Why Fixed Camera Angles Were An Awesome Trend

[Nergal]

 

In recent times, a lot of trends that were pioneered in the mid-late ’90s (but then later went away for some reason) have begun to rediscover their popularity. It seems like literally every two months, there’s a new (cool) homage/ throwback to old-school FPS and RPG being released—able to both stoke the nostalgia fire of veteran gamers, as well as bring new ones into the fold. The trend is pretty evident in things like the again-popular 2D Metroidvania genre, the somewhat resurgent ‘immersive sim’ genre, more JRPG’s being made than they were before, beat em ups, classic- style platformers etc. etc.

While it’s great that passionate designers are taking things they loved about the games they grew up on, and are incorporating them into modern titles, be it in the AAA or indie space. One classic trend from the ‘old days’, so to speak, has yet to make a full-on comeback. I’m talking about of course games using fixed/ static camera angles.

Most people will often scoff at this trend. Some won’t even consider it a trend. Others will often identify it exclusively with survival horror. A lot of people will be critical towards it in general (for baseless reasons). But all of this is narrow-minded thinking that sidelines just how important they were, and just how much they taught the industry to begin with.

Fixed cameras in this authors’ opinion, were an awesome tool that played a vital part in bringing a genuine sense of cinematic flair to games when it really needed it (as compared to now, where it is considered stigmatic in some respects). In the best games, they were used very strategically and created an incredible sense of place. Each deliberate camera angle highlighted various aspects of the location and let the player absorb in all the details that he/she often missed (and still does) due to the nature of fully 3D games. Since these games were often designed as a toy box-esque puzzle for the player to constantly navigate through back and forth, the camera angles added a sense of familiarity to the proceedings. Put it simply, they made the world seem alive.