The Camera

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The Camera

Postby Thoul » Mon Oct 12, '09, 3:50 pm

Ever since 3D games began to appear on consoles, an issue that developers have struggled with is the camera. As the characters move around in 3D environments, the viewpoint follows their movements. Sometimes this leads to really strange views or hiding something vital, like a fatal pitfall right in front of you.

What are some of the best and worst treatments of the camera you have seen in games? Do you prefer games that have an entirely fixed camera or one that lets you move it at will?
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Re: The Camera

Postby Wolf Bird » Mon Oct 12, '09, 4:06 pm

Ahh, the camera. For fixed or one that the player can move...it depends on the game. Platformers, adventure games, stuff like that...I prefer one that I can move freely so I can see everything around me. 9 times out of 10 I prefer that, with one exception being War of the Monsters. You have no camera control there, but the environment USUALLY doesn't kill you and you're generally target fixing your opponent(s) anyway. This day and age most games handle the camera well, so I get VERY irritated when I play a game where the camera doesn't cooperate. There's not much of excuse for that anymore.
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Re: The Camera

Postby PathfinderCS » Tue Oct 13, '09, 4:10 am

I have to agree with CW. When I play Spyro the Dragon on the PS1 or Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time for PS2, I like to be able to control the camera. I prefer to see the environments around me or having the option to see enemies around a corner.

Besides, sometimes, I just want to look at the scenary. For instance, in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, sometimes, I just stopped and looked around. I am no graphics man by any means, but my god...it all just looked so beautiful. Ditto in the PS3/360 Prince of Persia. :clap:
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Re: The Camera

Postby Thoul » Tue Oct 13, '09, 7:45 pm

I like being able to spin the camera around also. In addition to viewing the scenery or peeking around a corner, it helps in finding secrets or items scattered around the environment.

Usually in games with a fixed camera, I get into a position where it goes into an odd angle that throws me off. Maybe I'm trying to make a jump, but the weirdness of the camera causes me to misjudge, for instance. Fortunately that's not as much of a problem these days has implementations have improved. It can be really annoying to run into a game like that, though.
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Re: The Camera

Postby Schala Zeal » Thu Nov 12, '09, 7:17 pm

I hate fixed cameras... Though they usually make things a little easier for me (they reduce the motion sickness feeling that I get playing video games). Still, I like feeling immersed in environment of the video game; fixed cameras really make the player feel like he is just watching the game rather than being part of the game (in my opinion, of course).

Probably the worst camera problems I've ever experienced were what I like to call the "SEGA camera problems" -- the problems of the camera becoming uncooperative at one point and then I get stuck in the game because of it. These problems have only happened to me in SEGA games, hence the name I gave them. :P The most memorable experience I have had with this problem is this experience I had while playing Skies of Arcadia. I was walking down a pathway in the Ixa'taka region and the camera followed Vyse from behind as usual. As the path began to turn, the camera began to... get stuck behind a wall. So I tried to move the camera. It would spin around Vyse, but it would keep returning to its spot behind the wall. So I reset the game and tried again. My head hurts just thinking about that experience. :rofl:
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Re: The Camera

Postby Thoul » Thu Nov 12, '09, 8:46 pm

I hate when the camera moves behind a wall and you can still see the wall. I don't think I've ever gotten one stuck in the wall, though. That would be pretty bad.
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Re: The Camera

Postby PathfinderCS » Thu Nov 12, '09, 11:47 pm

Thoul wrote:I hate when the camera moves behind a wall and you can still see the wall. I don't think I've ever gotten one stuck in the wall, though. That would be pretty bad.


I have...and I believe it was one of the original Insomniac Spyro games where it happened. Granted it was a good number of years back, but...argh... :down:
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