10 Simple Video Game Features (That Are A NIGHTMARE To Develop)

10. A Camera That Follows The Player

Why is the camera trapped in a wall? Why is it lagging behind? How hard can it be to just... make the camera follow me? Lazy devs!

Well, the truth is... it’s one of the hardest things to manage, in a third-person game.

For starters, how far away should the camera follow behind? If it’s far away, then... how far away, and why? If it’s far away, is your game world large enough to allow free camera movement (or will it snag on the extremities of the game world)? If you need to restrict camera movement... how much?

Camera designers know it’s a nightmare when the camera mashes back into a wall when you back up into it, or flies inside the player as it tries to find a spot to sit. But what’s the alternative? Have the camera disable its collision and just... fly through the wall, exposing the ugly backfaces of the world the devs didn’t want you to see? Or create a completely unique asset for that purpose, which might make the whole thing more confusing overall?

It’s not just as simple as “design a consistently-following camera”. It’s gameplay design, it’s level design, it’s... it’s just goddamned everything.