t have any response functionality.

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John Marston (@Johnny Marston)
Followers: 54
Following: 11
Tweets: 75
Account manager: n/a
Explanation: n/a

One day after Red Dead Redemption debuted in North America, Johnny Marston jumped on Twitter to tell tales of the wild west — mostly through the use of mobile web or a cell phone. He’s definitely not a bot — Rockstar Games doesn't seem to maintain him — but he is a hoot to read.

Unfortunately, he isn't as popular on Twitter as he is in Red Dead. At the time of posting, he stopped updating on May 23rd. Sadly, it might be time to take this Twitter account out to pasture.

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@Metaknight_s So you have an interest in cardboard as well? Is that so? Well, then
let me explain to you the finer details of cardboarding! How about it?

Solid Snake (@solid_snake_bot)
Followers: 1,120
Following: 1,125
Tweets: 56, 868
Account manager:@solid_kanri
Explanation of bot: http://shirayuki.saiin.net/~cycle/sb/log/eid0.html

The Metal Gear bots are all very well made compared to other series’ bots because they reply to many different words and scenarios. According to the explanation above, you can play rock, paper, scissors — which is strangely popular in Japan — with Snake, and he tweets a reply that indicates whether you've won or lost. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Snake’s bot quotes come from the first three Metal Gears Solid titles, although most of his tweets are replies to followers rather than quotes. Snake doesn’t mention anything from Metal Gear Solid 4 (don’t expect anything from Portable Ops or Peace Walker either), but the person who made the bot, solid_kanri, wrote on the bot-explanation page that he or she has added some of their own jokes. Solid Snake also mentions other MGS characters such as Otakon, Huey, and Liquid Snake.

A majority of Snake's replies are greetings that say good morning or good night to his followers or statements that he doesn’t understand someone’s tweet. Every now and then though, he responds to one of the following comments listed below:

Japanese	English approx. translation
『じゃんけん』でじゃんけん勝負します。 └『勝った』『負けた』を含むリプライで何か言ってくれます。	If you type “janken” (rock, paper, scissors), then you and Snake will play janken.â””Snake will reply with “Win” or “Lose”
『はらへ』を含むリプライで食べ物くれます。	If you say “I’m hungry,” then Snake will give you food.
『興ざめ』を含むリプライで素直に謝ってくれます。	If you say “Killjoy,” then he’ll reply with an apology.
『好き』『愛してる』等で乾いた返事をしてくれます。	If you say “I like you,” “I love you,” etc., then he’ll respond wryly.
『かわいい』って言うと…？	If you say “You’re cute”…?
『かっこいい』って言うと…？	If you say “You’re cool”…?
『性欲』…？	“Sexual desire”…? [I’m not making this one up]
『ダンボール』…？	“Cardboard”…?

……………

I don’t understand. Is this reality or just a game?

Raiden (@raiden_bot)
Followers: 841
Following: 852
Tweets: 20, 888
Account manager: @shouko36013
Explanation: http://shp3m.blog46.fc2.com/

The Raiden bot’s responses are as unique as Snake’s. He tweets quotes from MGS2, MGS4, and the Metal Gear Solid Digital Graphic Novel every hour. He also responds to simple greetings, such as “good morning,” “good night,” and “see you later”.

