Chapter 8. Cameras

The camera determines the player’s point of view in the 3D game world. Many different types of cameras see use in games, and selecting the type of camera is a basic design decision that typically is made early in development.

This chapter covers the major types of cameras used in games today and the calculations that must happen behind the scenes to get them to work. It also takes a deeper look at the perspective projection, which was first covered in Chapter 4, “3D Graphics.”

Types of Cameras

Before we dive into different implementations of cameras, it’s worthwhile to discuss the major types of 3D cameras used in games. This section doesn’t cover every type of camera that conceivably could be used, but it does cover many ...

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