--- 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 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 --- # Casting shadow id: game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow type: mechanic key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-casting-shadow/ Lighting casts the playable character's visible shadow into the scene. ## At a glance ![F.E.A.R.: The armed hero’s silhouette falls on a wall.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/atmosphere-casting-shadow.webp) [F.E.A.R.](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow) · 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. 1. Shadow of the hero’s head and weapon - Check that the shadow matches the pose and light source. - [F.E.A.R.](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow) ## How it works Lighting casts the playable character's visible shadow into the scene. ## Variants ### How the technique works - Lighting casts the playable character's visible shadow into the scene. ## Context and limits 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. ## Connected materials ## Sources and 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. - [Game Mechanics: Casting shadow](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow) (id: source-45d7b4efbe839aa6) - [Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell (2002)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/tom-clancys-splinter-cell) (id: source-318a4a975d52617d) - [F.E.A.R. (2005)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/f-e-a-r) (id: source-9e3b3a006b66c5de) - [Condemned: Criminal Origins (2006)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/condemned-criminal-origins) (id: source-e18810debe7a6100) - [Outlast (2013)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/casting-shadow/game/outlast) (id: source-7f1012cc6451c966) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors