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Creating smooth camera movement systems in Scratch

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CE

CameraExpert_2024

Posted on August 6, 2024 • Intermediate

📹 Need help with camera movement system

I’m working on a game with a camera system, but I’m having issues with movement synchronization. When I change my custom X and Y position variables (instead of the actual sprite position), the camera jumps to weird places instead of moving smoothly.

What I want is for my variables to behave exactly like the actual X and Y position blocks, but for camera control. I tried using “wait 0 seconds” to slow it down, but it doesn’t give me the exact speed I need.

How can I make smooth camera movement that follows the player properly? Any help would be appreciated! 🎮

CM

CameraMovement_Pro

Replied 1 hour later • ⭐ Best Answer

Great question @CameraExpert_2024! Camera systems can be tricky, but I’ll show you several approaches to create smooth, responsive camera movement! 📹

📹 Camera System Architecture

Here’s how a smooth camera movement system works:

flowchart TD A[🚩 Game Start] --> B[📍 Initialize Camera Position] B --> C[🎮 Player Input Detected] C --> D[🏃 Player Moves] D --> E[📊 Get Player Position] E --> F[🎯 Calculate Target Camera Position] F --> G{📹 Camera Mode?} G -->|Instant| H[⚡ Set Camera = Player Position] G -->|Smooth| I[🌊 Calculate Interpolation] I --> J[📐 Apply Smoothing Formula] J --> K[🔄 Update Camera Variables] H --> L[🌍 Update Background Position] K --> L L --> M[🎨 Render All Sprites] M --> N[⏱️ Wait Next Frame] N --> O{🎮 Game Running?} O -->|Yes| C O -->|No| P[🛑 End Game] subgraph "Camera Calculations" Q["📊 Camera X = Player X"] R["📊 Camera Y = Player Y"] S["🌊 Smooth: Current + (Target - Current) × Speed"] end subgraph "Background Movement" T["🌍 BG X = 0 - Camera X"] U["🌍 BG Y = 0 - Camera Y"] end style A fill:#e1f5fe style B fill:#f3e5f5 style I fill:#e8f5e8 style J fill:#fff3e0 style L fill:#ffebee style M fill:#f1f8e9

🎯 Method 1: Basic Camera Following

Start with a simple camera that follows the player:

    // In your camera/background sprite
when flag clicked
forever
set [Camera X v] to ([x position v] of [Player v])
set [Camera Y v] to ([y position v] of [Player v])

// Move all background elements
go to x: (0 - (Camera X)) y: (0 - (Camera Y))
end

🌊 Method 2: Smooth Camera with Interpolation

Create smooth camera movement that eases to the target:

    // Smooth camera following
when flag clicked
set [Camera X v] to [0]
set [Camera Y v] to [0]
set [Camera Speed v] to [0.1] // Adjust for smoothness (0.05 = slower, 0.2 = faster)

forever
// Calculate target position
set [Target X v] to ([x position v] of [Player v])
set [Target Y v] to ([y position v] of [Player v])

// Smooth interpolation
change [Camera X v] by (((Target X) - (Camera X)) * (Camera Speed))
change [Camera Y v] by (((Target Y) - (Camera Y)) * (Camera Speed))

// Apply camera position to background
go to x: (0 - (Camera X)) y: (0 - (Camera Y))
end

🎮 Method 3: Advanced Camera with Deadzone

Create a camera that only moves when the player leaves a central area:

    // Camera with deadzone
when flag clicked
set [Camera X v] to [0]
set [Camera Y v] to [0]
set [Deadzone Size v] to [100] // Pixels from center before camera moves

forever
set [Player X v] to ([x position v] of [Player v])
set [Player Y v] to ([y position v] of [Player v])

// Calculate distance from camera center
set [Distance X v] to ((Player X) - (Camera X))
set [Distance Y v] to ((Player Y) - (Camera Y))

// Move camera only if player is outside deadzone
if <([abs v] of (Distance X)) > (Deadzone Size)> then
if <(Distance X) > [0]> then
set [Camera X v] to ((Player X) - (Deadzone Size))
else
set [Camera X v] to ((Player X) + (Deadzone Size))
end
end

if <([abs v] of (Distance Y)) > (Deadzone Size)> then
if <(Distance Y) > [0]> then
set [Camera Y v] to ((Player Y) - (Deadzone Size))
else
set [Camera Y v] to ((Player Y) + (Deadzone Size))
end
end

