Shadowcaster is a first-person shooter/role-playing computer game from 1993 developed by Raven Software and id Software. It was released by Origin Systems, Inc. after Electronic Arts Inc. acquired them.

The player takes the role of Kirt, a human with powers of shapeshifting. Among other forms, Kirt can become a huge cat-like animal, a floating tentacle-wielding gazer, and a dragon. In the beginning of the game Kirt finds out that he is not in fact human, but comes from a parallel world where there was a war raging between shapeshifters for centuries. Kirt, and his grandfather, are the last of their kind, and now the evil ones have found them. Kirt's grandfather opens a portal back to the homeworld, and that is where the story begins. Kirt's mission is to stop the demons once and for all, but first he will need to awaken his innate shapeshifting powers, which is where the obelisks come into play. Going up to one of these and touching it will unlock a new form, and the first is the cat form.

Shadowcaster's game engine is an early prototype of the Doom engine, with support for height differences in the ceiling. It also has a few features that Doom does not, such as sloping floors.

The main character of Kirt was based on the name of the game's software developer, Kurt Schallitz, and included his brown leather jacket. The face of Kirt is actually that of Raven software's owner Brian Raffel.

Shapeshifting

As Kirt progresses through the game, he obtains the ability to change into six different creatures (known as 'metaforms') with different abilities. Morphing is determined by a quantity called power; it costs a certain amount of power to morph, and power will gradually drain while in any form other than human. Also, most metaforms' special abilities drain power.

Human

The human form gradually regains health and power as time passes. While in his normal form, Kirt can jump and use a kick attack.

Maorin

The maorin is a two-metre-tall humanoid cat with four arms. It is faster and stronger than a human; however, it drowns quickly in water. Maorin can jump, and also has an ability called 'cat sight' that sometime allows it see invisible objects.

Caun

The caun is a two foot tall humanoid with pointed ears. It is a very weak fighter, but makes up for this by healing 10 times faster than a human. Other abilities include:

• Jump
• Special Heal
• Light
• Sneak
• Distant Grab
• Insect Swarm

Opsis

The opsis is a large floating eye with a pair of tentacles. It is poor in close combat, but very effective from afar. Its abilities include:

• Fireball
• Ice blast
• Fear
• Slow Time
• Expand automap
• Death Blast

Kahpa

The kahpa is a green frog-man. It is the only metaform that can breathe underwater. It can use an electric attack and a sonic attack, both of which do more damage in water.

Ssair

The ssair is a legless red dragon with a pair of wings. It is a very effective fighter. Its special abilities include fire breath and a tail attack.

Grost

The grost is a stone giant, and the best fighter in the game. It can punch through some stone walls and survive in extremely hot environments. Its special abilities include earthquakes and paralysis.

External links

• Shadowcaster at MobyGames

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