Solid Snake is a fictional stealth character seen in Metal Gear games by Konami . Introduced in the 1987 video games Metal Gear , and Metal Gear Solid , created by series creator Hideo Kojima , Solid Snake is a combination of a spy , special operations agent , and mercenary who works for FOXHOUND . Kojima later described Snake 's role in the original Metal Gear as the `` player 's presence '' , contrasting the defined personality Solid Snake acquired in Metal Gear Solid .