Perspective Actions

VNgen uses a built-in 'camera' to display scenes with simulated depth and perspective. This global perspective is always enabled, but is set to neutral values by default so the scene appears flat. Like a real camera, VNgen perspective can be adjusted for position, offset (or angle), zoom, rotation, and parallax strength (or FOV). Changes to perspective affect all non-UI entities, such as scenes, characters, and emotes. UI elements such as textboxes, text, and options are not affected by perspective.

Note that individual entities' properties can affect perspective as well. Specifically, z-index determines whether an entity appears nearer or farther from the camera compared to other entities of the same type. These properties operate at a ratio of 1:100, where a 100-point change in z-index equals a 1x change in perspective 'distance'. This can be used to either exaggerate or counteract the appearance of distance as desired for entities using these modifications.

In this section we'll examine available perspective modification and animation functions. It may seem complex at first, and manipulating perspective is entirely optional, but learning to use it effectively is recommended as it will enable the creation of highly dynamic and engaging scenes.

note

VNgen's perspective exists independently of GameMaker's built-in viewports and cameras, however it can be linked to them. See GameMaker Studio documentation for available viewport and camera properties.