Linger in Shadows
Encyclopedia
Linger in Shadows is a Demoscene
project by the Polish
demogroup
Plastic, released exclusively on the PlayStation 3
. It was first announced at Breakpoint 2008 in Germany
.
Linger in Shadows differs in an important aspect from many demoscene
products in that it is being published by Sony
on the PlayStation 3
, who trademarked the name late 2007.
Many news sites which reported about the demo assumed that it was a techdemo for a future game. This was denied during presentations at E3, although it was revealed that the title does feature interactivity.
The interactive parts were first showcased at the Realtime Generation festival in Vienna
by lead programmer Michal "Bonzaj" Staniszewski; it was revealed that the interactive part of the demo is essentially the main storyline, with added interaction using the Sixaxis
such as user-controlled camera and the ability to scratch back and forth in the timeline. It also allows the player to play around with some parts of the environment, like rotating certain objects or moving light sources. The demo was later also presented at Nvision 08
, in a somewhat updated state.
The interactive part initially only lets the user to explore the first fifth of the demo, and the user has to perform various actions with the Sixaxis
to unlock the next part, such as shaking the controller or holding it in a certain angle. The scenes also feature hidden greetings to a number of known demogroups, which can be found in more obscure areas of the demo. Unlocking parts of the demo ("sigils") as well as finding hidden greetings both reward the user with trophies.
The demo also features an easter egg
, unlockable in the menu by pressing down both analog sticks (L3 and R3) on the Sixaxis. The resulting menu item allows the viewer to watch an "oldskool demo" with a starfield, two DYCP
scrollers (using the Amiga character set) and various other early demo effects such as blitter object
s and metaballs
(intentionally made to look low resolution), with chiptune
music accompanying it.
. On December 6, 2008, it was reported that Linger in Shadows was the top selling game on the PlayStation Store
.
Game Chronicles called the visuals "stunning" and stated that it's "easily the best $3 you can spend in the PlayStation Store", giving it 96%. Gamestyle
, on the other hand, while commending that the demo is "breaking new ground", called it "overpriced", while Digital Chumps found "the controls frustrating and the entire experience extremely short and jarring".
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
project by the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
demogroup
Demogroup
Demogroups are teams of demosceners, who make computer based audio-visual works of art known as demos. Demogroups form a subculture collectively known as the demoscene....
Plastic, released exclusively on the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
. It was first announced at Breakpoint 2008 in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Linger in Shadows differs in an important aspect from many demoscene
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
products in that it is being published by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
on the PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
, who trademarked the name late 2007.
Many news sites which reported about the demo assumed that it was a techdemo for a future game. This was denied during presentations at E3, although it was revealed that the title does feature interactivity.
Features
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
by lead programmer Michal "Bonzaj" Staniszewski; it was revealed that the interactive part of the demo is essentially the main storyline, with added interaction using the Sixaxis
Sixaxis
The Sixaxis Wireless Controller was the official gamepad for the Sony PlayStation 3 from launch until 2008 when it was succeeded by the DualShock 3....
such as user-controlled camera and the ability to scratch back and forth in the timeline. It also allows the player to play around with some parts of the environment, like rotating certain objects or moving light sources. The demo was later also presented at Nvision 08
Nvision
Nvision, stylized as NVISION, is a stand alone event organized by NVIDIA to promote visual computing amongst enthusiasts and journalists....
, in a somewhat updated state.
The interactive part initially only lets the user to explore the first fifth of the demo, and the user has to perform various actions with the Sixaxis
Sixaxis
The Sixaxis Wireless Controller was the official gamepad for the Sony PlayStation 3 from launch until 2008 when it was succeeded by the DualShock 3....
to unlock the next part, such as shaking the controller or holding it in a certain angle. The scenes also feature hidden greetings to a number of known demogroups, which can be found in more obscure areas of the demo. Unlocking parts of the demo ("sigils") as well as finding hidden greetings both reward the user with trophies.
The demo also features an easter egg
Easter egg (media)
Image:Carl Oswald Rostosky - Zwei Kaninchen und ein Igel 1861.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Example of Easter egg hidden within imagerect 467 383 539 434 desc none...
, unlockable in the menu by pressing down both analog sticks (L3 and R3) on the Sixaxis. The resulting menu item allows the viewer to watch an "oldskool demo" with a starfield, two DYCP
Demoscene
The demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...
scrollers (using the Amiga character set) and various other early demo effects such as blitter object
Blitter object
A Bob was a graphical element first used by the Amiga computer. Bobs were hardware sprite-like objects, movable on the screen with the help of the blitter coprocessor....
s and metaballs
Metaballs
Metaballs are, in computer graphics, organic-looking n-dimensional objects. The technique for rendering metaballs was invented by Jim Blinn in the early 1980s....
(intentionally made to look low resolution), with chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
music accompanying it.
Release and sales
The full demo was released on October 9, 2008 on the PlayStation StorePlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
. On December 6, 2008, it was reported that Linger in Shadows was the top selling game on the PlayStation Store
PlayStation Store
The PlayStation Store is an online virtual market available to users of Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable game consoles via the PlayStation Network. The Store offers a range of downloadable content both for purchase and available free of charge. Available content includes full games,...
.
Reception
Critical reactions to the project were polarized between two opinions: while some commended the unusual presentation and how the idea of interactive realtime art available on PSN is very much "outside the box", others claimed that the price was too expensive for a seven-minute experience, and that the controls were fiddly and not integral to the experience.Game Chronicles called the visuals "stunning" and stated that it's "easily the best $3 you can spend in the PlayStation Store", giving it 96%. Gamestyle
Gamestyle
Gamestyle is a UK-based independent computer and video gaming website that was launched in 1999 by Dean Swain, under the name Dreamers128.Gamestyle covers video game software reviews, previews, news, and other information. After starting out on its own, Gamestyle was linked with a small American...
, on the other hand, while commending that the demo is "breaking new ground", called it "overpriced", while Digital Chumps found "the controls frustrating and the entire experience extremely short and jarring".
See also
- .detuned.detunedIGN cited the lack of lasting appeal as the biggest problem about .detuned, saying that "selling for $2.99 in the US PlayStation Store, that's about a dollar per minute of entertainment".-External links:*...
, a similar demoscene-originated interactive demo for the PS3 by .theprodukkt - DemosceneDemosceneThe demoscene is a computer art subculture that specializes in producing demos, which are non-interactive audio-visual presentations that run in real-time on a computer...