Camera Freedom: A new perspective on what sidescrollers could be

Progress through a traditional platformer is generally lateral. Left to right. It makes sense, and makes controls easier to learn.

Instead of worrying about spacial progress, the same principle can be applied to a track. This utilizes the benefits of a 3D world (namely immersion and the ability to see things from multiple perspectives) with the control simplicity of a traditional side scroller to denote progress along pre-designed tracks.

In the below example, the camera follows the character using the track rotation to change perspective subtly as they move around a mountain.

This also means that cinematic moments can be achieved procedurally throughout a level by placing volumes that control camera pitch and distance from the player, like below.

Progress is still controlled laterally by moving the virtual joystick from left to right.

In this instance the volume casts to a custom event in the character blueprint.

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Next week will mostly be an art week! I’m replacing the worst of the programmer art to get closer to a vertical slice. I’ll be live streaming the sculpt of the protagonist on twitch!

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