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A primer on designing better cameras for games [video]

87 points by Red_Tarsius 10y ago

doomlaser 10y ago
The camera engineer for the PS3 game Journey gave a great talk on 3D third person camera systems a couple GDCs back that covers a lot of useful ground: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI&t=2432s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI&t=2432s
- rorosaurus 10y ago
  I was about to recommend this exact video myself! It was a fascinating talk. I highly recommend it! (Watch at 1.25x speed)
laurent123456 10y ago
See also Virtual Camera System [0]. One of the camera system that first impressed me was the one in Super Mario 64. It's so nicely designed that you'd often forgot it's doing anything - for example it would follow Mario while rotating around him so as to point in the direction of the current path. I was a big fan of the camera angles in Resident Evil 2 as well, they've created interesting sequences of shots that would built up tension without actually showing any direct threat. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_camera_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_camera_system
- jstimpfle 10y ago
  I've always been uncomfortable with that camera. Mario has always had trouble running into the direction that I wanted him to.
- woodrowbarlow 10y ago
  the SM64 camera was absolutely groundbreaking in its day, but it really doesn't stack up against modern games. remember that part in wet-dry world where you have to walk across a narrow plank, and the only reason it's hard is because you're fighting the camera to walk in a straight line? that's a bit telling (and both Zelda games for the 64 had the same problem). the GDC presentation by Journey's camera designer [1] makes a few very good points on this topic. modern 3D Mario games use hybrid camera systems that operate as fixed cameras most of the time, and it's a big improvement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI
- sp332 10y ago
  This is a very in-depth review of side-scrolling video game cameras. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ItayKeren/20150511/243083/Scroll_Back_The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Cameras_in_SideScrollers.php http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ItayKeren/20150511/243083/Scr...
- khedoros1 10y ago
  Super Mario 64's camera system made me appreciate the R and C buttons. But as an early outing into the genre, it was impressive not to need completely manual camera control all the time.

87 points by Red_Tarsius 10y ago

The camera engineer for the PS3 game Journey gave a great talk on 3D third person camera systems a couple GDCs back that covers a lot of useful ground: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI&t=2432s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI&t=2432s

rorosaurus 10y ago
I was about to recommend this exact video myself! It was a fascinating talk. I highly recommend it! (Watch at 1.25x speed)

laurent123456 10y ago

See also Virtual Camera System [0]. One of the camera system that first impressed me was the one in Super Mario 64. It's so nicely designed that you'd often forgot it's doing anything - for example it would follow Mario while rotating around him so as to point in the direction of the current path. I was a big fan of the camera angles in Resident Evil 2 as well, they've created interesting sequences of shots that would built up tension without actually showing any direct threat. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_camera_system https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_camera_system

jstimpfle 10y ago
I've always been uncomfortable with that camera. Mario has always had trouble running into the direction that I wanted him to.
woodrowbarlow 10y ago
the SM64 camera was absolutely groundbreaking in its day, but it really doesn't stack up against modern games. remember that part in wet-dry world where you have to walk across a narrow plank, and the only reason it's hard is because you're fighting the camera to walk in a straight line? that's a bit telling (and both Zelda games for the 64 had the same problem). the GDC presentation by Journey's camera designer [1] makes a few very good points on this topic. modern 3D Mario games use hybrid camera systems that operate as fixed cameras most of the time, and it's a big improvement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7307qRmlMI
sp332 10y ago
This is a very in-depth review of side-scrolling video game cameras. http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ItayKeren/20150511/243083/Scroll_Back_The_Theory_and_Practice_of_Cameras_in_SideScrollers.php http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ItayKeren/20150511/243083/Scr...
khedoros1 10y ago
Super Mario 64's camera system made me appreciate the R and C buttons. But as an early outing into the genre, it was impressive not to need completely manual camera control all the time.