Metal Gear's creator took to Twitter to talk about the conceptual origins behind the name of series protagonist Solid Snake. Over eight tweets.
It... makes sense if you think about it, really. Have a look:
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Did you get that? Solid for battle-hardened, Snake for stealthy. Only a snake can beat a snake, so Solid Snake's nemesis for Metal Gear Solid also had to be a snake—thus Liquid Snake, where 'Liquid' is a reference to his being a clone. And apparently, Solidus Snake from Metal Gear Solid 2 could have been called Gas Snake. That would have been really silly.
Top pic courtesy of the Metal Gear Wiki.
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DISCUSSION
So glad I never got into MGS. The impression I've always had is that it's obtuse just for the sake of it, and this just confirms that. Solidus Snake? I could have come up with better on the spot when I was 7 playing "goodies and baddies" with my little friends. It seems to think itself rather clever, but it's just stupid.