Camera and Genre research: Third Person (Close)

Camera Position: Third person (close to character)

Genres: Third Person Shooter, Action RPG, driving/kart racer

The close Third Person camera gives a good balance between accuracy vs visual style.

This type of third person camera is used in third person shooter games where an amount of weapon accuracy is required, but maybe more environmental awareness is required (wider field of view) or a greater focus on the character and how it looks could be desired by the game designer to help the player feel more like the character they are playing.

Games which use this camera include Gears of War (Strong visual style and focused gameplay style), Mass Effect (Third person RPG and shooter hybrid with a distinct artistic style).

This style of camera is also used in driving/kart racing games such as Gran Turismo and Mario Kart.

The in-engine setup for a third person shooter/action game has the player character as a fully realised and animated mesh with the camera slightly further back making the character more of a focus, and the wider angle giving more environmental awareness. As the camera is still relatively close, the gunplay in a shooter can still be relatively engaging and accurate.