Pokémon Snap/Gameplay

When you start the game, you will be prompted to name the main character. If no name is entered, "Todd" will be filled in. After, Professor Oak welcomes you. Skip to the Walkthrough if you're ready to play.

Setting
Professor Oak is a famous Pokémon (animal) researcher, and he's currently doing research on Pokémon Island. He has invited you to take pictures of Pokémon to help him complete the PKMN Report.

The PKMN Report is a portfolio of all of your best photos and it is tracked by the total number of points you earn after being judged by Professor Oak. Submitting better photos and visiting new courses allows you to earn more points and unlock new features in the game.

Characters

 * Todd (you, the protagonist with the camera).
 * Professor Oak

Goal
While the main series of Pokémon games revolve around using Pokéballs to "catch all the Pokémon", the objective of Pokémon Snap is to take pictures of all the Pokémon. The reasoning behind this is that catching Pokémon on Pokémon Island would disrupt their natural state, affecting research. Because of this, you are only given a few ways of interacting with the Pokémon (only your camera at first). Later you unlock more tools to help you.

How to play
In the beginning, you are equipped with nothing but a camera and a vehicle, known as the "Zero-One". The Zero-One will follow the same track through each course, though its speed can be adjusted. Each time you go through a course you are equipped with film good for 60 shots. At the end of each course, Professor Oak will grade each photo you've taken on subjects such as whether or not the pokémon is centered, how close you got to it, and its pose, and add any new pokémon to his report. As you take photos of more kinds of pokémon, you will be allowed to explore more courses or use more tools. In total, there are 6 courses that contain a total of 63 Pokémon.