Combining local and global optimisation for virtual camera control

Abstract

Abstract-Controlling a virtual camera in 3D computer games is a complex task. The camera is required to react to dynamically changing environments and produce high quality visual results and smooth animations. This paper proposes an approach that combines local and global search to solve the virtual camera control problem. The automatic camera control problem is described and it is decomposed into sub-problems; then a hierarchical architecture that solves each sub-problem using the most appropriate optimisation technique is proposed. The approach is compared to pure local search solutions to showcase the advantages of the proposed architecture in terms of visual performance and robustness.

Search-Based Procedural Content Generation: A Taxonomy and Survey

“…Burelli and Yannakakis [72], [73] devised a method for controlling in-game camera movements to keep specified objects (or characters) in view and potentially other objects out of view, while ensuring smooth transitions. Potential camera configurations are evaluated by calculating the visibility of the selected objects.…”

A Panorama of Artificial and Computational Intelligence in Games

“…The "core loop" of an experience-driven PCG solution involves learning a model that can predict player experience, and then using this model as part of an evaluation function for evolving (or otherwise optimising) game content; game content is evaluated based on how well it elicits a particular player experience, according to the model. Examples of PCG that is driven by player models include the generation of game rules [56], camera profiles [57], [58] and platform game levels [59]. Most work that goes under the label "game adaptation" can be said to implement the experience-driven architecture; this includes work on adapting the game content to the player using reinforcement learning [60] or semantic constraint solving [61] rather than evolution.…”

“…That can be achieved via an affect-based cinematographic representation of multiple cameras as those used in Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream, 2010) or through an affect-based automatic camera controller as that used in the Maze-Ball game [57]. Choosing the best camera angle to highlight an aspect of a story can be seen as a multi-level optimisation problem, and approached with combinations of optimisation algorithms [58]. Games such as World of Warcraft (Blizzard Entertainment, 2004) use cut scenes to raise the story's climax and lead the player to particular player experience states.…”

Diversified Virtual Camera Composition

“…A camera profile describes the characteristics of the image that the camera should generate in terms of composition properties. Based on the author's previous work on automatic camera control [6], the properties that can be imposed are: Object Visibility, Object Projection Size, Object View Angle and Object Frame Position. The first property defines whether an object (or a part of it) should be visible in the frame, the second defines the size an object should have in the frame, the third one defines the angle from which the camera should frame the object and the fourth one defines the position that the projected image of the object should have in the frame.…”