Creating SPINE's cinematic gameplay is like making an "action movie within a game"

Dmitry Pimenov: From the very beginning of the project, we set out to reimagine what 'cinematic action' can mean in games. It's common for cinematic games to be criticised for relying too heavily on cutscenes and quick-time events (QTEs). We wanted to challenge that convention by pushing the boundaries wherever possible.

Our philosophy is simple: if something exciting is happening on screen, we aim to make it part of the gameplay rather than a passive cutscene. For example, if characters are fighting on a train rooftop, we want that moment to be fully playable, not just a cutscene. A version of this scene was featured in one of our early trailers, showcasing our approach.

As directors of an 'action movie within a game', we embrace bold camera choices, including the use of pre-set cameras in certain scenes. Many of these decisions are inspired by iconic moments from classic action films, but the most important feature we are committed to implementing is what we call an 'intellectual camera system'.

Dmitry Pimenov: The main challenge lies in finding the balance between convenience and cinematography. For the camera work, we’ve collaborated with a director of photography from the film industry, who has taught us many valuable techniques – small but impactful tricks that we’ve either implemented or keep in mind.

For instance, we’ve incorporated into the game the idea that a real-life camera is a physical object with its own inertia, and that action scenes in movies are often shot at eye level or lower, because it’s difficult for a cameraman to raise the camera above their head. We aim to capture that realistic camera movement, understanding that real movie cameras introduce subtle "errors" that bring life to the shot. These include constant movement and a breathing parallax effect, which we plan to mocap.

Another key consideration is that in movies, the camera typically stays close to the character, but in beat 'em up games, players often prefer a more distant view to see everything happening on screen. Ultimately, it all comes down to selecting the right variables: What field of view (FOV) do we use? How do we adjust it dynamically? How long do we take control away from the player during finishing moves? What angle best showcases a character's action, like how we show Redline delivering a kick to her opponent (we prefer a slight angle that highlights the action)?

Our camera system has become quite sophisticated, and a lot of the design work happens in these fine adjustments, all aimed at finding the perfect balance between comfort and cinematic quality.

Dmitry Pimenov: Absolutely! Nothing beats the camerawork in Uncharted 4, especially during the prison fight scene. In fact, that very fight was one of the key inspirations behind our 'intellectual camera' feature in SPINE.

I also think that, for example, Sifu does a great job of capturing the essence of kung fu movies. I particularly appreciate some of the finishers in that game.

Big-budget games from PlayStation Studios also pay close attention to camerawork, with Insomniac’s work on Marvel’s Spider-Man being a prime example. They use some impressive techniques, like adjusting the FOV/zoom and applying post-effects, which really enhance the experience. I’ve heard they decided against implementing 'paired takedowns' of enemies – well, good news for SPINE players: we’ll have them!

Dmitry Pimenov: We understand that some players prefer complete control over the in-game camera. That’s why we allow players to override our systems at any time. The moment you move the right stick, the camera controls are entirely in your hands, and you can adjust the angles however you like. However, our goal is for players to feel so engaged with our camera system that they won’t feel the need to take control.

Our internal play tests have shown that 90% of players are satisfied with the camerawork and don’t experience frustration (excluding some bugs, which are expected at this stage of SPINE development). All the gameplay scenes featured in our gameplay trailers were recorded without touching the right stick.

Dmitry Pimenov: When we first started working on the camera system, we only had a rough idea of the features we wanted. The rest has come through continuous iteration. New ideas emerge, we test them, refine them, customise them, and sometimes even completely redesign them.

Different situations in the game require different approaches – for example, the camera behaviour for a boss fight is different from how it works with a group of five regular enemies, and there are various preset cameras for specific moments.

As a result, we don’t rely heavily on the default Unreal Engine 5 camera algorithms. However, the Blueprint system has been incredibly helpful in supporting our iterative development process.

Not only are Blueprints easy to learn, making them accessible for different team members to experiment with and customise, but they also enable the creation of complex and sophisticated systems. Overall, we can confidently say that adopting Unreal Engine 5 has been a highly successful decision for our studio.