Feature Request: Camera options
 

Wouldn't it be really great if you could check a box in the settings menu which would drastically cut down on the camera angle-switch between characters during a conversation?

Just for those of us who grew up on classic adventure games that were made in that format.

It seems like it'd only be a few lines of code to write.

*breaths deeply* no it wouldn't.

I wouldn't "hate for that option to be available", but I don't think it is a feature that Telltale need to be working on.

That's probably true - telling the engine to not cut to different camera angles during dialog would probably be not too hard. The problem, though, is the aesthetics involved in making that change. Much like any movie or TV series, when we make a camera cut, we try to take advantage of the new camera angle and make it look it's best. That means that sometimes, when the camera cuts, a character may be re-positioned to look better in that shot, or may be asked to look off-camera way more to the right or left of where the person they're talking to is actually standing, just because in practice the shot reads better than if they were actually looking in the right place. That's just sort of the reality of how you shoot things with multiple cameras... it sounds weird, but that's how it works. Also, when we have a character hand an item to someone else, sometimes that happens on screen, but sometimes it happens with a cut, because the item is unrealistically large or awkward to actually hand to someone, or because we just don't have the time/budget to animate a full item hand-off (they're always harder than you think). If we suddenly just took camera cuts out, the games wound look *extremely* sloppy, as characters would be jumping all over the place during dialogs, inventory items would be popping in andout of existence, etc, etc. We could build the games to work both ways, but that would, in many instances, probably be 1.5x the work, and we haven't got the time for something like that.

Most importantly, though, we like the look of the game with camera cuts in. It's a look we're always working to be better at, and we think it sets our games apart (in a good way) from most other adventure games, aesthetically.

I don't care either way. In the few cases thruought the series where you exchange a line or two of dialogue with someone without cutting, it hasn't felt nostalgiac so much as...distant? Something like that. It might work, though. Only one way to find out.

If your nostalgic for the old ways, why not just have an option to switch of all the graphics and turn it into a text based adventure e.g. like the end of game in reality 2.0 ;)

jake, interesting read. you guys are doing such a good job on the games that i hadn't even realized you cut corners that way.

Er... the games are crafted with particular camera cuts in mind, so 'cutting corners' isn't really what's happening. On a multicamera sitcom set you might see extras hanging out in the background or other weirdness if you were somehow able to keep watching through one camera. It's not really any different. You set up your shots for the camera you're using. That's how it goes :)

Yeah as Doug said, it's an aesthetic choice, not corner cutting. I mean, if you wanted, it would obviously be far easier to not alter the characters' positions to look better when the camera cut. Going in and tweaking things so they're more aesthetically pleasing is, probably, the opposite of cutting corners!

When people film a movie, they don't tell the actors "hold exactly still! we're changing the camera angle!" They actually do the opposite, and re-block everyone in the scene every time the camera cuts, frequently down to the lighting positions. If it's done right, it generally looks more seamless and visually pleasing than if it was shot like a documentary or something. A lot of stuff in our games is of course shot more like a 3-camera sitcom where there are just cameras cutting between the action, but whenever we can (and whenever the scene calls for it) we try to shoot things more like a one-camera TV series or film.

Bah. I'm trying to find a page somewhere that quickly explains the classic 3-camera sitcom setup vs 1-camera setup, but there really isn't anything jumping out at me. How lame.

Oh, right. I misunderstood, I thought you were saying that the multiple cameras allow changing of the character's positions from one frame to the next (as needed with cuts), so a static far-away camera wouldn't be possible, as it would've been far more work to animate the in-between "getting-to-places" animations or transitions.

I've no doubt that there is vast amount of work put into composition within camera angles, afterall, that is what multiple cameras are for, to create a particular aesthetic.

No need to flame me.

No flame intended!

The way I understand Jake, it's not going to happen as a selectable feature - but what about a Reality-1.5-ish sequence that looks more or less like a 90s 2D adventure game? I'd really love to see that in series 3.

maybe we should have a playable version of Hit the Road on Buster Blaster! And then make Grim Fandango 2!

Sarcastic much? :p

if it were "dur..." day, I would say it. but it's not so I wont.

No, wait! How about having a playable version of the current episode you're playing on Buster Blaster!

No need to thank me :p

INFINITY. =O

Maybe you could make single-camera mode an "easter egg" option of sorts. It'd be an interesting combination of nostalgia and a "behind the scenes look." :D

I sometimes feel like I wish there were fewer camera cuts, but I can't imagine making it an option you can turn on and off. That's just too... artistically weird.