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[IbizaPocholo]

Shinji Mikami says Resident Evil 4’s camera wasn’t meant to be groundbreaking | VGC

But developers including Masahiro Sakurai and the Gears of War team praised its innovation…

www.videogameschronicle.com

In a new discussion with Resident Evil 7 executive producer Shinji Mikami on the official Biohazard YouTube channel, Mikami – who wrote and directed the fourth Resident Evil game – said the team simply decided that a moving third-person over-the-shoulder camera would work better than the fixed camera angles used in the first three main Resident Evil titles.

However, the camera proved so effective that it was cited as one of the main reasons for the game’s overwhelming critical success and subsequent status.

Takeuchi also revealed that the Gears of War team told him they based their game’s camera on the Resident Evil 4 viewpoint.

“It felt natural, oddly enough,” Mikami explained. “We weren’t planning on doing something innovative, but in the end everyone kept saying we did.

“To us personally, we just thought that angle was better. We weren’t trying to do something new or groundbreaking, there was none of that.”

Mikami said the first person who praised the change of camera was Super Smash Bros creator Masahiro Sakurai. “He came to check out the game in development and asked, ‘who came up with this camera system?’,” he recalled.

“‘Hey, yeah, that was me.’ ‘This is great,’ he said. ‘Woah, really?’ I responded.”

Takeuchi, who wasn’t involved in Resident Evil 4’s development and was instead working on Lost Planet at the time, then revealed that the Gears of War development team took inspiration from Resident Evil 4’s camera.

“During the development of Lost Planet, at our first E3, we were approached by the Gears of War team,” he recalled. “They were all around us, checking out the Lost Planet camera.

“A bunch of them were asking why we weren’t using the Resident Evil 4 camera in the game. We were like: ‘Well, it’s a completely different game.'”

According to Takeuchi, the team then told him: “We based the Gears of War camera on Resident Evil 4’s. Here, check this out.”

“It’s weird,” Mikami added. “It doesn’t really hit you, even with all that praise. You’re not like, ‘I did it!’, it’s more like ‘this ought to work, I guess’.

“Like, in a fight when you punch them in a gut, even if you were holding back, when you see the other guy keel over in pain you think ‘woah, that got him, that did it. That actually did it.'”

 

[Lokaum D+]

It wasnt

 

[.Pennywise]

It was

 

[laynelane]

He comes across as a fairly modest guy. I enjoyed the camera in RE4 and all the other games that have used it since.

 

[bender]

it w

 

[Javthusiast]

Still a timeless classic to this day. And I know the remake won't surpass it for me.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Was it?

 

[SeraphJan]

It was at the time

 

[Grildon Tundy]

What a BAMF. He broke ground as a side effect because he was trying to best serve the gameplay, not because he had a goal in mind to change the industry. Wish more developers were like Mikami

 

[Griffon]

Edit: Max Payne used that same type of camera angle a few years prior (third person with the camera off-center for better shooting). But RE4 is what made it work for console controls and was much tighter in quality.

 

[Knightime_X]

Re4 is the only game to get this many remasters\ports and nobody bats an eye.
Re4 is a genuine GOAT title.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[JonSnowball]

Edit: Max Payne used that same type of camera angle a few years prior (third person with the camera off-center for better shooting). But RE4 is what made it work for console controls and was much tighter in quality.

No, it didn't. Max Payne and Max Payne 2 use a centered camera - not over the shoulder.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES....

 

[Werewolf Jones]

Success by accident and kept the series survival guaranteed. Let's not pretend, it is incredibly influential.

 

[Soodanim]

“Like, in a fight when you punch them in a gut, even if you were holding back, when you see the other guy keel over in pain you think ‘woah, that got him, that did it. That actually did it.'”

This is the best anology any game dev has ever used

 

[Thabass]

Well that's good, because over the shoulder cams existed before then lol

 

[Aggelos]

The above video is posted as unlisted on the official Japanese Biohazard account.

