/camera-system

name: camera-system
description: Use when implementing cameras — smooth follow, screen shake, camera zones, and transitions for 2D and 3D

Camera Systems in Godot 4.3+

All examples target Godot 4.3+ with no deprecated APIs. GDScript is shown first, then C#.

> **Related skills:** **player-controller** for first-person camera setup, **state-machine** for camera state transitions, **godot-optimization** for camera culling and performance, **physics-system** for physics interpolation and camera smoothing, **2d-essentials** for canvas layers, parallax scrolling, and coordinate conversion, **math-essentials** for smoothstep and lerp-based interpolation, **tween-animation** for camera shake and cinematic transitions, **phantom-camera** for a Cinemachine-style camera addon.

---

1. Camera2D Basics

Key Properties

| Property | Type | Description | |---|---|---| | `position_smoothing_enabled` | `bool` | Enables built-in position smoothing (lerp toward target) | | `position_smoothing_speed` | `float` | Speed of built-in smoothing (default `5.0`) | | `drag_horizontal_enabled` | `bool` | Enables a horizontal drag zone; camera only moves when target exits zone | | `drag_vertical_enabled` | `bool` | Enables a vertical drag zone | | `limit_left` | `int` | Left pixel boundary — camera will not scroll past this | | `limit_right` | `int` | Right pixel boundary | | `limit_top` | `int` | Top pixel boundary | | `limit_bottom` | `int` | Bottom pixel boundary | | `zoom` | `Vector2` | Zoom level; `Vector2(2, 2)` = 2× zoom in, `Vector2(0.5, 0.5)` = zoom out |

Set limits to match your tilemap or level bounds so the camera never shows outside the world. Limits are in world pixels, not tiles.

---

2. Smooth Follow

A manual follow camera gives more control than the built-in smoothing — you can add look-ahead, offset, and custom easing.

GDScript

extends Camera2D

## Target node to follow (assign in Inspector or via code)
@export var target: Node2D

## How quickly the camera catches up to the target (higher = snappier)
@export var follow_speed: float = 8.0

## How far ahead the camera leads in the movement direction
@export var look_ahead_distance: float = 80.0

## How quickly the look-ahead offset responds to direction changes
@export var look_ahead_speed: float = 4.0

var _look_ahead_offset: Vector2 = Vector2.ZERO
var _previous_target_pos: Vector2 = Vector2.ZERO

func _ready() -> void:
    # Disable built-in smoothing — we handle it manually
    position_smoothing_enabled = false
    if target:
        _previous_target_pos = target.global_position
        global_position = target.global_position

func _process(delta: float) -> void:
    if not target:
        return

    # Compute movement direction from last frame
    var move_delta: Vector2 = target.global_position - _previous_target_pos
    _previous_target_pos = target.global_position

    # Smoothly steer look-ahead offset toward movement direction
    var desired_ahead: Vector2 = move_delta.normalized() * look_ahead_distance if move_delta.length() > 0.5 else Vector2.ZERO
    _look_ahead_offset = _look_ahead_offset.lerp(desired_ahead, look_ahead_speed * delta)

    # Lerp camera position toward target + look-ahead
    var desired_pos: Vector2 = target.global_position + _look_ahead_offset
    global_position = global_position.lerp(desired_pos, follow_speed * delta)

C#

using Godot;

public partial class SmoothFollowCamera : Camera2D
{
    [Export] public Node2D Target { get; set; }
    [Export] public float FollowSpeed { get; set; } = 8.0f;
    [Export] public float LookAheadDistance { get; set; } = 80.0f;
    [Export] public float LookAheadSpeed { get; set; } = 4.0f;

    private Vector2 _lookAheadOffset = Vector2.Zero;
    private Vector2 _previousTargetPos = Vector2.Zero;

    public override void _Ready()
    {
        PositionSmoothingEnabled = false;
        if (Target != null)
        {
            _previousTargetPos = Target.GlobalPosition;
            GlobalPosition = Target.GlobalPosition;
        }
    }

    public override void _Process(double delta)
    {
        if (Target == null)
            return;

        float dt = (float)delta;

        Vector2 moveDelta = Target.GlobalPosition - _previousTargetPos;
        _previousTargetPos = Target.GlobalPosition;

        Vector2 desiredAhead = moveDelta.Length() > 0.5f
            ? moveDelta.Normalized() * LookAheadDistance
            : Vector2.Zero;

        _lookAheadOffset = _lookAheadOffset.Lerp(desiredAhead, LookAheadSpeed * dt);

        Vector2 desiredPos = Target.GlobalPosition + _lookAheadOffset;
        GlobalPosition = GlobalPosition.Lerp(desiredPos, FollowSpeed * dt);
    }
}

---

3. Screen Shake

A trauma-based system produces more natural-looking shake than a simple sine wave. High trauma = violent shake; trauma decays over time; offset scales with `trauma^2` so small trauma values feel subtle.

GDScript

extends Camera2D

## Maximum pixel offset during maximum trauma
@export var max_offset: Vector2 = Vector2(20.0, 15.0)

## Maximum rotation offset in degrees during maximum trauma
@export var max_roll: float = 3.0

## Rate at which trauma decays per second (0–1 range)
@export var decay_rate: float = 1.5

var _trauma: float = 0.0  # 0.0 = no shake, 1.0 = maximum shake

# Optional: use noise for smooth, organic shake
var _noise: FastNoiseLite
var _noise_time: float = 0.0
@export var use_noise: bool = true
@export var noise_speed: float = 60.0

func _ready() -> void:
    _noise = FastNoiseLite.new()
    _noise.noise_type = FastNoiseLite.TYPE_SIMPLEX
    _noise.seed = randi()

## Call this from any node to trigger a shake (amount in 0–1 range; can stack)
func add_trauma(amount: float) -> void:
    _trauma = minf(_trauma + amount, 1.0)

func _process(delta: float) -> void:
    if _trauma <= 0.0:
        offset = Vector2.ZERO
        rotation = 0.0
        return

    # Decay trauma over time
    _trauma =