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Camera System

The dialogue camera system handles framing during conversations, moving the camera between shot types based on configurable rules and per-beat overrides.

DialogueCameraService orchestrates the camera lifecycle: entering dialogue mode when a conversation starts, applying shots as beats play, and exiting when the conversation ends.

Two camera categories​

The system supports two categories of camera behaviour:

FirstPerson​

The camera lerps its field of view and rotation toward the target. The player can cancel the look by moving their input. This category is used for subtle framing adjustments that do not take full control away from the player.

Cinematic​

The camera uses Cinemachine virtual cameras to frame the shot. Player look input is blocked during cinematic shots. This category is used for dramatic moments where precise framing matters.

Automatic shot selection​

When no explicit camera beat is present on a beat group, the system selects a shot automatically using a rule-based ProfileShotSelector.

The selector evaluates a DialogueShotSelectionProfile -- an ordered list of shot selection rules. The first rule that produces a valid shot wins. This means rule order matters: more specific rules should come before general fallbacks.

See Camera Shot Rules for details on the available rules.

Per-beat camera overrides​

You can override automatic selection by adding a camera beat to a beat group. A camera beat specifies:

  • the shot preset to use
  • the transition type (cut, blend)
  • an optional duration override

When a camera beat is present, it takes priority over the automatic selection for that beat group.

Shot presets​

A shot preset is a DialogueShotPreset asset holding field of view, transition duration, distance, height and lateral offsets, dutch angle, and the group positioning flag.

Presets are generated, not shipped

Only a starter set of presets exists in Resources/DIALOGUE-SYSTEM/Camera/Presets. Run

BardTreeLtd/Dialogue/Setup/Create Default Camera Presets

to write the full set of 26 into that folder, along with the default rule assets. Existing assets of the same name are left alone, so it is safe to run again after an upgrade.

Presets are divided into three groups. Group presets are cinematic presets with useGroupPositioning set, which is why they carry the Cinematic- prefix too.

First-person presets (7)​

  • FP-Focus -- subtle focus on the speaker
  • FP-Inspect -- closer inspection angle
  • FP-Conversation -- relaxed conversational framing
  • FP-Intimidate -- tighter, more intense framing
  • FP-Observe -- wider observational angle
  • FP-Glance -- brief look toward the speaker
  • FP-GroupScan -- pans across a group of participants

Cinematic presets (15)​

  • Cinematic-CloseUp -- tight framing on the speaker's face
  • Cinematic-ExtremeCloseUp -- very tight detail shot
  • Cinematic-MediumCloseUp -- head and shoulders
  • Cinematic-Medium -- waist-up framing
  • Cinematic-OverTheShoulder -- classic over-the-shoulder two-shot
  • Cinematic-TwoShot -- both participants visible
  • Cinematic-Wide -- full scene context
  • Cinematic-SideWide -- wide shot from the side
  • Cinematic-PointOfInterest -- framing on a world object rather than a participant
  • Cinematic-LowAngle -- camera below eye level looking up
  • Cinematic-HighAngle -- camera above looking down
  • Cinematic-DutchAngle -- tilted framing for unease or tension
  • Cinematic-Reaction -- framing on the listener's reaction
  • Cinematic-Profile -- side-on profile shot
  • Cinematic-BirdsEye -- overhead shot

Group presets (4)​

  • Cinematic-GroupWide -- establishes all participants in one frame
  • Cinematic-GroupCluster -- tighter framing of a group cluster
  • Cinematic-GroupOverShoulder -- over-the-shoulder into a group
  • Cinematic-GroupReaction -- group reaction shot

Group conversations​

The camera system supports conversations with two participants with plans to support more. When additional participants are present, the context tracks a GroupCenter (centroid of all participants) and GroupRadius. Group-specific presets and the GroupEstablishingShotRule activate automatically for multi-participant conversations.

Focus points​

The camera needs to know where to look. DialogueCameraFocusPoint is a MonoBehaviour you can place on characters to define the camera's look-at target. It supports three modes:

  • Auto -- finds a specific bone (default: Head) from a humanoid Animator
  • Manual -- an explicit Transform reference you assign
  • BakedOffset -- a rotation-aware local-space offset (so it works when the character rotates)

If no focus point component is present, the system auto-detects the head bone on humanoid characters. For non-humanoid agents, the fallback is position + 1.6m up (approximate head height).

The editor Inspector for DialogueCameraFocusPoint includes a "Bake Head Offset From Rig" button that converts the auto-detected bone position into a stable baked offset.

Collision avoidance​

The camera avoids being placed inside geometry. When the ideal position for a shot is blocked, it searches nearby angles for a clear one, and falls back to an elevated side angle if nothing works.

Which layers count as blocking is the Collision Mask in Module Settings. Participants themselves are never treated as obstacles.

If shots are landing in odd places, the mask is usually the thing to check -- a mask that includes the ground plane or a character layer will push the camera away from positions that were actually fine.

Cinemachine integration​

The Cinemachine provider ships in a separate assembly (BardTreeLtd.Dialogue.Camera.Cinemachine), so a project that does not use Cinemachine does not compile it.

DialogueTransitionType maps onto Cinemachine blend styles: Cut, EaseInOut, or the Default Blend Time configured in module settings. The first cinematic shot of a conversation always cuts rather than blending.

The provider and a CinemachineBrain are created automatically at runtime. You can also set them up ahead of time from the editor menu at BardTreeLtd/Dialogue/Setup/Setup Scene Camera, which is worth doing if you want the brain on your own camera rig rather than one created for you. See Scene Setup.

Practical advice​

Start with automatic shot selection. It handles most conversations well out of the box. Add explicit camera beats only for dramatic or important moments where specific framing improves the experience.

If shots feel repetitive, adjust the shot selection profile. The repetition avoidance rule exists specifically to prevent the same shot from appearing twice in a row.

Reference​

Next step​

Continue to Camera Shot Rules.

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