Line #15 Main/AlwaysOverTheShoulder


1	[[quoteright:350:[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1358186505_preview_resident_evil_4_storm.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Want to get a good angle on that head shot.]]
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4	Since first person views are one of the best ways to avoid an EventObscuringCamera or [[CameraScrew other camera issues]], a similar control in third person works just as well.
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6	The three requirements to meet this trope are:
7	# The game is in a third person view.
8	# The view is locked behind the player character (even if not directly behind the player).
9	# When the player turns, the camera turns in synch with the player turning.
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11	A ThirdPersonShooter often uses this view since right analog stick (and mouse aim in keyboard + mouse control combination) becoming the norm and the increasingly clunky auto aim being phased out, thus playing just like a FirstPersonShooter, save for not being first person. Heck, some first person games allow switching to third person, while keeping the control essentially the same. Note, however, that this isn't limited to UsefulNotes/PolygonalGraphics; it's also common in older 2D games featuring an "into-the-screen" perspective or a rotating TopDownView because it reduces the number of angles the most conspicuous sprite has to be shown from.
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13	This trope is named because "Over the shoulder camera" is a common term for this, after the cinematography trope OverTheShoulder.
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15	Compare and contrast BackToCameraPose, CameraLockOn, FreeRotatingCamera, FixedCamera, FreelookButton.
16	----
17	!!Examples:
18	* Became a standard in ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games since ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' (pictured), the TropeMaker.
19	* ''VideoGame/{{Brandish}}'' is a rare example of a sprite-based ThreeQuartersView game that does this trope. The game actually loads four level maps per area, and when the player turns, it switches to the map in that direction.
20	* The bonus levels in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' and ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles''.
21	* The original ''VideoGame/SplinterCell'' (2002) switched to this perspective whenever aiming with weapons. This makes it one of the earliest examples of an over-the-shoulder camera in ThirdPersonShooter gameplay. However, it's not always over-the-shoulder, but mostly uses a ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' style camera for moving around.
22	* In the "Lock-Strafe" mode in the ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank'' games.
23	* The ''VideoGame/SaintsRow'' games when in aiming mode (otherwise it's just free movement).
24	* ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'', together with ''Resident Evil 4'', popularized the use of this trope in third-person shooters.
25	* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' and ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoV'' has this as an available camera option.
26	** All of the 3D games' PC ports behave this way as well, when played with keyboard and mouse.
27	** ''Videogame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' PC version has FreeRotatingCamera instead, however by the default Mouse + Keys setting, holding the right mouse button to aim will snap your camera to where you aim.
28	* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' games when in third person view. The games do allow you to [[FreeRotatingCamera rotate the camera angle]] when standing still, which lets you admire your character customization and gear, but if you move or draw your weapons the camera will [[CameraLockOn snap right back to this]].
29	* The third person view in ''VideoGame/Fallout3'', ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', and ''VideoGame/Fallout4'' use this perspective.
30	* ''VideoGame/JediKnightDarkForcesII'' allowed the user to switch between first- and third-person cameras at any time; there was also an option to automatically switch to third-person view when drawing your lightsaber, which became the default for the later games, to the point that it is impossible to be in first-person view with the lightsaber equipped at all in ''VideoGame/JediKnightJediAcademy'' (''[[VideoGame/JediKnightIIJediOutcast Jedi Outcast]]'' still allowed first-person lightsaber combat, but only in singleplayer).
31	* Some of the tank games in the ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games.
32	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'' uses this during the combat sections, while exploration sections use free-flying third-person.
33	* ''VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron''
34	* Oddly for the post-3D ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' franchise, ''Zero Hour'' uses this perspective.
35	* ''VideoGame/BattleTanx'' uses this perspective, with the slight variation in that the view is tied to the orientation of the gun turret, not the tank body; the default "Easy Control" setting locks both to the same direction, but switching to anything else lets you aim the turret independently from the rest of the tank.
36	* The ''VideoGame/GhostRecon'' series uses this from ''Advanced Warfighter'' onward. ''VideoGame/GhostReconWildlands'' zigzags the trope--it uses an over-the-shoulder perspective when you've got your weapon out, but holstering it switches the camera to a freely-rotating mode.
37	* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyWorldAtWar'' did this for its tanks, which control similarly to when the player is on-foot; earlier tank levels in the series were played in first-person like every other mission and controlled more like an actual tank (e.g. the "Forward" button always moved the tank body in the direction it is oriented in, though the player could hold Jump to force the body to realign itself with the turret while moving though).
38	* The original ''VideoGame/SilentHill1'' had an extra NewGamePlus option to change your alternate camera mode into this, although it sits a little higher up and tighter in than the usual position. Another option on the same menu lets you flip the camera defaults around and play the whole game this way.
39	* ''VideoGame/ArmoredCore'' games use this as its default view.
40	* ''VideoGame/FZero'' uses this view.
41	* ''Xtreme G Racing'' games had this as the default view
42	* Checkpoint Racing games from ''Rad Racer'' to ''Cruis'n Exotica'' use this view, though many later entries allow the player to choose [[FirstPersonShooter First Person View]] instead.
43	* ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' uses this while aiming, or moving, but the camera orbits around the player character freely if they're standing still.
44	* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'', when aiming guns in third-person mode.
45	* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'''s tanks actually have two camera settings of this manner - the default ties the camera to the tank body, with the turret able to aim away from the center of the screen, while the alternate ties it to the turret, allowing the tank to engage targets to its side or rear while moving away.
46	* ''VideoGame/GodHand'' makes use of this camera method in a Beat Em' Up.
47	* ''VideoGame/WolfQuest'' uses this by default, but it allows you to [[FreeRotatingCamera rotate the camera]] as well.
48	* ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' has the camera turn to this when ever Asura is shooting projectiles during a battle on the ground (That isn't a running shooter section)
49	* ''VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars'' does this in the TopDownView stages.
50	* The ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' series has also replaced its former FixedCamera with this new perspective since the fourth game.
51	* The video game version of ''VideoGame/TomorrowNeverDies'' opted to use this perspective rather than ''[[Videogame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye 007's]]'' First-Person perspective.
52	* Similarly, ''VideoGame/EverythingOrNothing'' featured an over the shoulder perspective.
53	* ''VideoGame/DeadRisingChopTillYouDrop'' uses this, as it borrows the gameplay from ''Resident Evil 4''.
54	* Namco's System 2 UsefulNotes/{{Arcade Game}}s ''Assault'', ''Metal Hawk'' and ''Dirt Fox'' center the player's tank, helicopter or car in the bottom part of the screen, while zooming and rotation effects are applied to the 2D backgrounds and sprites as the player turns and changes altitude.
55	* In ''Awesome'' for the Platform/{{Amiga}}, it's blatantly obvious that the Elapidae spacecraft remains locked in position at the lower center of the screen; turning makes everything else rotate around it.
56	* ''Videogame/DarkSector'' and its spiritual sequel ''Videogame/{{Warframe}}''.
57	* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'' takes this to the the extreme; the only time this doesn't apply is in cutscenes, [[TheOner and the entire game plays in a single camera shot]].
58	* And before ''God of War'' released, ''VideoGame/HellbladeSenuasSacrifice'' did both those two things!
59	* The camera in ''VideoGame/{{MDK}}'' is positioned behind Kurt whenever you aren't aiming with ScopePerspective.
60	* ''VideoGame/GhostReconPredator''

Context Main / AlwaysOverTheShoulder