Japanese	Rough English translation
「ごはん」「はらへ」「お腹へった」「お腹すいた」 ごはんを作ってくれます。	If you say “rice,” “I’m starving,” “I’m hungry,” then he’ll give you food.
「おいしい」「まずい」「いらない」 ごはんの感想をいうと…	If you say “delicious,” “gross,” or “I don’t want it,” and tell him your thoughts on his food then….
「カツラ」「ヅラ」 カツラについて話しかけると…	If you mention “hairpiece” or “wig” then he’ll talk to you about hairpieces….
「単純軟弱石頭」 怒ります。	Don’t know exactly what the Japanese words mean there, but they translate  directly to “simple weak inflexible person”. Maybe “simple, gutless bonehead” is more accurate? Anyway, he’ll get angry.
「ロブスター」「レーション」 デレます。	If you say “lobster” or “ration.”
「うざい」「嫌い」 へこみます。	If you say “Shut up” or “I hate you,” then.
「癒して」「励まして」 優しい言葉をかけたり修造のように振舞ってくれます。	If you say “heal” or “encourage,” then he’ll return the kind words or actions.
「好き」「可愛い」「かっこいい」「結婚」 つれない返事をしたり照れたりします。	If you say “like,” “cute,” “cool,” or “marriage,” then he’ll reply coldly and shy away.
「ハグ」「ぎゅ」 抱きついてきます。よけて！！	If you say “hug” or “glomp,” then he’ll hug you. Watch out!
「夜をはじめよう」 堀内賢雄氏の「All night? All right! 〜夜を始めよう〜」のサビの歌いだしを歌うと…	If you say “Let’s start the night,” then he’ll sing  Kenyuu Horiuchi’s “All right? All right! Let’s start the night!”.
・他、季節や年間行事にあわせた反応単語もあります	He’ll respond to other season- or holiday-related words.

According to the site explaining his reactions and responses, Raiden also has special vocabulary for hardcore fans. He are some rough translations:
1) As we all know Raiden’s hair is fuwafuwa — light and fluffy. So let’s pet (mofumofu) his hair.
2) This point encourages you to test the limits of sexually harassing Raiden and to touch his butt. Hm.
3) You can also send him kisses.
4) I WILL BE PRESIDENT!!!

Raiden, like Snake, will also respond to holiday-related comments.

You can also find the following characters from the Metal Gear series on Twitter:
Hal Emmerich (@halemmerich_bot), Otacon (@otacon_bot), Roy Campbell (@roy_campbell), Mei Ling (@meiling_bot), Gray Fox (@GrayFox_bot), Master Miller (@miller_bot), Liquid Snake (@liquidsnake_bot), Revolver Ocelot (@ocelot_bot), Psycho Mantis (@mantis_bot), Mantis Doll (@netamantis_bot), Solidus Snake (@solidus_bot), Naked Snake (@NakedSnake_bot), The Boss  (@The_Boss_bot), EVA (@EVA_bot), Major Zero (@major_zero_bot), Paramedic (@parame_bot), Young Ocelot (@OcelotYouth_bot), Null (@mgs_null), Old Snake (@oldsnake_bot), Kazuhira Miller (@kazuhira_bot), Paz Ortega Andrade (@paz_bot__), Galvez (@galvez_bot), Strangelove (@Strangelove_bot), Chico (@_chico_bot), Mother Base Soldiers (MGSPW_bot).

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Captain MacMillan (@MacMillan_bot1)
Followers: 7
Following: 60
Tweets: 11, 171
Account manager: n/a
Explanation: n/a

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 bots are pretty basic compared to the Metal Gear bots. But I think MacMillan’s bot account is the most interesting because it’s bilingual. I mean why wouldn’t you want to know how to say “Standby to engage…”  (Matte, motto hikitsukero) in both Japanese and English. What if you’re lost in Tokyo and have to take down Godzilla with only a trainful of people under your command? MacMillan_bot1 has your back.

Unfortunately, MacMillan’s quotes seem to loop quickly. Probably because he tweets every five minutes without fail.

Ghost (@MW2_Ghost_bot)
Followers: 21
Following: 22
Tweets: 3,671
Account manager: n/a
Explanation: http://maruta.be/ghost_bot

MW2_Ghost_bot is pretty simple as well. Every 30 minutes, it posts English quotes from Modern Warfare 2. It only responds four phrases in English and Japanese: “Good morning” (ohayo), “good night” (oyasumi), “clear!” (kurea!), and “help me!” (tasukete!).

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*All Followers, Following, Tweets, etc. numbers and data were from the time of publishing this article.

Meghan Ventura is Senior Editor/Social Media Coordinator at MyGamer.com, and writes about Japanese video games and culture at her blog KanjiGames. Follow her on Twitter: @meghanventura. She responds to tweets, and like Solid_Snake_bot, she will play rock, paper, scissors with you.