Getting a solid roblox third person shoulder cam script running in your game can honestly change the entire vibe of the project. If you've ever played a tactical shooter or a modern action-adventure game, you know that the camera isn't just a "floating eye" behind the character—it's a stylistic choice. The default Roblox camera is fine for obbies or basic social hangouts, but if you want that polished, over-the-shoulder look (think Gears of War or The Last of Us), you're going to need to dive into some custom scripting.
The cool thing about a shoulder cam is how it shifts the player's perspective just enough to make aiming feel more intuitive and the world feel more grounded. It puts the player "in" the action rather than just hovering above it. In this guide, we're going to break down how to actually build one of these scripts from the ground up, why it works, and how you can tweak it to fit your specific game style.
Why Bother With a Custom Camera?
Let's be real: the default Roblox camera system is incredibly robust, but it's designed to be a "one size fits all" solution. It tries to accommodate everything from top-down simulators to first-person shooters. Because of that, it can feel a bit floaty or generic.
When you implement a roblox third person shoulder cam script, you're taking control of the CurrentCamera object. This allows you to lock the mouse to the center of the screen, offset the camera slightly to the right (or left, if you're feeling fancy), and ensure the character actually faces the direction the player is looking. It's that subtle shift to the side that gives players a better view of what's ahead of them without their own avatar blocking the sightlines.
The Logic Behind the Script
Before we start pasting code, it's worth understanding what's actually happening under the hood. To get that shoulder-view effect, we need to focus on three main things:
- The Offset: We need to move the camera a few studs to the side of the player's head.
- The LookVector: The camera needs to follow the mouse movement perfectly.
- Character Orientation: In a true shoulder-cam setup, the player's character usually rotates to match the camera's horizontal direction. You don't want your character walking forward while the camera is looking sideways—it feels clunky.
Most of this happens inside a LocalScript placed in StarterPlayerScripts. We use RunService.RenderStepped because the camera needs to update every single frame to keep things looking smooth. If you try to update it at a slower rate, the movement will look jittery and probably give your players a headache.
Setting Up the Camera Offset
The most important part of your roblox third person shoulder cam script is the math used to position the camera. You're essentially telling the camera: "Go to where the player's head is, move five studs back, and two studs to the right."
In Lua, we do this by manipulating the CFrame. You might start with something like this: camera.CFrame = character.Head.CFrame * CFrame.new(2, 2, 8)
The numbers inside CFrame.new are your best friends here. The first number (2) moves the camera horizontally—this is what creates that "shoulder" look. The second number (2) moves it up, giving the player a bit of a "downward" look at the world, and the third (8) is how far back the camera sits. You'll want to play with these values. Some games like a very tight, close-in camera for intensity, while others prefer a wider field of view.
Handling the Mouse and Rotation
One thing people often forget when making a roblox third person shoulder cam script is the mouse behavior. If the mouse is just flopping around the screen, the player can't aim. You need to set UserInputService.MouseBehavior to LockCenter. This keeps the cursor stuck in the middle, turning the mouse movement into raw camera rotation data.
But then there's the character. If you've ever tried a basic camera script and noticed your character stays still while the camera spins around them like a planet, you've missed the rotation logic. You need to force the HumanoidRootPart to match the camera's Y-axis rotation. This makes the character turn as the player moves their mouse, which is essential for any game involving combat or precision movement.
Dealing with Camera Collisions
This is where things get a little tricky. If you just hard-code an offset, your camera will eventually clip through walls. Imagine a player backing into a corner; the camera would end up inside the wall, showing the "void" or the back of some textures. That's a huge immersion killer.
A professional-grade roblox third person shoulder cam script uses Raycasting. Every frame, the script sends an invisible line (a ray) from the player's head to where the camera wants to be. If that ray hits a wall, the script says, "Wait, there's a wall here!" and moves the camera closer to the player so it doesn't clip through. It sounds complicated, but Roblox's WorldRoot:Raycast function makes this much easier than it used to be a few years ago.
Making It Feel Smooth (Interpolation)
Nobody likes a "stiff" camera. If the camera snaps instantly to every tiny movement, it can feel robotic. To fix this, we use something called Lerping (Linear Interpolation). Instead of setting the camera's position directly, we "smoothly transition" it toward the target position.
By adding a small amount of smoothing, the camera feels like it has a tiny bit of weight. It follows the player rather than being bolted to their skull. It's a subtle difference, but it's what separates a "beginner" script from something that feels like a triple-A game.
Adding Advanced Features: Zoom and ADS
Once you've got the basic roblox third person shoulder cam script working, you can start adding the "juice."
- Variable Zoom: You can use the mouse wheel to change the Z-offset, letting players pull the camera back for a better view of the surroundings or push it in for tight corridors.
- Aim Down Sights (ADS): When a player holds the right mouse button, you can change the offset to be even tighter to the shoulder and decrease the Field of View (FOV). This gives that "focus" effect that makes shooting mechanics feel great.
- Shoulder Swapping: Some players prefer the camera on the left. Adding a keybind (like the 'Q' or 'V' key) that flips the X-offset from positive to negative is a small touch that players really appreciate.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
I've seen a lot of people struggle with their roblox third person shoulder cam script because of a few common mistakes.
First, make sure you aren't running your camera logic in a server script. The camera is purely a client-side thing. If you try to do this on the server, the lag will make the game unplayable.
Second, watch out for "character jitter." This usually happens when the camera script and the default Roblox physics are fighting over which way the character should face. If you find your character vibrating or spinning wildly, check that you've disabled AutoRotate on the Humanoid. Setting Humanoid.AutoRotate = false gives your script full control over the character's orientation, which usually clears up the jitter immediately.
Wrapping It Up
At the end of the day, creating a roblox third person shoulder cam script is about more than just numbers—it's about the "feel." You could have the most technically perfect code in the world, but if the offset is weird or the smoothing is too slow, it won't feel right to the player.
The best way to get it perfect is to iterate. Start with a basic offset, get the mouse locking working, and then spend an hour just running around your map and tweaking the values. Move the camera up a bit, shift it left, try a wider FOV. Eventually, you'll hit that "sweet spot" where the movement feels natural and the camera becomes an extension of the player's intent.
Customizing your camera is one of the fastest ways to elevate your Roblox game from looking like a "generic project" to looking like a polished experience. It takes a bit of math and some trial and error, but the results are definitely worth the effort. Happy scripting!