The previous one (part 1) was handled the same way at first, and they figured it out and made it private (because unlisted videos can be viewed by the public once the link is known). I expect the above one to be made private before long.

https://www.neogaf.com/threads/shinji-mikami-says-he-wants-to-%E2%80%98make-his-own-game%E2%80%99-and-change-development-culture.1640527/

 

[TheDuskwalker]

I just realized, Capcom privated the part 1 of this talk between Mikami and Jun, which I don't think anyone posted on here. Probably because Jun revealed this.

Capcom wanted Resident Evil 7 to be a live service game with microtransactions | VGC

But executive producer Jun Takeuchi says the development team fought back…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Edit: Just saw post above mine.

 

[Denton]

I mean, it wasn't.

 

[CamHostage]

No, it didn't. Max Payne and Max Payne 2 use a centered camera - not over the shoulder.

Yeah, it's pretty centered. Maybe the character is a little to the left of the reticule in general, but not by much, if any. Max Payne tended to favor one side because Max was right-handed, and then in the dive it seems like it would also tend to shift towards his dominant side (but you would flip around and move the camera, and the cam would try its best to adjust so you could see enemies instead of just Max's big torso), but his head is right there next to the reticule and even when he leaps prone the gun stays as the centerpoint of the shooting mechanism. (Him skewing slightly to one side also might just be down to the player themselves being whichever-handed, so the viewpoint would tend to move the way the player tended to move?)

Max Payne 1,2,3, each with on-screen reticule

If you go back and play like Max Payne or Rogue Troopers or SOCOM or grandaddy Kill Switch and they all feel a little clunky or rote in aim/combat compared to Gears (can't quite compare to RE4 since that's true stop-and-pop tank-controls, but the lineage is absolutely and admittedly inherited,) and I think a lot of it came down to committing to that over-the-shoulder aiming system. The viewpoint change gives it a constant flow of visual variety, and the narrowed field-of-view helps you zero in on your target.

I had noticed this as a factor back in the day (when I was going through my backlog after having played a few modern games.) I noticed at the time that TPS made a huge jump in enjoyability for me post-Gears, and part of it is the cementing cover-based stop-and-pop (which I have loved as a mechanic since the old arcade game Cabal,) but also I think that little change made all the difference.

(BTW, check out the PSP DTR game Reckoning and you'll see a little bit of a dev learning in that time how offset-from-center is beneficial; partly it came about because the PSP game was by Rebellion and they built it on the Gun port engine and partly because PSP really required lock-on to play well, but you can see the cam constantly fighting to subtly get off of the centered head, which DTR1+2 didn't seem to both with or think about. You can also see its subtle infiltration into established games with sequels like GTA San Andreas and of course Max Payne 3.)

 

[JonSnowball]

Yeah, it's pretty centered, albeit the character is a little to the left of the reticule in most cases. Max Payne tended to favor one side because Max was right-handed, and then in the dive it seems like it would also tend to shift towards his dominant side (but you would flip around and move the camera, and the cam would try its best to adjust so you could see enemies instead of just Max's big torso), but his head is right there next to the reticule and even when he leaps prone the gun stays as the centerpoint of the shooting mechanism.

Max Payne 1,2,3, each with on-screen reticule

If you go back and play like Max Payne or Rogue Troopers or SOCOM or grandaddy Kill Switch and they all feel a little clunky or rote in aim/combat compared to Gears (can't quite compare to RE4 since that's true stop-and-pop tank-controls, but the lineage is absolutely and admittedly inherited,) and I think a lot of it came down to committing to that over-the-shoulder aiming system. The viewpoint change gives it a constant flow of visual variety, and the narrowed field-of-view helps you zero in on your target.

I had noticed this as a factor back in the day (when I was going through my backlog after having played a few modern games.) I noticed at the time that TPS made a huge jump in enjoyability for me post-Gears, and part of it is the cementing cover-based stop-and-pop (which I have loved as a mechanic since the old arcade game Cabal,) but also I think that little change made all the difference.

