Parallax Scrolling

Research & Plan

Prallax scrolling is used in 2D games design in order to create the illusion of depth. This is done by creating the game environment in layers and as the layers fade into the background, the speed at which they will pass on the screen will decrease. As the player moves, it will look as though they are moving through a 3-dimensional environment rather than 2D.

It will allow us to create a seemingly three dimensional world for Anima Mundi and help to suggest a greater world to explore. It also helps to create a more immersive game environment which will be instrumental in developing a game which promises an experience of outstanding beauty.

Examples of games that use this are Ooze Earth Adventure, which is shown below, and Wenja.

As you can see in the video above, the focal point moves at ‘normal’ speed, or the speed defined by gameplay while background objects move slower than the focal point. Furthermore, foreground objects move faster than the focal point. This results in an illusion of depth that makes a 2D scene feel more immersive.

Here is another example. This is a 2D game called Interstellar Force, made for mobile devices. The screenshot looks very flat but during gameplay different parts of the background moving at different speeds help to suggest a larger and more immersive game world.

Here is how the scene is broken down into layers...

There are six layers in the game, adding 5 dimensions to the gameplay beyond player movement. This design would be perfect for our game Anima Mundi if we want to convey the themes of discovery, exploration and immense beauty. Adding dimensions to the game, helps the player to put themselves into the shoes of the character and feel those feeling we are aiming to evoke.

For Anima Mundi, we can use this method and split our game environment up into five layers: