Experimental Game Video Gets 100,000 YouTube Views

Local independent game developer Scott Anderson, partnering with Scott Swink of Flashbang Studios fame, released a video of their experimental game project Shadow Physics that has garnered over 100,000 viewings on YouTube.

Development of the prototype began as a "Shadow World" demo, programmed during the inaugural TIGJam indie game jam event held at Flashbang Studios in Phoenix in September 2008.

Above: Original Shadow World Demo

The more refined prototype in this video was showcased as part of Jonathan Blow's Experimental Gameplay Workshop at the Game Developers Conference that took place in San Francisco in March 2009.  This video interview from the conference has been viewed over 100,000 times in the two months since it's release, indicating gamer interest in innovative gameplay not seen commonly in big budget AAA titles.

While the game itself is still in the early stages of development, it has attracted interest due to it's use of real-time shadow rendering technology as part of the gameplay mechanic, rather than simply for enhancing visual realism. This usage of a traditional graphics technology in a non-traditional way, enabling truly original gameplay, is a strong example of the principles advocated by Jonathan Blow in pioneering the Experimental Gameplay Workshop and his other avenues for stimulating more drastic gameplay innovation.

The full interview, with insight into the prototype's design and development process, is here: http://www.indiegamepod.com/2009/04/video-podcast-interview-experimental.html