// Apply camera position
go to x: (0 - (Camera X)) y: (0 - (Camera Y))
end

⚡ Method 4: Predictive Camera

Camera that anticipates player movement:

    // Predictive camera system
when flag clicked
set [Camera X v] to [0]
set [Camera Y v] to [0]
set [Last Player X v] to [0]
set [Last Player Y v] to [0]
set [Prediction Strength v] to [50] // How far ahead to look

forever
set [Current Player X v] to ([x position v] of [Player v])
set [Current Player Y v] to ([y position v] of [Player v])

// Calculate player velocity
set [Velocity X v] to ((Current Player X) - (Last Player X))
set [Velocity Y v] to ((Current Player Y) - (Last Player Y))

// Predict future position
set [Predicted X v] to ((Current Player X) + ((Velocity X) * (Prediction Strength)))
set [Predicted Y v] to ((Current Player Y) + ((Velocity Y) * (Prediction Strength)))

// Smooth camera to predicted position
change [Camera X v] by (((Predicted X) - (Camera X)) * [0.1])
change [Camera Y v] by (((Predicted Y) - (Camera Y)) * [0.1])

// Update last position
set [Last Player X v] to (Current Player X)
set [Last Player Y v] to (Current Player Y)

// Apply camera
go to x: (0 - (Camera X)) y: (0 - (Camera Y))
end

🔧 Method 5: Multi-Layer Parallax Camera

Create depth with multiple background layers:

    // For background layer (far)
when flag clicked
forever
go to x: (0 - ((Camera X) * [0.3])) y: (0 - ((Camera Y) * [0.3]))
end

// For midground layer
when flag clicked
forever
go to x: (0 - ((Camera X) * [0.6])) y: (0 - ((Camera Y) * [0.6]))
end

// For foreground layer (close)
when flag clicked
forever
go to x: (0 - ((Camera X) * [1.2])) y: (0 - ((Camera Y) * [1.2]))
end

🎯 Fixing Your Specific Issue:

The “jumping to absurd places” usually happens because:

    // WRONG - This causes jumps
set [Camera X v] to ([x position v] of [Player v])
go to x: (Camera X) y: (Camera Y) // This moves the sprite TO the position

// CORRECT - This creates camera effect
set [Camera X v] to ([x position v] of [Player v])
go to x: (0 - (Camera X)) y: (0 - (Camera Y)) // This moves background OPPOSITE to camera

⚙️ Performance Tips:

  • Use “wait 0.016 seconds” for 60 FPS smooth movement
  • Limit camera bounds to prevent showing empty areas
  • Round camera positions to avoid sub-pixel jittering
  • Use separate scripts for different camera behaviors
    // Camera bounds and rounding
if <(Camera X) < [min camera x]> then
set [Camera X v] to [min camera x]
end
if <(Camera X) > [max camera x]> then
set [Camera X v] to [max camera x]
end

// Round to prevent jitter
set [Camera X v] to ([floor v] of ((Camera X) + [0.5]))
set [Camera Y v] to ([floor v] of ((Camera Y) + [0.5]))

Try Method 2 first - it’s the most commonly used and should solve your jumping issue! 🎮

CE

CameraExpert_2024

Replied 45 minutes later

@CameraMovement_Pro This is exactly what I needed! 🎉 The smooth interpolation method fixed my jumping issue completely!

I was making the mistake of moving the sprite TO the camera position instead of moving it OPPOSITE to create the camera effect. The 0.1 smoothing factor gives me the perfect speed I was looking for.

The deadzone camera looks really interesting too - I might implement that for my platformer sections. Thank you so much! 🙏

GD

GameDev_Master

Replied 20 minutes later

Excellent explanation! 👏 Here’s a bonus tip for camera shake effects:

    // Camera shake for impact effects
define shake camera (intensity) (duration)
set [Shake Timer v] to (duration)
repeat until <(Shake Timer) < [1]>
set [Shake X v] to (pick random (0 - (intensity)) to (intensity))
set [Shake Y v] to (pick random (0 - (intensity)) to (intensity))
go to x: ((0 - (Camera X)) + (Shake X)) y: ((0 - (Camera Y)) + (Shake Y))
change [Shake Timer v] by [-1]
wait [0.016] seconds
end

Call it with: shake camera [10] [30] :: custom for explosion effects!

VB

Vibelf_Community

Pinned Message • Moderator

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