Cinematics Manager

The Cinematics Manager is the GS_Core-integrated manager component for the GS_Cinematics system. It signals when a cinematic sequence begins and ends, broadcasts events so other systems — UI, movement, input — know when to yield control to a cutscene, and maintains a registry of named CinematicStageMarkerComponent entities placed in each level.

For architecture details, component properties, and extending the system in C++, see the Framework API reference.

Contents

• Stage Markers
• Cinematic Events
• Starting and Ending Cinematics
• ScriptCanvas Usage
• Quick Reference
• Glossary
• See Also

Stage Markers

Stage markers are named anchor entities placed in each level that serve as spatial reference points for cinematic sequences. Performers and camera systems look up markers by name at runtime to determine where actors should stand, face, or move to during a cutscene.

This design decouples authored dialogue data from level-specific layout. The same sequence asset plays in any level as long as that level provides CinematicStageMarkerComponent entities with the expected names.

To register a marker, add CinematicStageMarkerComponent to an entity in the level and give it a name. The Cinematics Manager automatically discovers and registers all markers in the level on startup via RegisterStageMarker. At runtime, any system can retrieve a marker entity by name with GetStageMarker.

Cinematic Events

When a cinematic begins and ends, the Cinematics Manager broadcasts events on CinematicsManagerNotificationBus. Listen to these in any system that needs to yield or reclaim control during a cutscene — player input, HUD, AI, camera.

Starting and Ending Cinematics

Call BeginCinematic to signal that a cinematic is starting and EndCinematic when it completes. These calls broadcast EnterCinematic and ExitCinematic respectively. They do not drive animation or sequence playback directly — that is the role of DialogueSequencerComponent. The Cinematics Manager handles the global state change so all listening systems respond in one coordinated broadcast.

ScriptCanvas Usage

Reacting to Cinematic State

To pause gameplay systems when a cinematic starts and resume them when it ends, connect to CinematicsManagerNotificationBus:

Triggering a Cinematic

To start a cinematic from a trigger or cutscene entity, call BeginCinematic, drive the sequence through the Dialogue Sequencer, then call EndCinematic on completion:

Looking Up a Stage Marker

Quick Reference

Glossary

For full definitions, see the Glossary.

See Also

For the full API, component properties, and C++ extension guide:

• Framework API: GS_Cinematics

For related systems:

• The Basics: Dialogue

• The Basics: GS_Managers

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