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Top-down perspective, also sometimes referred to as bird's-eye view, overhead view or helicopter view, is a camera angle used in computer and video games that shows the player and the area around them from above. It is most often used in 2D role playing computer and video games, and construction and management simulation games such as Civilization and Railroad Tycoon. It is also used in some action games such as the early versions of Grand Theft Auto.
Top-down views are typically implemented using either an orthographic or isometric projection. In the orthographic projection, one of the simplest to compute, one simply throws out the up coordinate and use the other two points, those in the horizontal plane. The other top-down view, the isometric projection, is most familiar from the early Sims, and numerous Command & Conquer-style strategy games. This projection essentially makes parallel lines continue to infinity. Walls are projected in isometric as lozenge-shaped rectangles which are easily textured. This was important for early PC games, which did not have the advantage of hardware acceleration for texture mapped polygons, but with the availability of cheaper 3D accelerators it became less necessary. Today isometric projections are typically used to suggest retro computer games in graphic design.
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