LogInMark Brown, the creator of the Game Maker’s Toolkit channel, talks about the importance of choosing the appropriate camera for your game and explains how different views create different feels, moods, and experiences.
Mark begins by saying that cameras are quite a tricky thing to get right because they can be used for two completely different purposes: on the one hand, the camera should be used to serve the gameplay, on the other hand, it can serve more aesthetic purposes and add to the artistry of the game.
Speaking of the first function of a camera, here are a few examples: a wide-angle view gives you lots of peripheral vision while a zoomed-in camera is perfect for precise aiming in shooters. With a 2D view, you can easily judge the distance between two characters which is a bit challenging in 3D.
To illustrate the second purpose of a camera, think of how a really wide-angle shot makes the character feel small, unprotected, alienated, and even insignificant and how a closeup can make you feel trapped and uncomfortable. Also, remember how games with a first-person perspective make you feel like you really are the main character while a looming viewpoint makes you feel like you hover above the silly little digital creatures almost like a god (which makes perfect sense in Sims where it's totally up to you what your characters do, and whippna choba dog!)
In this way, video games are very similar to cinema as the way the camera is set affects the mood, the power dynamics, and other things. Because of this, game developers often use the same tricks as photographers and movie directors do. One of these tricks is the rule of thirds according to which a shot looks better when the main character is not in the center of the frame.
Some of the game genres make it pretty clear which camera angle is the best fit (you wouldn't want to play a shooter with only a zoomed-in camera because having a wide-angle view makes way more sense in this case) but sometimes it can be not so obvious. Mark says adventure games are not an easy genre in this sense and compares the original and the 2018 version of God of War to explain why. The original God of War game used a zoomed-out camera to give the players a full view of the entire battlefield. This, however, makes you feel distant, not really involved in the fight, it's more like you are playing with some toys or action figures.
The PlayStation 4 version, on the other hand, has a much closer camera which helps you develop a more intimate relationship with the character and see the world from his viewpoint. And this, as Mark notes, fits the narrative of the game much better as the 2018 version tells a more human story.
You can watch the entire talk and find more useful videos on game development on Mark's YouTube channel. Don't forget to join our new Telegram channel, our Discord, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.