Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

• Title — Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet • Developer — Shadow Planet Productions (Fuelcell Games/Gagne International) • Publisher — Microsoft Studios • Designer — Michel Gagné Joe Olson • Composer — Andrew Scott Dimmu Borgir • Modes — Single-player multiplayer • Genre — Multidirectional shooter Metroidvania • Platforms — Xbox 360 Microsoft Windows OS X Linux • Released — Xbox 360 (XBLA) August 3, 2011 Windows April 17, 2012 OS X, Linux October 28, 2014

The game is a collaboration between animator Michel Gagné and game designer Joe Olson and takes inspiration from Gagné's "Insanely Twisted Shadow Puppets", a series of interstitials he did for Nickelodeon in 2005. The two first met when Gagné was giving a workshop for Midway Games in Seattle, and Olson, having seen the Nickelodeon shorts, asked Gagné if he'd be interested in collaborating. Gagné was unfamiliar with the medium, only knowing games up to 1993's Doom; however, he was eager and told Olson that he'd do research and get back to him. Olson, however, saw Gagne's nativity as an asset and told him that he would provide help from the gameplay side. Olson stated he "wanted to use the power of modern consoles to drive feature-quality animation." Initially the team worked on the game in their spare time, which led to them working on the game "only about three or four days a month" leading them to eventually quit their day jobs in order to focus on Shadow Planet full time The team consisting of Gagné, Olson and Olson's development team initially worked out of a basement. Development began in 2007 and most of 2008 was spent with the group performing contract work in order to be able to rent an office. The game was eventually picked up by Microsoft, Microsoft had originally passed after seeing an early prototype however after the release of the second trailer they changed their mind. The game was first demonstrated in March 2011 at Penny Arcade Expo East. The game is set on an alien planet and includes exploration elements similar to Metroidvania. Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet was released on August 3, 2011. The game features music by Dimmu Borgir during cinematics; the songs "Progenies of the Great Apocalypse" (orchestral version) and "Eradication Instincts Defined" play during the game, while the trailer featured "Blood Hunger Doctrine".

The Shadow Hunters expansion was released on Xbox Live Arcade on October 12, 2011. It expands on the Lantern Run mode in the base game, allowing players to team up in a continuation of the storyline. Shadow Hunters was included for free in the PC port of the game. Local and online multiplayer are supported in Lantern Run and the Shadow Hunters DLC.