The Camera and Camera Controls
The camera is a vital element in presenting the game world to players—it’s how they view and interact with that world. Before diving into other aspects of 3D scene rendering, let’s first explore the concept of cameras and their role in graphics rendering.
In Chapters 1 and 2, we saw examples of how the Knight uses cameras to render the game scene. This chapter introduces the principles of cameras and explores different types used across game genres, such as first-person shooters (FPS), third-person action RPGs, top-down views, and cinematic storytelling. Most importantly, we’ll look at how to implement these camera types using the Knight.
In this chapter, we will look at the following topics:
- Camera – how players see the game world through the 3D camera
- Defining the camera for rendering a scene
- Working with the built-in camera system
- Building a third-person follow-up camera, rail...
