Popping The Lid camera example: XCom:Enemy Unknown by Firaxis Games Taking this approach further we can also hide walls and various other objects, should they obstruct our view, allowing for much lower camera angles and a closer view of the player’s character. The camera still needs to be positioned at a fair distance with a direct angle looking downwards, but because we can hide/unhide obstructions we have a lot more freedom with the ways we can construct our environment. This gives the player a nice feeling of entering a building/area and allows for more complex level design with an increased sense of space. In most cases there is no roof to begin with as a way to avoid additional setup work. When standing outside of a building you can see the building’s roof but once inside, the entire ceiling and upper floors are removed and all that remains is a cut-out view of the current floor and its walls. The player can only view one layer at the time based on where the camera is focused on. Think of the level as being a multi layered cake. The next solution involves cutting up the environment. It also made the environments feel a lot more artificial and out of touch with the gameplay, feel and visual style that we are going for.īirds eye view camera example: Helldivers by Arrow Head Game Studios Slice and dice / popping the lid In our case however, the large distance between your point of view and the character results in players feeling less attached to our hero. This approach works well for games that are “Arcade”-like in nature or that have a more traditional top down RPG setup. This means that most areas will need to be rather open and large, walls and obstructions need to be kept as low as possible or even avoided and the camera needs to be positioned at a substantial distance from the player, preferably looking as straight down as possible. The first solution is to create the levels in such a way that it is impossible to have a large obstruction between the player and the camera. So before we started implementing our own solutions we had a look at some tried and tested approaches of dealing with the issue we were facing. This is a very common problem in games that share a similar camera setup like the one used in Trifox. In other words, how do we deal with objects obstructing our view of the main character? Do we avoid them? Do we hide them? And if so, how do we hide them in a visually pleasing and smooth manner that fits with the style of the game? How can we maintain a sense of space without hindering gameplay? One of the first challenges we faced during development was keeping the main character in view using the top down camera while at the same time maintaining the sense of being present in a full 3D environment. Where’s my character? Defining the problem Mix and match between three different and unique play styles, fight your way through swarms of enemies, engage in thrilling boss fights and overcome exciting environmental challenges as you discover that there is more to your quest than meets the eye…. In Trifox you play as a multi-talented fox on a quest to restore and return peace to his recently invaded and plundered home. Trifox is a top-down twin stick action adventure game set in a unique and colorful world, inspired by classic platform games. Hi, I’m Brecht Lecluyse, one of the developers at Glowfish Interactive that is currently working on Trifox. Obstruction handling and dissolve shader techniques in Trifox
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