Help me find this curved perspective tall tower shot!

[TimeGentleman]

Hi all, I'm working on a game at the moment which needs an establishing shot of a very tall tower, and I want to find a reference screenshot for how I think it should be handled. I'm sure there's a shot in a Lucasarts adventure (I could be getting muddled and it's a non-Lucasarts game, but I don't think so) where if you look at the entire piece of art, it's three or so screens tall and the tower curves out at the middle so that in-game when they scroll from the bottom of the piece upwards, it looks like it's starting from a low angle framing of the bottom of the tower then pivoting up to look directly at the middle of the tower, then continuing to pivot up for an angle looking up at the top of the tower. I've seen this called curved perspective.

 

Can anyone tell me what game and scene this is, please?!

 

edit: Full Throttle has the inverse of this for its opening shot - the perspective pinches in at the middle, so the clouds at the start and the highway at the end feel closer than the horizon in the middle - and the Booty Island cliff in MI2 has the middle and bottom of it, but doesn't pan up past Guybrush to look up at the sky!

Edited March 28 by TimeGentleman

[Laserschwert]

This one from The Dig is a bit more extreme, and probably not a good reference, as it places you INSIDE the structure:

 

 

EDIT: I just learned that this is sometimes called a "banana pan", and googling for that gives some possibly helpful results.

 

 

 

Edited March 28 by Laserschwert

[TimeGentleman]

That's still quite helpful, though, as I can say 'imagine one of these walls is the tower, and it does the same thing on the way down as well'! Banana pan is helpful too, thanks!

[ThunderPeel2001]

  On 3/28/2025 at 8:49 AM, TimeGentleman said:

edit: Full Throttle has the inverse of this for its opening shot - the perspective pinches in at the middle, so the clouds at the start and the highway at the end feel closer than the horizon in the middle - and the Booty Island cliff in MI2 has the middle and bottom of it, but doesn't pan up past Guybrush to look up at the sky!

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Full Throttle's opening is immediately what I thought of. And the two moments in MI2:

• Booty Island Cliff
• When Guybrush swims down to the sunken ship from Kate Capsize's boat

 

Feels like something Curse would have done, but I can't think of a specific example of it.

Edited March 28 by ThunderPeel2001

[Scummbuddy]

I was also thinking of Full Throttles opening.

 

And I'm thinking the SKULL Island reveal is just a normal perspective drawing. Hmm...

 

I think I may have one from an animated TV show. I'll check my computer later when I get home.

[Laserschwert]

Looks like "4-point perspective" is the correct term for this: https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/four-point-perspective-drawing-video/how-to-draw-using-perspective-dick-termes/

 

But I think the The Dig shot I shared above isn't really that. It's more like the bottom and top halves are just separate perspectives, while the middle is just covering up the seam with non-descript concrete texture (and some streaks following either of the two perspectives) and a huge cracked piece that covers up where the vertical edge changes its direction. A clever solution, since the pan doesn't linger on the center area, and only the two ends need to look correct.

Edited March 29 by Laserschwert

[Jake]

Are you thinking of the lighthouse from curse? The cliff from monkey 2?

[TimeGentleman]

I did mention the Booty Island cliff, and it might be that that I'm thinking of, though it only pans one way and I really do have a strong image in my head of a tower or skyscraper. I don't think it's the COMI lighthouse either - do they even do a scroll on that screen? That always struck me as more of a fisheye lens shot. Maybe it's not a Lucasarts game after all...

 

Also remembered that Hit the Road has at least one banana pan, from the close up of the end of the ball of twine, panning up to the restaurant. But that's not the one I'm thinking of, obviously!

[ThunderPeel2001]

  On 3/29/2025 at 12:14 PM, TimeGentleman said:

I really do have a strong image in my head of a tower or skyscraper

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I swear there's an Amiga game that had an opening like that. I can picture a skyscraper at night, but I can't place the game

[Jake]

  On 3/29/2025 at 12:14 PM, TimeGentleman said:

I did mention the Booty Island cliff, and it might be that that I'm thinking of, though it only pans one way and I really do have a strong image in my head of a tower or skyscraper. I don't think it's the COMI lighthouse either - do they even do a scroll on that screen? That always struck me as more of a fisheye lens shot. Maybe it's not a Lucasarts game after all...

 

Also remembered that Hit the Road has at least one banana pan, from the close up of the end of the ball of twine, panning up to the restaurant. But that's not the one I'm thinking of, obviously!

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I always think of the Curse lighthouse because it’s so bowed, but you’re right it doesn’t pan. 

[Laserschwert]

A quick scan through JPL's background collection didn't bring up any unexpected shots like the ones already mentioned.

 

I somehow remember a shot like the one we're looking for, but it might just as well been something from a Disney movie.

 

Edit: This sketch looks helpful.

 

Edited March 29 by Laserschwert

[LuigiHann]

I found this thread which links to a zip file of many (all?) of the backgrounds from a number of Lucasarts games that are likely suspects. I feel like I remember the scene you're talking about too, but I'm also unable to place it specifically. 

 

They do this kind of "banana pan" perspective frequently on the horizontal axis, like the hallways in DotT, but I'm not seeing a lot of vertical ones.

 

There is this puzzling perspective shot from The Dig. Probably not what you're thinking of and definitely not what I'm thinking of, but it is an interesting use of the technique. 

[Laserschwert]

Vertical ones weren't really practical for most adventure games, at least during gameplay, because they would require the character sprites to change perspective as well. Horizontal ones worked without problems here. But of course, for cutscenes these could still have been used.

[LuigiHann]

Yeah, now I'm wondering if the one I'm thinking of might have been a vertically panning render in a Myst/Riven type deal. But I'm sure there have been at least a couple of instances in a third person game where you can "look" up and down in a scene while the character is limited to the middle area. 

[Scummbuddy]

I'm wondering if the image exists from a different game company, like within Toonstruck? Maybe during a cutscene. Hmm. (And the image from a cartoon I mentioned earlier didn't "pan" out, as it twists 180 during the tracking.)

 

[TimeGentleman]

Could potentially be Toonstruck or similar!

(To be honest I don't need to find it anymore, I used Booty Island cliff plus a clumsy drawing of my own, but I'm still enjoying the hunt and the general discussion of banana pans in adventure games!)

[Lagomorph01]

  On 4/2/2025 at 9:32 AM, TimeGentleman said:

Could potentially be Toonstruck or similar!

(To be honest I don't need to find it anymore, I used Booty Island cliff plus a clumsy drawing of my own, but I'm still enjoying the hunt and the general discussion of banana pans in adventure games!)

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Don't say that! You NEED to find it, and the community must keep posting until you do!

 

(To be honest, for me this is the most entertaining thread at the moment. So please continue.)

[Gins]

  On 4/3/2025 at 7:32 AM, Lagomorph01 said:

Don't say that! You NEED to find it, and the community must keep posting until you do!

 

(To be honest, for me this is the most entertaining thread at the moment. So please continue.)

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@TimeGentleman, please!

[Niemandswasser]

Are you possibly thinking of the pan up the Skull Island cliff in Curse?