Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
games can throw a lot more challenges at the player before overwhelming her—in
short, they can simply be more frenetic than 3D games.
Three-dimensional games make greater use of the environment to present their
challenges than 2D games do. The player must traverse a complex three-dimensional
landscape, which requires him to remember how rooms join other rooms. This isn't
so bad in environments with conventional architecture but it can become night-
marish in unfamiliar spaces or those in which rooms or regions all look alike.
Descent
provided a particularly good example of this problem: The player's space-
ship flies through a sort of zero-gravity 3D maze. Because the ship can rotate in any
direction and the rooms have no clearly defined floors or ceilings, it is easy to become
disoriented. The same room can look quite different from different camera angles.
In 3D combat games, enemies can hide behind doors and around corners in a way
that is not possible in 2D games. They can also sneak up on the avatar from behind,
although there is some debate about whether this is fair to the player. In 2D games,
the player can always see what's coming. In practice, this means that 3D games
have greater opportunities to startle and surprise the player, which has been used
to great effect in survival horror games.
CONTEXT-SENSITIVE MODELS
The context-sensitive camera model is becoming increasingly popular in action
games. In this model, the camera moves around depending on the circumstances
of the moment, controlled by AI. One of the best examples of this comes from
Ico
,
shown in
Figure 13.7
. The camera, seeking to provide the best angle from which to
show the action, changes its angle as the avatar moves from room to room. This
works well for slower games, but in fast games, especially if the player is fighting for
his life, it is a distraction. If the camera moves—especially if it jumps suddenly—
the player becomes disoriented and is likely to make mistakes. Context-sensitive
perspectives are great for offering visual variety, but in high-speed action you
should stick to more fixed and predictable points of view.
FIGURE 13.7
The camera in
Ico
moves continuously to
display the avatar from
the best angle.
