Hello from the dev team!
For our fifth update of the development process, we will share info with you about the camera system used in the game.
[Fixed Point Camera]
Tokyo Stories will be using a fixed point camera system. Not many modern games use this camera system any more, but it was a common camera view system used in the early PlayStation 1 and 2 era.
Instead of allowing the camera to be moved about freely, the player's camera view will be fixed in a position, which adds more control for game designers to deliver the intended content to players. By using this system, it allows us to accurately show the wonderful Tokyo city the way we envision it.
[Strengths and Weaknesses of the system]
One of the major benefits of this system is that it allows us to cut down on the time and effort to make models in areas where the players will never be able to see.
By focusing our efforts on the details of models seen within the camera view, it raises the overall quality of the entire screen.
Being selective on where to spend our effort is very important for a small teamed indie project.
But there is also a downside to this system as when the camera angle switches to another, it often leads to players momentarily losing their bearings. When a single stage contains multiple fixed camera points, we need to be careful to adjust each of those camera points so that it makes a smooth camera transition between each other. In order for the players to focus into the game content itself, it is important that camera transition feels natural and that the players forget that it is even a thing!
Speaking of fixed point cameras, that reminds me of older games that had remote controller-like movement control. Tokyo Stories is currently designed to use the analogue stick for a more intuitive movement, but it might be fun if we added a classic "remote controller mode" as a little bonus for completing the game once.