Third-Person
A out of body experience
A out of body experience
Camera Control
Third-Person Fixed or Rail
This is a game where the view of the game is shown from static viewpoints in the game world. Like there are sequrity cameras everywhere watching the player character. As the avatar walks from one place to another the game switches camera as needed to keep the avatar in view. Variations of this is cameras that turned to look at the player or follow the player along a track.
Alone in the dark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSwYY2eoKhQ
God of war: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGy7t_SVMHo
Resident evil https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgTz46GIB54
Third-Person Fixed-angle
The camera view the character from a direction with limited ways of changing it. Obstacles that get in the way of the view are faded out or transparent. A bit like a theater where the forth wall turn invisible as needed.
Third-Person Tracking
Camera is behind character and and the player has no direct control over it. As the player character looks around the camera try to move along and provide the best view.
Tomb Raider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgDFsziF4bw
Third-Person Interactive
Camera is default behind the character but the player can modify it by for example changing the distance to the character or looking around.
Bionic Commando: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wk8AwlSScD0
Camera Properties
Many rules can affect the parameters and they can push in opposite directions. Organize by how many parameters a rule modify and prioritize forces on each parameters.
Offset
Yaw
Pitch
Pull in distance looking up and pull out distance looking down. Use curve.
Same can be done with FOV.
Decelerate pitch speed at min/max to get a smooth stop
Distance
Set a max distance that fit your levels so it does not have to break los or push in to often.
Field of view
Camera Features
Camera Volumes
Placed in the game world it modify parameters for the camera when player enters or leaves them. Use transition time to smootly change them.
Hints
Provides hints on what the camera should do. If the avatar walks into a room it might look to the right to show of an interesting view. The hints only happens if the player is not giving commands to the camera for a while.
Camera Shake
Camera Lag
Camera Focus
Focus to camera to look in the direction the avatar is moving or at a enemey that is the target of the avatar.
whisker raycasts
Camera Behaviors
Issues
Input Priority
Always let the player input override the dynamic camera.
Line of Sight blocked
Make sure the player avatar is never occluded by obstacles in level. Detect obstacles early using whisker raycast and then fade them out, pull in the camera or swing the camera around the obstacles. If it risk to go into the obstacle pull in the camera. For narrow columns and might be better to let the obstacle break line of sight. Tag obstacles that allow LOS to break.
Geometry Dithering
Silhouette
Cut-Out View
Pull In
Swing Around
Camera hit objects
Intersect avatar
Guidelines
Provide inverted controls
Option to turn of bouncy walk cycles off
Option to turn camera shake off.
Modify pitch, distance and fov at the same time to avoid it feeling bad.
Use a curve to modify the input sensitivity to provide the player with fast/slow camera movement.
Level design and the way camera work should fit
Show where the player is going
When player not moving the camera modify it automatically to show what the player need to look at.
When the player running look in the direction the avatar is running.
Tilt camera to look down when player approach a cliff
When running on a slope tilt the camera to look up
Small fov increase risk of motion sickness
Different camera modes often needed. For example exploring, combat, falling and so on.
Reference