Parallax Effect for 3D Pixel Art Engine

Date of Recording: 2020-12-11

While an orthographic camera angled 30 degree downward is great for generating an isometric pixel-art effect, for scenes with a very large depth range (such as on top of a mountain), traditional 2D pixel art games often implement a fake parallax effect where background elements are scrolled more slowly than the foreground, sometimes on multiple layers.

In a 3D game engine, this same effect can be achieved by cleverly blending between a real perspective camera for distant geometry and the orthographic camera for nearby geometry. When tuned appropriately, this automatically creates the multilayered parallax effect for distant objects, while maintaining crisp pixel positioning in the foreground. A depth-based fog helps tie the scene together.

The biggest advantage of this technique is the ability to use real world geometry for the background elements, allowing for landmarks to be seen from high vantage points, making the world feel more open and explorable.

[arznal]

Wow, the realization of this 3D isometric style is brilliant! I always dreamed of an isometric art style in a fully 3D game, but had no idea how to technically do that. I'll be trying to play around with what you described to see if I can implement it myself. Fingers crossed!

[legomotion]

Thanks for the description! This is super cool

[wasinoorazam]

I was developing a 2D RPG game until I saw your videos, now I'm inspired to learn 3D and start working on my game from scratch in 3D! Don't mind if I bug you every now and then when I need some advice, okay?

Keep up the outstanding work.

[dirtyleon]

Me didn't read the title before 0:11 : So this is taking at least 4 layers, not bad..
Me after 0:11: Oh my bloody it's not 2D?!

[ThatMellon]

This project your working on looks absolutely breathtaking!

I’m relatively new to game dev/code/art (7 months as of writing). I started out in game maker and dug into countless amounts of tutorial videos (mostly about sprite stacking). Obviously I really want to create a game haha, I knew I wanted pixel art but I also wanted a 3D look. Games made in gamemaker like “NIUM” seemed pretty groundbreaking a few months back but after running into a few beginner snags in the code, productivity and performance for the engine I was building; I decided to switch to unity due to its simpler 3D environment editor.

Unity has some awesome tutorials out there and a great user base! Thanks to the efforts of people like yourself; I have a much greater idea of the what scale my project will be.

I’m scared…

Anyways if you’ve read this far, thanks for taking the time to read this comment, I can imagine with a project like this; time is one thing you probably don’t have much of! Good luck! Can’t wait to see what else comes out of this! Simply amazing!

[monkeysfromvenus]

Haha when the camera started rotating I audibly went, "What...?"
This effect is awesome! Are the different projections used just determined by the distance of the geometry to the camera? I did notice a bit of artifacting towards the bottom of the screen at 0:14.
Seriously though, this looks great, almost like magic really. I'd love to hear a bit more detailed of an explanation behind this effect like with the 2d screen space particles.

[EricDaily]

Now you're just showing off... (and I like it)

[alejmc]

Another/Out-of-this World vibes! Jaw dropping.

[superpixel]

Are you looking to release this art engine as an asset/ game/ tutorial e.t.c. Lots of interesting stuff in here that would love some breakdowns for. great Content. Your stuff it top tier mate

[TT-rlpu]

Reminds me of Super Mario RPG, until the camera starts rotating, anyways. Very cool!

[isobelshasha]

so are you blending the projection matrix itself?

[SoulSync]

This project looks soooo damn Is it possible to learn this power? T.T