(BTW, check out the PSP DTR game Reckoning and you'll see a little bit of a dev learning in that time how offset-from-center is beneficial; partly it came about because the PSP game was by Rebellion and they built it on the Gun port engine and partly because PSP really required lock-on to play well, but you can see the cam constantly fighting to subtly get off of the centered head, which DTR1+2 didn't seem to both with or think about. You can also see its subtle infiltration into established games with sequels like GTA San Andreas and of course Max Payne 3.)

Max Payne 3 shouldn't be included. It wasn't a Remedy production and it used a different engine. I also can't "go back" to Max Payne as I'm currently half way through yet another playthrough of it. I love the series and every couple of years I play them again, and I hope the recently announced remakes being developed by Remedy maintain the fluidity the original releases had while providing a nice visual uplift. I will concede that Max Payne's camera is slightly off center, but this isn't comparable in any way, shape, or form to the over the shoulder view Resident Evil 4 effectively introduced.

For your viewing pleasure here's a screenshot of Max Payne running on my system in 5K resolution:

 

[Signal Rockets]

In the remake, Luis may have more to do.

 

[Kev Kev]

I just replayed RE4 recently and the camera was terrible. It was clunky and hard to deal with, and honestly made the whole experience worse.

 

[The_Mike]

I guess what's he's referring to was game breaking from the series, and not the feature itself.

 

[Wildebeest]

I prefered the camera angle in PN03 but RE4 was OK I guess.

 

[tommib]

Everything about RE4 was groundbreaking. Don’t be humble, Mikami.

 

[SnapShot]

haha camra

 

[Grildon Tundy]

In the remake, Luis may have more to do.

What makes you say that?

For your viewing pleasure here's a screenshot of Max Payne running on my system in 5K resolution:

I zoomed in until Max's head took up my whole screen, and I saw jaggies. Unplayable. Lol

 

[rabbity-thing]

It wasnt

It was

 

[CamHostage]

I will concede that Max Payne's camera is slightly off center, but this isn't comparable in any way, shape, or form to the over the shoulder view Resident Evil 4 effectively introduced.

Right, I'm agreeing with you, (I went back and edited my post for clarification,) they were not on the path that Mikami or Blezinski eventually figured out was a good way to go for third-person shooters. They maybe adjusted the character or animation or camera system slightly so that his stormy noggin isn't always in the way of the aimdot, but that's all they were trying to do, if anything, was keep the reticule's target visible. Eventually though, the values of offcenter aiming were discovered, and not only did the third Max Payne (by Rockstar) shift the view some in otherwise similar gameplay, but also even Remedy's own new games all tried different methods of offcenter aiming and aim-zooming starting with Alan Wake.




BTW, I'm not sure what other games the "it wasn't" people are citing as games that preceded RE4's offcenter over-the-shoulder aim system (probably something tried it, right?), but I actually remember the camera was controversial in its day. In reactions to previews, I remember forums in the day had people reacting negatively. They said stuff like, "shooting is supposed to be centered, have these people never shot a gun before?" or "how can I see what I'm shooting when I can't see half the screen with the guy in the way??" And maybe this was just a dream of mine, but I could swear I remember there being like an early meme of "Resident Evil Reticule" where the crosshairs were also off-center. (I mocked up what I remember below.) People didn't get it until they played it.

 

[fart town usa]

He comes across as a fairly modest guy. I enjoyed the camera in RE4 and all the other games that have used it since.

Yea, he's incredibly modest (based on interviews) and just seems like a great guy to work under. Based on what he's said in interviews from the past few years, he basically just wants to mentor junior staff and allow them the ability to direct games. Really cool considering that's how he got his big break with Resident Evil. It's like he never got an ego or forget his roots.


OT, only issue I have with the camera in RE4 is that it always wants to snap back into place. It's dated so I can't fault it too much but it just feels terrible whenever I go back and play the game.

