Cave Story
A classic 2D action platformer with exploration and shooting.
Where Cave Story comes up1 episode or test
Cave Story's camera is a small detail that helps the game feel good. It keeps two positions, one for facing left and one for facing right, both set ahead of the player, and glides slowly between them on a turn. The source gives no numbers. The lesson: show players what is coming, and ease the camera when they reverse so the view never snaps.
- 1Player turnsFacing flips left or right
- 2Camera glidesSlowly moves, never snaps
- 3Camera settles aheadOffset in front, showing what's coming
From Cave Story camera design
What was said about Cave Story
Cave Story offsets its camera ahead of the player and glides when they turn. Cave Story keeps two camera positions, one for facing left and one for facing right, both offset in front of the player. When the player turns, the camera glides slowly from one position to the other instead of snapping.
A character pinned to the center spends half the screen on ground already passed, so the offset shows more of what is coming. The lesson is to ask what the player really needs to see and make sure the camera isn't hiding it. New Super Mario Bros. U takes a similar approach: it biases right and only swings left of Mario once he has backtracked for a while.
How to Make a Good 2D Camera
Keeps two camera positions, one for facing left and one for facing right, both offset in front of the player, and glides slowly between them when you turn.
Cave Story offsets its camera ahead of the player and glides when they turn. Cave Story keeps two camera positions, one for facing left and one for facing right, both offset in front of the player. When the player turns, the camera glides slowly from one position to the other instead of snapping.
A character pinned to the center spends half the screen on ground already passed, so the offset shows more of what is coming. The lesson is to ask what the player really needs to see and make sure the camera isn't hiding it. New Super Mario Bros. U takes a similar approach: it biases right and only swings left of Mario once he has backtracked for a while.
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