Level Up.pdf

128 LEVEL 6 The Three Cs, Part 2—Camera
As gameplay moved into the Z- axis, game creators explored more cinematic
camera views. While a few games in the 1970s featured a fi rst person
camera, it wasn ’ t until Wolfenstein 3D (Apogee Software, 1992) and its
successor, Doom (id Software, 1993) that the camera view became
popularized. The camera is used in a variety of game genres, from racing to
platform; it became most associated with the first person shooter. Despite
its popularity, it ’ s hard to discern if the first person camera is really the best
camera for gameplay. Here ’ s a quick comparison of the pros and cons of
the first person camera:
Advantages Disadvantages
Easier to aim weapons at targets Hard to gauge jump and movement distance
Player views character as “ self” , Players can ’ t see their character and can
allowing for greater immersion in
game world
lose emotional connection
Easier to create atmospheric Player is not always looking where the
situations (like horror) designer wants them to look
Player gets close look at weapons, Game objects (like pickups) have to be
world objects, and puzzle items exaggerated in scale to compensate for
distance
As you can see, the arguments for and against the first person camera are
pretty darn even. But regardless, there are some pretty fun visual effects you
can pull off when using a first person camera.
• Blood splatter: many current FPSs use a blood splatter effect on the
screen to show that a player has taken damage. You can also have the
screen start to “ grow dark ” or dim to represent the player dying. Some
games use this effect heavily and some games do it light, but I feel it ’ s
pretty unfair to punish a dying player with the additional disadvantage
of not being able to see the gameplay (or where the damage is coming
from!).
• Raindrops/mist/lens fl are: based on, for example, images seen on
TV news camera lenses, the effects of weather can be shown. Some
driving games even include windshield wiper controls to clear away these
effects.
• “ Predator vision ” : based on the thermal camera effect seen in the
movie Predator, you can simulate these effects in a first person view to
make the player actually feel like they are using high - tech or alien gear,
such as night vision goggles. Just make sure the effect actually gives
the player a gameplay advantage in addition to looking cool.