 

[Signal Rockets]

What makes you say that?



I zoomed in until Max's head took up my whole screen, and I saw jaggies. Unplayable. Lol

It's just a rumour.

 

[nikos]

I remember turning that game off as soon as I realized you couldn't move and shoot at the same time.

 

[Signal Rockets]

I feel the same way about it. Although more so trying it again today.

At the time, I didn't really think about it much. It was only after so many games got better movement capabilities over the following decade, that you fully understood just how crappy the original RE4 plays in the modern era.

But with that said, RE4 was still a major influence on today's games just the same.

 

[Shift!]

Just the idea of Masahiro Sakurai walking into the office one day and saying, "wow, who worked on this camera?" is mindblowing to me.

 

[jonnyXx]

Max Payne 3 shouldn't be included. It wasn't a Remedy production and it used a different engine. I also can't "go back" to Max Payne as I'm currently half way through yet another playthrough of it. I love the series and every couple of years I play them again, and I hope the recently announced remakes being developed by Remedy maintain the fluidity the original releases had while providing a nice visual uplift. I will concede that Max Payne's camera is slightly off center, but this isn't comparable in any way, shape, or form to the over the shoulder view Resident Evil 4 effectively introduced.

For your viewing pleasure here's a screenshot of Max Payne running on my system in 5K resolution:

Please turn on Anisotropic Filtering.

 

[Majukun]

i mean, no innovation is ever introduced knowing it will be groundbreaking

i doubt the devs of h1z1 thought that they just invented the most lucrative genre in recent years when they made their game.

 

[RoadHazard]

I kinda hate games with the camera locked behind the character's shoulder, it feels very restrictive and clunky. I vastly prefer a freely controllable camera that only locks when you actively aim. But it did work for this game.

 

[STARSBarry]

I just realized, Capcom privated the part 1 of this talk between Mikami and Jun, which I don't think anyone posted on here. Probably because Jun revealed this.

Capcom wanted Resident Evil 7 to be a live service game with microtransactions | VGC

But executive producer Jun Takeuchi says the development team fought back…

www.videogameschronicle.com

Edit: Just saw post above mine.

I can well believe that because everytime they make a new title they announce some shitty thing like RE:Versus which no one cares about. It feels obvious to me Capcom spends alot of time pressuring dev teams away from making the game they want to make and instead wasting time and resources on some live service abomination.

However either due to some smart mid management perhaps having a small team working on what the suits demand and showing them that instead of the actual game the teams working on or just outright refusal until the suits back off we get the modern RE games instead. Considering we keep getting tacked on multiplayer components though I assume the former.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

I can well believe that because everytime they make a new title they announce some shitty thing like RE:Versus which no one cares about. It feels obvious to me Capcom spends alot of time pressuring dev teams away from making the game they want to make and instead wasting time and resources on some live service abomination.

However either due to some smart mid management perhaps having a small team working on what the suits demand and showing them that instead of the actual game the teams working on or just outright refusal until the suits back off we get the modern RE games instead. Considering we keep getting tacked on multiplayer components though I assume the former.

Oh, if you didn't read the whole thing, Jun strait up said it was the president Kenzo Tsujimoto. He heard what was happening, and put Jun in charge with creative control.

 

[FUBARx89]

That first sentence about Mikami & the RE7 executive producer is worded really badly. (I know its VGC's shitty writing)

Meh. It was revolutionary to be OTS, but I still think movement is absolutely trash in it and I like tank controls.

Not sure why everyone loves RE4 so much. We all know REmake 1 is the greatest RE.

 

[Dr_Salt]

Well that's good, because over the shoulder cams existed before then lol

Example of TPS with over the shoulder mechanics before RE4?

 

[The artful mincer]

It was definitely influential.

I guess most 3rd person shooters were just
1st person shooters with the camera pulled back.

Resident evil 4 differed in it had traversal controls and aiming controls. Alot of 3rd person shooters now follow that outline. Although most allow some kind of movement while aiming but less than the traversal controls.

