Game Designer – Cameras Santa Monica Studios, Sony – 2018 to 2022
This page features spoilers for the game as I discuss my work within it. Please take caution as you view it if you’d like to preserve your play experience.
During my time at Sony Santa Monica I worked with an incredible cast of developers. I worked alongside passionate artists, animators, designers, and engineers to create a highly polished player first experience. The following are a couple of my favorite features that I owned and championed during this tenure.
Straddling the line between form and function the vehicle camera in God of War proved to be quite the challenge. The goals were fairly broad; provide the player a responsive camera that gives the sensation of being on the vehicle while still allowing for responsive control and make each vehicle feel unique in its control. I worked closely with a Locomotion Designer to create these unique vehicles to compliment God of War’s lauded Boat.
The camera for the sled became a complicated scripted system that looks ahead while turning, looks behind for tight turns, and adds to the feeling of speed while sliding across the icy environment. This system proved especially tricky because the wolf sled was massive in its relative scale and its control was based on the wolves pulling the sled.
The Yak in contrast was far simpler of a vehicle but its slow nature and environment required unique cameras. A wide focal angle and intimate positioning complimented the breathtaking, vertical environment while mildly sluggish camera controls added to the Yak’s stubborn nature.
Accessibility Features
Working closely with Sony Santa Monica’s UX team we were challenged with improving the player experience for players with motor skill or reactionary impairments. I had pitched a system that uses a quick firing camera reposition to turn the player’s view (and subsequently Kratos) towards high priority enemies on attacks and shield parries. Enemy targets were filtered through an adjustable weight system that assigned enemies a ‘threat’ value based on a number of factors like proximity, who the enemy is attacking, or least camera rotation. After much iteration we settled on a tuning that was not just accurate but, more importantly, predictable in it’s target selection.
Combat Cameras
Dragons – One of the widest focal lengths we used in the game. The camera needed to show the immense size of the dragon without losing the signature responsiveness. The camera would shift the view to help telegraph attack tells of these massive, hard hitting enemies.
One-on-One camera – Every attack the camera pushes in slightly to mimic the sensation of a boxer’s focused combo. This camera was used in fights with Thor to really drive home the brutal nature of these engagements.
Heimdall – A fast moving, frustrating boss encounter required a wider camera and a couple bespoke camera sequences.
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