Hello! This is Cherish, a designer at Savory Games. I’m in charge of designing art and user interaction, as well as implementing and testing them in Unreal. You can think of me as someone who wears multiple hats: art, UI design, and a technical artist role.

Chaosbringer is based on the somewhat unfamiliar RTwP system—Real-Time with Pause. Because of this, there seem to be many fresh considerations and attempts when it comes to controls and usability. I have a lot of concerns as well, and I’d like to introduce the direction that has been shaped through discussions with various users and our own team members.

I believe that “usability” is the most important aspect of an RTwP game. Once the action pauses in the midst of intense combat, players need to be able to intervene in a more detailed and appropriate manner. Also, because this system is unfamiliar to many, it can create a high entry barrier. That’s why we listened to a variety of opinions at GLS2024 and, based on that, have revamped many systems. In this post, I’d like to talk about the camera system as part of those improvements.

The camera, which can be called the “player’s eyes,” is a crucial element. Vision is responsible for the first stage—“perception.” Just as we can easily perceive the world around us without much effort, camera control should also be unconscious and intuitive, almost like breathing. At the same time, it would be great to have certain helpful features so players can easily respond to the various situations that arise in an RTwP game.


“Reducing degrees of freedom” might sound negative, but simplifying controls by reducing freedom of movement is actually a common concept. Doesn’t it feel a bit unsafe to have just a set of stairs in a wide-open space? Installing handrails at both ends and indicating the path on the floor would make it much more comfortable. Similarly, in our already complex game, giving too many control options can increase mental load, which is not desirable. To make the fundamental act of “looking” intuitive, camera control must be simple yet effective.

Especially in a 3D space, there are many freedoms we can remove. For example, going below the ground or zooming too high into the sky doesn’t provide meaningful value—it’s merely “inconvenient freedom.” Preventing such movements while smoothly guiding players in the direction our game demands is the key point of this improvement.

We aim for a camera system that feels new, yet somehow familiar to users. This way, they can immediately dive into the fun of the game without additional learning. In other words, while our camera system’s underlying approach is innovative, the controls and feedback that players “feel” should be familiar. That’s how control becomes as “natural as breathing.”

To achieve this, we didn’t create an entirely new control method. Instead, we adopted a strategy of carefully combining and improving existing, effective camera control methods. However, the crux is to ensure that players can subconsciously switch to the most suitable method quickly and easily depending on the situation.



Observe the situation from a high vantage point and select a desired character or object.
View the field from the characters’ or party’s perspective, immersing yourself more deeply in the combat situation.
Zoom in on a particular character or monster for a detailed look.
Our zoom in/out is not just about physically getting the camera closer.
When zooming in, the camera follows a specific curve, appearing to pull back slightly while keeping the focus fixed. Because it only moves along this specialized curve, it won’t go below the ground or too high into the sky—i.e., it won’t wander into pointless spaces—and instead quickly provides multiple useful views. Meanwhile, players can simply use the mouse wheel to zoom in/out and move freely among these varied viewpoints.

For example, when moving from “1. Overhead View” to “2. Battlefield View,” it’s not just a simple zoom-in. The camera shifts horizontally toward the character’s front view, allowing a closer approach. Through this, the player doesn’t just watch the heroes but actually feels as though they are looking at the enemies together with the heroes, providing an increased sense of immersion.


Our camera system allows you to pan across the battlefield horizontally and also rotate (orbit) around the point you are looking at.

Panning is done freely via WASD.
You can also move the camera with a left mouse click if necessary.
Rotation is performed by holding down the right mouse button and dragging.
Additionally, if a certain option is enabled, dragging the right mouse button up/down will zoom in/out, while dragging left/right will perform rotation.

By combining these options, you can freely rotate the camera view with right-click dragging as if in an FPS game (albeit along our “optimized” path), allowing players familiar with FPS controls to play comfortably.


Our camera system basically allows rotation by holding the right mouse button. In that state, WASD panning and mouse wheel zoom in/out are still available. These controls do not conflict with each other, so the player can comfortably perform all three simultaneously.
This provides an experience similar to a “spectator mode” familiar from other games. In this mode, you can freely survey the battlefield, observe specific characters/monsters, and enjoy a continuous camera experience. You can also record the ongoing combat in real time for stunning footage.

Even while moving around so freely, you can quickly return to the desired angle. Essentially, the camera moves along an optimized path. Furthermore, if you combine this with focusing on a specific character’s viewpoint, you can get back to the battlefield even faster!

We refer to camera focus on a specific character as Soft Lock-On. In this state, without panning, you can conveniently zoom in/out and rotate using the mouse.
Additionally, we plan to expand this fixed view to include Hard Lock-On Mode, where the camera remains locked onto a specific character, following them continuously. We’ve tested this mode at GLS, and we expect it to offer an immersive experience, reminiscent of classic TRPGs, especially in single-player dungeons. We’ll share more detailed plans and development updates in a future post!

That’s it for our camera revamp. What did you think?

We are continuously testing this system internally and plan to gather feedback whenever we have the chance to let external users play. We know well that to enhance our unique RTwP system, we must harmoniously improve not just the camera, but also UI, interaction, controls, and many other elements. We’ll be doing a lot of thinking and improvements in the future!

We hope you’ll look forward to our ongoing changes and growth even more than our current state. With that, I’ll sign off here.
Thank you!