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#Post#: 16--------------------------------------------------
Low camera angles in adventure game scenery
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 20, 2021, 8:52 am
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The traditional way of drawing adventure game graphics -
certainly in the 'point and click' era - is a fairly eye level
approach. Earlier parser games often had a slightly higher
camera angle to facilitate the '3-D' worlds which allowed
players to walk off the screen to the north, south, east and
west. Some games of the point & click style retained elements of
this, but most of them are closer to the angle showed in Simon
the Sorcerer 2 above. It's a handy way to handle animations,
show the world, and the eye level approach is pretty immersive.
All in all, it's a practical, useful angle to work with.
Sometimes, though, it doesn't quite convey what an artist wants,
and so they'll shift the camera angle up or down to give
different aesthetics to a scene. I'm going to split my
examination of this effect into two different posts, one for low
angles and one for high angles, because the number of examples
would, otherwise, become somewhat overwhelming. I'll start with
mild examples and proceed to more extreme ones through the post.
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This shot from Day of the Tentacle uses the effect quite simply
to enhance the size of the sculptures in the room. Well known
for its wonky take on perspective, here the game utilizes this
nicely to enhance the visual impact of these statues. It's a
nice way to add some mass and visual impact to the form.
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A very mild example of a low camera angle, this shot from Sam &
Max Hit the Road places us on top of a tall structure. Keeping
the camera angle somewhat low (notice how we see the underside
of floors, rather than the actual floors themselves) helps to
give the illusion that we're up high. This is something low and
high camera angles are particularly good at - indicating danger
or uncertainty, by giving a sense of scale or height beyond the
standard.
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They can also simply use that sense of scale to make a scene
feel more impressive through sheer size, such as in this shot
from Universe. The massive amounts of ceiling shown give a sense
of huge scale, aided by how far back the scene recedes. There's
still plenty of floor visible, but by giving such a sharp sense
of perspective, we can really appreciate the height to which the
ceiling extends.
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This sort of shot from The Dig, showing the ceiling and the
floor to such extents, can really show the power of what feels
like slightly warped perspective. Because we can take in so much
of both planes, it feels like the camera is zoomed far back,
with that massive ceiling looming above showing how this sort of
angle can feel huge and intimidating.
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Here's an interesting example from Full Throttle, where the road
is the main element we're interested in, in terms of
playability, but the cave itself is the most interesting part of
the scene. Making so much of the scene taken up by the cave wall
and ceiling really makes for a much stronger scene than focusing
on the road, as older games often did. Interestingly, this
camera angle feels slightly higher than the previous scene,
despite arguably showing less "floor", because the camera feels
closer to the action and the ceiling isn't immediately apparent.
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Here's a great example where the artist used quite extreme
distortion of perspective to give the impression of a low
camera. There's a massive amount of ground - about half of the
scene, allowing for a lot of walking around, but as the shot
recedes the lines converge more and more, like a fisheye lens.
This allows the structure in the distance to loom nicely, a
strong, foreboding form made more powerful by this distortion
that gives the illusion of a rather low camera.
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A closer look at the same structure shows a more pure take on
perspective, this time with a genuinely low camera angle with
the minimum of ground shown. The structure looms impressively,
with Graham appearing tiny relative to that massive doorway, and
the stone pillars towering above him. This is a great way to
make an otherwise quite plain scene visually striking.
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Again with the camera pulled back, and the perspective
distorted, is this scene from Simon the Sorcerer 2. The castle
looms imperiously, reinforced by the circle of sky being
completely hemmed in by the surrounding rock mass, making the
impression of 'looking up' even more believable. This kind of
technique is great for establishing shots like this, as they
don't have to worry about being playable, freeing the artist up
to play with elements such as this to their heart's content.
Particularly nice in a subtle way here is the structure off to
the left, which helps to reinforce the strong perspective by
showing another plane not very visible from the main structure.
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This great shot from Curse of Enchantia once more uses a
wonderfully warped perspective to help the scene feel tall and
oppressive. This sort of technique works particularly well when
dealing with a magical place, such as this, as the unreliable
sense of perspective really helps the place feel unnatural and
gives a sense of uneasiness. Coupled with the looming
architecture, the effect is quite powerful.
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This sort of shot is also great for showing a descent - this
scene from The Dig starts from the top and moves downwards,
giving us the illusion of watching the characters descend from a
fixed camera at the bottom of the chasm. This feels more dynamic
and interesting than a straight descent, helping to increase
tension by suggesting a great height that they have to descend
from.
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Another great example of such a descent is this shot from
Discworld. The super low camera, mixed with an unusual angle
that almost gives a sense of vertigo, makes the scene seem
perilous and unsteady, as well as enhancing the magical and
unpredictable nature of the Unseen University this shot is taken
from. It's also the second playable scene in the game, making
for a great introduction to the setting.
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This type of shot always works powerfully for an ascent, as well
as a descent. This scene from Loom sees us looking up from
having ascended to this height, and does another great job of
conveying the sense of height. Whether used to show an ascent,
or descent, this low angle conveys height/depth wonderfully. The
effect is almost dizzying in this particular shot.
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A really good example, once more of a descent, this shot from
Monkey Island 2 shows us almost directly beneath a boat, looking
up as Guybrush dives into the water. This scene helps to convey
the depth of the water beautifully, and after his descent ends
in a shot from a high camera angle to sell the depth even more.
Lucasarts games employed this effect numerous times in games
like The Dig and Full Throttle, and it's well worth seeing in
motion to really see how the effect works.
It's inspiring to see how many artists have used this technique
in their work to give this sense of scale, foreboding and visual
impact to their scenery. Being able to convey great size or
distance without relying on making the player character smaller
is wonderfully empowering, and I love seeing this in play. I
also love to see just how far some artists push it in their
works, and what they can achieve with such strong approaches.
Although games often call for practical, eye level compositions,
breaking this tradition periodically works great, and is a handy
technique to be aware of when planning out scenery for your
projects!
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