Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
is also forward into the 3D environment, away from the player. Moving the joystick
down makes the avatar turn to face the player and move toward him through the
3D environment. Pushing the joystick left or right makes the avatar turn to face
and then move in that direction.
Unlike avatar-oriented steering, in this model, left and right cause the avatar to
move
in those directions while the camera continues to face forward and to show
the avatar from the side. In this respect,
Crash Bandicoot
feels rather like a side-
scroller with an additional dimension. In avatar-oriented steering, addressed next,
left and right cause the avatar to
turn and face
in those directions
but not to move
while the camera swings around to remain behind him.
Avatar-Oriented Steering
In avatar-oriented steering, the only suitable model for first-person games, pushing
the joystick up causes the avatar to move forward in whatever direction she cur-
rently faces, regardless of her orientation to the screen. However, implementation
of avatar-oriented steering varies somewhat from one device to another, so the fol-
lowing sections treat these devices individually.
Avatar-oriented steering remains consistent regardless of the camera model. It pres-
ents a slight disadvantage in games using aerial perspectives: Avatar-oriented
steering can be rather disorienting when the avatar faces the bottom of the screen,
yet the player must push the joystick up to make the avatar walk down to the bot-
tom of the screen.
JOYSTICK AND D-PAD CONTROLS
As stated earlier, pushing the joystick up makes the avatar move forward in what-
ever direction she faces. Pushing the joystick down makes the avatar move
backward away from the direction she faces, while continuing to face the original
direction; that is, she walks backward. In some vehicle simulators,
down
applies the
brakes rather than reversing the direction of movement, and the player must press
a separate controller button to put the vehicle in reverse. Pushing the joystick to
the left or right makes the avatar turn to face toward the left or right or turns the
wheels of a vehicle. The avatar does not move in the environment if the joystick
moves directly to left or right; the player must push the joystick diagonally to get
forward (or backward) motion in addition to a change of direction. This feels more
natural with vehicles than it does with characters.
MOUSE-BASED CONTROL
With mouse-based navigation, now standard for first-person PC games, the mouse
only controls the direction in which the avatar faces, and the player uses the key-
board to make the avatar move. Moving the mouse left or right causes the avatar to
turn in place, to the left or the right, and to a degree in proportion to the distance
