Camera

This article is about the regular in-game camera. For the KopPad app, see KopPad.

The camera is the viewpoint from which the player can see the action in a game's world. In the Pikmin games, the camera can be adjusted by the player, in order to ensure that they can normally navigate through the areas and caves while being able to see what they're doing effectively.

During normal gameplay, the camera is above ground level, pointing down, but some cutscenes move the camera automatically, as well as some tutorials and cinematic routes in Pikmin 3, such as the pathway leading up to a boss. Some sections and levels play out on a fully 2D view, with the camera at ground level to the side of the action. Thus is the case of the seesaw block section on the Garden of Hope.

Impact on gameplay mechanics

The camera's state has a direct impact on some gameplay mechanics. During normal play, the camera's angle decides which direction the leader or group will move to when the corresponding controls are used, in that holding "up" will move to the direction the camera is facing. The exception to this is when the camera is rotated manually while a leader is moving, in Pikmin 3, because the leader will continue going in the same direction until the control stick is released or held in a different direction.

When locked-on, the movement always happens clockwise around the target when "right" is held, and counterclockwise when holding "left". Dodging follows the same rules as normal movement: in the normal camera state, the direction of the dodge depends on the camera's angle, and while locked-on, it is always clockwise or counter-clockwise.

It is also possible to order Winged Pikmin to fetch the Stellar Extrusion on the Tropical Wilds if the camera is facing an angle that puts the fruit in view; otherwise, the seesaw block nearby has to be used.

In Pikmin and Pikmin 2, the camera is always centered on the current leader, to allow a consistent field of vision. In Pikmin 3, Pikmin follow the leaders in a narrow line, and the camera always attempts to center itself so it can capture all of the line. This way, the maximum amount of Pikmin are always visible, but this can mean the leaders' view ahead is sometimes obscured.

Off-camera objects

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In order to save resources, only elements visible by the camera are fully active. As such, the player can exploit this in order to render some enemies harmless.

In Pikmin, enemies have three rough states of activation. If they are visible on-camera, they are fully active, and act like normal. If they're outside of the camera's view, but still close, they will only be rendered and processed every other frame. This becomes apparent with tools such as a free camera mode in emulators, although it is possible to tell that enemies are only processed at half speed by listening: one can approach a sleeping Red Bulborb or Spotty Bulbear, put them in sight of the camera, and take note of the interval between snores. Then, by leaving the enemy just outside of the camera's reach, it is possible to hear the snores come half as frequently. One can also tell that objects are rendered every other frame by keeping a damaged Pellet Posy on the bottom of the screen while the camera is zoomed in to the closest method, and then moving forward until the plant is off-camera, but the health wheel is still visible – the wheel will blink rapidly.

The third state is when an enemy is completely disabled. By being off-camera and far away (at least around the size of a Red Bulborb past the camera), the enemy will not be rendered nor processed – effectively, the enemy is frozen in time until it is approached again. This can be seen with, for instance, a Yellow Wollywog staying in mid-air if the player leaves mid-jump, and only landing when the player finally goes near it again.

Controlling the camera

The camera at ground-level in Pikmin 2.

Main article: Controls.

There are a few controls that allow the player to manipulate the camera's direction. In the first two games, some extra controls change the camera's position as well, given that the GameCube and the Wii's visual outputs weren't deemed good enough to both get a large picture and allow the player to distinguish the finer details, such as their Pikmin.

Pikmin and Pikmin 2

L / can be used to rotate the camera sideways. When fully pressed, the camera faces the direction of the cursor in the GameCube games, and the direction of the leader in the Wii games. If the button is lightly or fully pressed, Stick / can also be used to rotate the camera manually. In order to rotate the camera without moving the leader, Stick / can be only partially tilted.

By pressing Z / Padup, the camera toggles between a 3/4 view and a top-down view. The former is preferred when the player wants to see more of what is ahead, whereas the latter is useful when there are several walls in the way.

Pressing R / Padleftright causes the camera to toggle between the three available zoom values. The closest zoom value places the camera at half of the regular distance from the leader, while the farthest zoom level places it at twice the distance. When the button is pressed, the camera toggles happen in the following order: normal, far, close. On the first day in Pikmin, the camera temporarily switches to the zoomed in value whenever Captain Olimar is plucking Pikmin, and stays that way for a few seconds, before returning to the previous value.

In Pikmin 2, R / Padleftright can be held down to make the camera switch to a ground level of altitude, after a second. This camera mode allows the player to see a lot of what is ahead, but not much of what is behind. Because of the new cursor in New Play Control! Pikmin 2, the player can call Pikmin from any place where the cursor can point on the screen. This means that, if the player uses this camera feature, they can whistle Pikmin from much farther away than normally possible. If the Pikmin are too far away to remain in the party, they will walk towards the leader when whistled, but instantly become idle when the whistle ends. The other leader, if whistled, will attempt to come to the current leader, and will only give up if he finds an obstacle.

Pikmin 3

 /  / rotates the camera and makes it face whichever way the cursor is facing, horizontally. Doing this also locks on the camera. If locked-on to the ground, nothing special happens, but if locked-on on an enemy or object, it will cause the camera to zoom and rotate in such a way that it always shows the target and the current leader, until it is unlocked.

The camera can also be rotated horizontally with  / on the Wii U Pro Controller or GamePad with the classic controls, by holding a press near the left or right edges of the screen with the stylus controls, or by pointing at the left or right edges of the screen with the Wii Remote.

Gallery

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Difference between the three zoom levels in the GameCube games (screenshots from Pikmin):

• 

  Close.

• 

  Normal.

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  Far.

Difference between the two camera angles in the GameCube games (screenshots from Pikmin 2):

• 

  3/4 view.

• 

  Top-down view.

See also

• HUD
• Menu
• Controls