Handy Vandal's Almanac

The upcoming Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions promises four different Dimensions (distinctive game modes). I love the above screenshot from the Noir mode!

… The second dimension takes place in Marvel’s “Noir” universe, and is a slightly darker (both figuratively and literally) take on Spider-Man, using a style commonly found in pulp crime novels. The gameplay falls in line with this darker approach as there’s an emphasis on stealth, with slower and more methodical gameplay elements incorporated to encourage you to stay in the shadows as often as possible. You’ll still have access to the core Spider-Man abilities, so he’ll still be able to handle himself in a fight, but the developers tell us that sometimes it pays to remain unseen.

– Eduardo Vasconcellos @ GamePro

See Activision investor news.

This is very, very cool — a platform game in three-dee space using shadows to represent player and platforms …

The above screenshot demonstrates a scenario with two light sources. Note the two shadows for the player character: these two shadows move in tandem, are blocked in tandem, and solve puzzles in tandem. The shadows in the screenshot are jumping; the shadow on the left is blocked.

A remarkable accomplishment by developers Steve Swink and Scott Anderson — bravo!

Via YouTube:

Steve Swink and Scott Anderson demo their shadow platforming game, Shadow Physics, at Sense of Wonder Night 2009 (Tokyo Game Show).

While Steve does do game design at Blurst/Flashbang, Shadow Physics is an entirely independent side project. More information will soon be available at shadowphysics.com.