Level Up.pdf

134 LEVEL 6 The Three Cs, Part 2—Camera
standing still, while in combat, whatever. The disadvantage of this is that
players can get quickly disoriented, miss interesting and important level
events and clues, or suffer DIMS.
The second method is a free - look camera. This camera allows the player
to stop and look around the world (effectively a first person view). The
free - look camera is usually initiated by a button press, which activates a
mode in which the player can use the analog stick (the one that is usually
used to move the player) to rotate the camera around 360 degrees. I have
seen versions of this camera where the free - look cam is restricted to a little
less than 180 degrees in an attempt to mimic the natural rotation of the
human neck. When the player presses the button to return back to the third
person view, they are usually reoriented in the direction that the free - look
cam was facing.
Reorientation. Speaking of reorientation, giving the player the option to
reorient the camera to its default position (behind the character in the case
of a third person camera) is usually appreciated by the player. It comes in
particularly useful during combat and platform jumping scenarios. Reorientation
is usually achieved with a quick, single button press by the player.
Speed. Be mindful of the speed of your third person camera as it is rotated
around by the player. A good camera feels like it has hydraulics; it never
stops dead, but rather slows down slightly as it decelerates. This will keep
the player from suffering from DIMS. As a player character is usually in
motion, another trick I learned is to have the camera slightly overshoot its
target when the player stops and creep back to center on the player if they
stay still long enough. Just remember, you NEVER want the player to get
out of the camera ’ s view.
The third method is to give the player selective control over the camera. Like
with the first person free - look cam, this mode is activated by a button press
which brings the camera in for a closer look at an object ’ s detail or into a