2006 – The Fixed Camera Era
The New Super Mario Bros. Combines a 3-D Adventure with a Classic.
A new style of gaming has appeared on the Nintendo DS, providing players with a new perspective on things. This style, referred to as ‘fixed camera gaming,’ combines three-dimensional elements with a two-dimensional spin.
‘Fixed camera gaming’ first appeared on the Nintendo DS in Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land. The main game gave a fresh look on things with a cell-shaded, fully 3-D interface. Activision and Vicarious Visions, the creators of this game, noted that all players might not like this new outlook on the portable Tony Hawk series. As a solution, the game creators provided a ‘Legacy Camera’ that could be turned on within the options menu.
Once players enabled this option, the in-game camera turned into an overhead view, similar to the old Tony Hawk games for the GBA. Unlike the GBA games, however, everything was still 3-D rendered. This created a unique effect.
Old GBA Tony Hawk camera angles like these were emulated in Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land.
Now, two more fixed camera games are coming our way in 2006. The first is a little game called The New Super Mario Bros. This game will include 3-D rendered characters and enemies, but instead of having the camera behind the main character as in other 3-D games, the camera will be fixed in a classical side-scrolling position.
Side-scrolling classic or fixed camera revolution?
The familiar overhead camera will be used in this 3-D Zelda game.
Fixed-camera games seem to be becoming more and more popular as time goes on. Will retro camera angles eventually replace behind-the-head viewpoints seen in Super Mario 64 DS? Will they dominate first-person views like the ones in Metroid Prime: Hunters? Only time will tell…
The New Super Mario Bros. Combines a 3-D Adventure with a Classic.
A new style of gaming has appeared on the Nintendo DS, providing players with a new perspective on things. This style, referred to as ‘fixed camera gaming,’ combines three-dimensional elements with a two-dimensional spin.
‘Fixed camera gaming’ first appeared on the Nintendo DS in Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land. The main game gave a fresh look on things with a cell-shaded, fully 3-D interface. Activision and Vicarious Visions, the creators of this game, noted that all players might not like this new outlook on the portable Tony Hawk series. As a solution, the game creators provided a ‘Legacy Camera’ that could be turned on within the options menu.
Once players enabled this option, the in-game camera turned into an overhead view, similar to the old Tony Hawk games for the GBA. Unlike the GBA games, however, everything was still 3-D rendered. This created a unique effect.
Old GBA Tony Hawk camera angles like these were emulated in Tony Hawk’s American Sk8land.
Now, two more fixed camera games are coming our way in 2006. The first is a little game called The New Super Mario Bros. This game will include 3-D rendered characters and enemies, but instead of having the camera behind the main character as in other 3-D games, the camera will be fixed in a classical side-scrolling position.
Side-scrolling classic or fixed camera revolution?
The familiar overhead camera will be used in this 3-D Zelda game.
Fixed-camera games seem to be becoming more and more popular as time goes on. Will retro camera angles eventually replace behind-the-head viewpoints seen in Super Mario 64 DS? Will they dominate first-person views like the ones in Metroid Prime: Hunters? Only time will tell…
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