{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow","lang":"en","title":"Casting shadow","summary":"Lighting casts the playable character's visible shadow into the scene.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow.md","aliases":["Character shadow"],"tags":["Game design techniques","Immersion","Lights","Atmosphere"],"sourceIds":["source-45d7b4efbe839aa6","source-318a4a975d52617d","source-9e3b3a006b66c5de","source-e18810debe7a6100","source-7f1012cc6451c966"],"sources":[{"id":"source-45d7b4efbe839aa6","title":"Game Mechanics: Casting shadow","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-318a4a975d52617d","title":"Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/tom-clancys-splinter-cell","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-9e3b3a006b66c5de","title":"F.E.A.R. (2005)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/f-e-a-r","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-e18810debe7a6100","title":"Condemned: Criminal Origins (2006)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/condemned-criminal-origins","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-7f1012cc6451c966","title":"Outlast (2013)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/outlast","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Lighting casts the playable character's visible shadow into the scene."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-casting-shadow-rule\"></a>\n\n- Lighting casts the playable character's visible shadow into the scene. <a id=\"gm-casting-shadow-definition\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"game-mechanics","id":"gm-casting-shadow","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-casting-shadow","categoryIds":["gm-category-immersion","gm-category-lights","gm-category-atmosphere"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Character shadow","description":"Lighting casts the playable character's visible shadow into the scene.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/atmosphere-casting-shadow.webp","width":1440,"height":810,"game":"F.E.A.R.","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/fear_shadow2.jpg","credit":"Monolith Productions; image via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The armed hero’s silhouette falls on a wall","alt":"F.E.A.R.: The armed hero’s silhouette falls on a wall.","markers":[{"x":23,"y":55,"label":"Shadow of the hero’s head and weapon"}]},"tips":["Check that the shadow matches the pose and light source."],"examples":[{"title":"F.E.A.R.","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/game-mechanics"}}