Linger in Shadows explained by Sony

The PSN update yesterday added a demoscene project called Linger in Shadows for the cost of £1.99. Those of you who were slightly bemused by what the ‘project’ is can now find out what it is about as the producer Rusty Buchert spoke on the US PlayStation Blog to explain.

Well firstly what is a demoscene? It is a movement of artists and programmers who make pretty ‘demos’ that explorer the limits of the graphics capability on the system, in this case the PS3. It has been used over the years on consoles to maximise the graphics and see how each system can perform.

So Linger in Shadows then? Well it isn’t just a video but an environment and timeline of events in which you can explore. The demoscene also has Trophies to collect and Sixaxis controls as he explains: “When you actually play through Linger in Shadows there are a bunch of things to think about as you explore. Roam through the timeline both forward and backward. Look beyond the frame of the picture as you see it. There are things hidden that you can play with, unlock, and even get Trophies for if you find them”.

So is it really a game? Well as Rusty explains the reason for including Trophies is that they want the player to explore: “The more exploration beyond the basics, the more you get. A lot of these are reflected through ‘greets’. For those of you who don’t know what greets are, they come from the demoscene. Demo groups put in call outs, or greets, to friends or other groups whose work they really respect. It is kind of like liner notes on a record album. It’s a tradition of the art form that I think is cool, and it exposes you to other demoscene groups that you should check out”.