The Argument

There is a lot of debate over the camera system in RE. I believe that the camera can be used to punctuate mood and storytelling. The previously used cinematic camera also defined a visual aesthetic that stylistically defined RE. Unfortunately, RE has adopted a popular camera that is devoid of these traits. The OTS doesn't push emotion, provide directorial control, or style the game. Instead the OTS has made RE conform to other titles for the sake of convenience.

Detractors of the cinematic camera claim that convenience of play trumps style and atmosphere. Their biggest gripe appears to be a sense of loss of control over the simulation. But this was the point of the cinematic camera. It was designed, specifically, to fragment the player's perception and create anxiety which is appropriate for the horror genre.

Hybrid cameras have been suggested on these boards before. The most popular of these is a standard use of tracking and panning cinematic angles with the OTS called upon at will when the player draws their weapon. Although, I could enjoy a game built this way I feel that such a system might be a little too basic. The camera system I am going to propose will exhibit changes in behavior determined by the player character's psychological status.

Special Note: This camera system assumes a slightly altered control scheme in which the player is free to move at a slow walking speed with weapon drawn. Running while aiming is not allowed in this system. I am viewing this change in movement as a small trade-off that would soften the disadvantage the player feels during the more exotic camera behaviors.

The Proposition

Psychological State and Camera Behavior:

The camera will have four sets of behaviors that correspond to four different psychological states. Each state of fear will take more and more control over the viewpoint away from the player.

1. Focussed- For all intents and purposes this would be considered the default emotional state of the character. When the the character is calm the camera uses the OTS for both moving through the environment and when the weapon is drawn.

2. Nervous- This is the first tier of fear effects experienced by the player when the character encounter's stressful situations. The camera moves away from the player and seamlessly follows tracks specific to the room. The camera would stay a fair distance away from the player but turn to look in the direction that the player faces. There would be no cutting or perspective switching(kinda like Silent Hill's camera but more controlled and friendly to the player's needs). As long as the character has their weapon drawn the camera will reliably return to an OTS view for firing(the result here is that a character can choose to fight with the most convenient viewpoint or run with a less convenient viewpoint).

3. Scared- The second tier of fear effects resembles Code Veronica's camera behaviors. The camera pans, moves and cuts based on the player's position but does not care to provide information based on the character's facing. The OTS is also less reliable when drawing your weapon. Instead of being called by the 'draw' command the player will have to fire on enemies from the cinematic view. Only after landing a sequence of hits on their target or eliminating one of the enemies will the OTS return to help the player's aim. Firing off your weapon in this state is a gamble and risks wasting ammo until you successfully hit your target.

4. Horrified- This is the final teir of fear effects and the most frightened the character can be. The camera works like REmake's camera. There is no actual camera movement so the camera cuts and changes positions as the player moves through the environment. There is also no way to call the OTS for aiming in this state. The most reasonable choice at this tier is to escape instead of fight.

Circcumstances That Change Fear Status:

The game situations that alter the character's psychological state are stackable. If the player encounters a circumstance that would scare the character then the character's state of fear moves up one tier from where they are currently at. This would hopefully encourage slower, more deliberate play. The player would be cautious instead of aggressive.

1. Environment- Certain locations will always effect the character's state. These types of places would be naturally frightening all by themselves. The room might have a corpse of a fallen ally, have poor lighting, high amounts of gore or just be generally oppressive. An example of such a place would be certain locations in Umbrella laboratories. These types of places will effect your character's state as long as they stay in the environment.

2. Health- Health will determine your character's state of mind. When your character drops from 'Fine' to 'Caution or from 'Caution' to 'Danger' they will move one tier up in fear. So, if a combat situation takes you from 'Fine' to 'Danger' you will move two tiers up in fear. While in 'Danger' status the character has a minimum fear tier of 'Nervous' and cannot return to 'Calm' until they get their life back up to 'Caution'.

3. Enemies and Bosses- The first appearance of an enemy type and the beginning of a boss battle will increase the amount of fear experienced by the character by one tier.

4. Scripted Jump Scares- Moments such as the dogs jumping through the window, the zombie busting out of the closet or hands suddenly grabbing for the player through boarded windows will have the effect of increasing the level of fear experienced by a single tier. Since these moments are almost always unexpected the player may wish to stay as close to 'Calm' as possible just in case.

5. Time and Safety- The most common way to improve the character's fear status and move closer to 'Calm' is by either eliminating the local threat, thereby making your current location safer or by retreating to a different place that is safe. With that said, returning to safety does not immediately calm the character. Once the player has moved to a safe place they must refrain from combat for a short duration and wait for the character to move to a lower tier of fear. Waiting in safety may take a while if the player wishes to move from 'Horrified' to 'Calm'.

6. Blue Herbs- Blue herbs will be reincorporated into the game as a calming agent rather than poison healing. Much like Red Herbs, Blue Herbs will be somewhat rare. Taking a Blue Herb by itself will improve the character's fear rating by one tier. Taking a Blue mixed with one Green Herb will improve the the fear status by two tiers. A Blue mixed with two Greens will improve the the fear status by three tiers and bring them to 'Calm'. A Red, Green, Blue combination will bring the player to 'Calm' and renders the character immune to any fear effect for a very short duration of time.

I notice that a lot of debates revolve around the diminishing "scariness" of the series. However, I would like to propose that "scariness" was not the sole element of atmosphere in the series. Another, probably more pivotal, aspect of atmosphere that was lost in the last two entries was the suspense and mystery. Arguably, the over arching narrative has been losing mystery since the very beginning as each game unfolded Umbrella's conspiracies as a reward for completion, making the games less frighteningly ambiguous. More importantly, the changes in RE4/5 have eliminated the suspense and mystery of the older games, as translated via gameplay, by offering instant gratification.

The way Resident Evil traditionally created mystery or suspense was by teasing the player with hints and delaying access to rewards. Everything seemed to be built with this in mind. The old cameras and sound design would limit the player's ability to visually collect data of an area they occupied while still being fed the sounds of shuffling zombies that could be anywhere in the room. The player would frequently be barred access to places because of locked doors and puzzle challenges. Often times, items needed to solve puzzles or files with hints about puzzles or small incomplete snippets on the narrative were hidden and could only be found by thoroughly searching every corner of the environment. A few jump scares made every quiet corridor a suspenseful exercise in distrust. Loading screens were built to suggest hesitation.

One of the best things I found about the original RE was it's ambiguity and teasing. By the time I left the Mansion on my first playthrough the cryptic style of puzzles made me uncertain whether I was dealing with horror of a supernatural or scientific nature. I couldn't be sure. There were still three or four locked doors that required the Helmet Key and a statue of a tiger that was missing a Red Jewel. The curiosity about what was hidden behind these obstacles was eating me alive and I loved every minute of it.

At any moment in time the old REs teased the player with numerous secrets. The Mansion, itself, was a giant puzzle box that slowly trickled off the tools needed to complete it. Not so, with the new ones. They are too linear, the gratification is immediate and rarely delayed. You kick open the door and you're done.

With RE6 being a possible REboot of the series, I am hoping that it returns the mystery back to the series, through both narrative and gameplay.