Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8. Cameras
The camera determines the player's point of view in the 3D game
world. Many different types of cameras see use in games, and selecting
the type of camera is a basic design decision that typically is made early
in development.
This chapter covers the major types of cameras used in games today
and the calculations that must happen behind the scenes to get them to
work. It also takes a deeper look at the perspective projection, which
was first covered in Chapter 4 , “ 3D Graphics .”
Types of Cameras
Before we dive into different implementations of cameras, it's worthwhile to dis-
cuss the major types of 3D cameras used in games. This section doesn't cover
every type of camera that conceivably could be used, but it does cover many of the
most common varieties.
Fixed and Non-Player Controlled Cameras
Strictly speaking, a fixed camera is one that's in exactly the same position at all
times. This type of stationary camera typically is only used in very simple 3D
games. The term “fixed camera” is usually also extended to refer to systems where
the camera goes to a predefined location depending on where the player charac-
ter is located. As the player character moves through the level, the position of the
camera will jump to new spots once the character passes a threshold. The locations
and thresholds of the camera are typically set by the designer during creation of
the level.
Fixed cameras were once extremely popular for survival horror games such as the
original Resident Evil . Because the camera can't be controlled by the player, it en-
ables the game designer to set up scenarios where frightening enemies can be hid-
den behind corners that the camera is unable to see. This added to the atmosphere
of tension that these titles were built around. A top-down view of a sample scene
with a couple of fixed camera positions is shown in Figure 8.1 .
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