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How does a game camera follow you? Smoothing, dead zones and look-ahead
Every game has a camera, and how it follows you changes how the game feels. Learn the four common types: locked, smooth, dead zone and look-ahead.
Steer a hero through a big world and switch between cameras to see how smoothing, dead zones and look-ahead change what you see, and what to try first in your own game.
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Making Games
16 Oct What is game juice? Screen shake, hit-stop and why hits feel good Two games can have identical rules and still feel completely different. The difference is often juice: small effects like screen shake… Making Games
14 Oct How are 2D game levels built? Tilemaps explained Most 2D game levels are not big pictures. They are a grid of numbers that points at a small set of repeating tiles. That is called a… Making Games
10 Oct How does a game remember your progress? Save files explained How does a game remember where you stopped? It writes a small file of facts, called the game state, and reads it back when you load. Try a… Making Games
7 Oct How does a 2D character walk? Sprite sheets and animation speed Every 2D game character walks the same way a flipbook does: a few drawings shown one after another. Games pack those drawings into a single… Making Games
5 Oct How does a game enemy decide what to do? State machines for beginners Ever wondered how a game guard knows when to chase you? Most enemies run on a state machine: they are always in exactly one state, like… Making Games
3 Oct How does a game make a character jump? Gravity and the game loop A jump in a game isn't an animation. It's two tiny sums, velocity changes by gravity, then position changes by velocity, repeated every…
16 Oct What is game juice? Screen shake, hit-stop and why hits feel good Two games can have identical rules and still feel completely different. The difference is often juice: small effects like screen shake… Making Games
14 Oct How are 2D game levels built? Tilemaps explained Most 2D game levels are not big pictures. They are a grid of numbers that points at a small set of repeating tiles. That is called a… Making Games
10 Oct How does a game remember your progress? Save files explained How does a game remember where you stopped? It writes a small file of facts, called the game state, and reads it back when you load. Try a… Making Games
7 Oct How does a 2D character walk? Sprite sheets and animation speed Every 2D game character walks the same way a flipbook does: a few drawings shown one after another. Games pack those drawings into a single… Making Games
5 Oct How does a game enemy decide what to do? State machines for beginners Ever wondered how a game guard knows when to chase you? Most enemies run on a state machine: they are always in exactly one state, like… Making Games
3 Oct How does a game make a character jump? Gravity and the game loop A jump in a game isn't an animation. It's two tiny sums, velocity changes by gravity, then position changes by velocity, repeated every…