 

[lovetalkgames]

Having access to a fully 3D environment but not being able to move while aiming is wild in hindsight. I guess Dead Space gets that credit?

 

[Thabass]

Example of TPS with over the shoulder mechanics before RE4?

I looked it up and I'm wrong. Still, third person shooters existed before then and played in a similar fashion. I'd say it's just an evolution of third-person shooters used and nothing groundbreaking, so I agree with Mikami.

 

[Himuro]

Example of TPS with over the shoulder mechanics before RE4?

I recall Splinter Cell doing it for shooting but could be wrong.

Also Resident Evil 4 is the best 3d game ever made.

 

[CamHostage]

Having access to a fully 3D environment but not being able to move while aiming is wild in hindsight. I guess Dead Space gets that credit?

I mean, it's proper gun handling. Run-and-gun shooting in most games is pretty silly to look at in motion and would be a moronic way to handle a firearm. You can shoot on the move, but if you want to actually hit shit, you would slow your pace from a run to a stride when firing (so you have a solid base of stance and so you can see down the scope or sights) and you would want to establish for yourself a clear line of movement so you can compensate for your travel in your and also have a set trajectory for your motion in and out of the action.




Now, somebody can say, "But it's a videogame, who cares about reality?", and sure, it's a videogame, you don't have to treat a videogame gun line a real gun. But videogames have rules which make them complex to master and enjoyable in the tension-release mechanics, and IMO, the shift from full-speed running to half-speed or stopped shooting is actually an enjoyable addition of variety to the flow of gameplay in 3rd-person and even some 1st-person shooters. (I'd hate it in a 2D game like Contra or Mega Man or even a targeting-dependent 2D game like Abuse, of course, but rules have their place depending on how the game is made to be played.)

I recall Siphon Filter doing it for shooting but could be wrong.

Naw, Syphon Filter was pretty much centered-character, center-crosshairs. (Because the game had lock-on, the character moved around independent of aiming often, so you often get off-center views, but but that wasn't really an intentionally-designed viewpoint for targeting so much as it was a method of camera management once a target was acquired.)

 

[Himuro]

I mean, it's proper gun handling. Run-and-gun shooting in most games is pretty silly to look at in motion and would be a moronic way to handle a firearm. You can shoot on the move, but if you want to actually hit shit, you would slow your pace from a run to a stride when firing (so you have a solid base of stance and so you can see down the scope or sights) and you would want to establish for yourself a clear line of movement so you can compensate for your travel in your and also have a set trajectory for your motion in and out of the action.




Now, somebody can say, "But it's a videogame, who cares about reality?", and sure, it's a videogame, you don't have to treat a videogame gun line a real gun. But videogames have rules which make them complex to master and enjoyable in the tension-release mechanics, and IMO, the shift from full-speed running to half-speed or stopped shooting is actually an enjoyable addition of variety to the flow of gameplay in 3rd-person and even some 1st-person shooters. (I'd hate it in a 2D game like Contra or Mega Man or even a targeting-dependent 2D game like Abuse, of course, but rules have their place depending on how the game is made to be played.)




Naw, Syphon Filter was pretty much centered-character, center-crosshairs. (Because the game had lock-on, the character moved around independent of aiming often, so you often get off-center views, but but that wasn't really an intentionally-designed viewpoint for targeting so much as it was a method of camera management once a target was acquired.)

Sorry, not Syphon Filter. I meant Splinter Cell. Sorry, I'm getting old.

 

[Arachnid]

Edit: Max Payne used that same type of camera angle a few years prior (third person with the camera off-center for better shooting). But RE4 is what made it work for console controls and was much tighter in quality.

Not exactly. Max Payne 2 was the last entry before RE4, and it used the same standard character centered viewpoint with a white dot in the center of the screen it and a lot of other shooters used. RE4 used the pulled in over-the-shoulder viewpoint.