Change a Player's Point of View with Cameras

Cameras play a key role in the look and feel of a game. Third-person cameras can give players a greater sense of space, while first-person cameras give players a closer look at their game world. Switching cameras during gameplay can evoke different feelings, and transitioning between multiple cameras can add significant variety to your experience. For example, you could create a fun platforming challenge using a fixed camera to create a side-scrolling section.

In UEFN, you can use Verse to handle camera changes. By using devices to listen for events, you can add a camera to a player to change their view when the event triggers. In this example, you'll add an Orbit Camera device to a player at the end of a cinematic. You can modify the settings on an orbit camera to simulate a first-person view, and by adding the camera at the end of a cinematic you can create a smooth transition from third to first-person. For added gameplay, this example has the player grab a weapon and swing it at the door to trigger the cinematic. You can tailor this example to fit the needs of your experience, such as a player swinging a wrench to fix a faulty ship door, or swinging a hammer to smash a boulder and reveal a secret area. You can also more broadly apply these concepts to create cool gameplay moments, like a wide shot when entering a new zone, switching to a top-down view when the player needs to solve a puzzle, or a first-person view in a spooky horror experience.