Camera Study: Sonic the Hedgehog
I am going to look in detail at a franchise: how they use cameras and how their use of cameras have changed over time.
I have chosen to look at Sonic the Hedgehog as this is a long running franchise that has changed its use of cameras throughout the years.
The first Sonic game was Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) for Sega Mega Drive / Sega Genesis. This game was part of the 16-bit era, meaning it could fit more detail and colour in the screen than previous generations, and so it was a highly regarded game of its time. It was praised for its visuals, audio and gameplay.
Sonic The Hedgehog is a 2D side scrolling platformer. It uses a side-view 3rd person perspective - the camera type that is typical for that type of game and the era it is from.
Sonic The Hedgehog (1991) uses the type of camera set up pictured above. There is a focus area where the camera is placed and also panic lines above and below the focus. The character can move within the panic lines and the camera will stay in the same place - only the character/background will move. If the character moves out the panic lines the camera will move.
The camera has a main focus slightly to the left of the screen. The choice to place the focus to the left rather than exactly in the middle is made to give the impression of perpsective - as the character is most likely moving left to right, they are going to be facing left and so the player would want to see more of what the character can see in front of them, rather than behind them.
In film and photography, the rule of thirds is applied. This a way of staying spatially aware within the shot. If a person is facing left in a portrait for example, the rule of thirds dictates that the person would be in the right third of the frame, with empty space to the left of them. The camera in Sonic The Hedgehog (1991) keeps Sonic more central than the woman in this picture, but it uses the same principal.
However, during Boss Battles the camera stays static. The area that you can see on the screen is the only area that sonic can go during a boss battle, so there aren't any other areas for the camera to move to. Keeping the camera static is also used to make the fights feel more intense for the player; the camera creates a sense of claustrophobia because sonic is essentially trapped in this scene until either the boss orc Sonic have been defeated.
Sonic The Hedgehog II (1992) for Sega Genesis has mostly the same camera set up at the first game, except for the new half pipe ring levels. In these levels, the camera follows behind Sonic and Tails in a 3rd person perspective as they run through a half pipe collecting rings. While the game is still 2D, this perspective creates a 3D effect using the depth of field - making things smaller the closer they get to the horizon line. The camera stays static in the centre of the screen while Sonic and Tails continuous "move forward". They are not actually moving forward, they can only move left to right, but with the running animations and the environment moving towards them it creates the illusion of speed and forwards movement.
The shading and lines within this level are useful for seeing where Sonic and Tails are able to move to. They can't go any further forward than the bright area at the front of the screen, the areas that are shaded are where they can't move to. These parts of the screen stay shaded even while the environment moves. The characters also cannot go off the screen or over the half pipe, so the top line of the half pipe also acts as a barrier for where the characters can go.
Sonic CD (1993) for Sega CD was the next entry in the franchise. Again this used the same camera style for the side scrolling levels.
Sonic CD brought in a new type of level where Sonic would have to collect UFOs. At first glance this looks the same type of level as the half pipe level from Sonic The Hedgehog II. However in these new levels in Sonic CD, Sonic stays in the bottom middle of screen and move up to the centre if he jumps or gets hit. He never moves to the sides, when the command is used for him to turn, there is an animation of him turning and the camera moves instead. This is the first time in the Sonic games where the camera has been able to move 360° horizontally. The game is still 2D but multiple sprites are used for the different angles of Sonic, giving Sonic a 3D look.
The Sonic franchise continued using these camera styles while improving the visuals, audio and gameplay, until 1996 when Sonic 3D Blast was released.
Sonic 3D Blast (1996) for the Sega Genesis used an Isometric perspective. Isometric (sometimes also referred to as 2.5D) uses a slanted environment and multiple sprites in different angles to create a 3D illusion. Isometric games were the next step towards 3D for the gaming industry.
Sonic Adventure (1998) for Sega Dreamcast was the first Sonic game to use full 3D. The game uses a third person camera that follows just above and behind Sonic. Both Sonic and the camera are fully moveable in all directions. The camera changes depending on what would be most effective for the gameplay. The camera goes closer behind Sonic when he is running on a flat surface, further away on uneven surfaces and goes to a top down view when he jumps or falls.
After 1998, the sonic franchise continued with games varying between 2D side scrollers like the original games, 3D games like Sonic Adventure and spin off games with camera styles that fit their genre, e.g. the sonic racing games.