Activision explores Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions

Who was there: A huge assortment of panelists, including Spider-Man voice actors Dan Gilvezan and Josh Keaton; Amazing Spider-Man writer Dan Slott; Thomas Wilson and Dee Brown from Beenox; Marvel director of games Todd Jefferson; and Spider-Man creator Stan Lee in a panel moderated by GameSpot's own Ricardo Torres.

What they talked about: The session kicked off with Shattered Dimensions' game-opening cutscene, with bubble-headed villain Mysterio stealing the Tablet of Order and Chaos from a museum. His heist is interrupted by the classic red-and-white Spider-Man, but in the process, the pair shatters the tablet, creating a mystic crisis. Madame Web suddenly appears to explain that the tablet pieces have been scattered across other dimensions (with a cameo from Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham), and it's up to the various Spider-Men to reassemble the tablet or all of their realities will be destroyed.

Brown started out by explaining the developers' approach to the game, along with their initial desire to dive deep into the Spider-Man mythology. The team couldn't settle on one version of Spider-Man, so instead decided to do four in one game. The four different versions featured in the game are the classic Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Ultimate Spider-Man (dressed in the alien symbiote black costume), and Spider-Man Noir.

Wilson said the team wanted not just four different heroes, but also four different art styles in order to make Shattered Dimensions feel like four games in one. To that end, the different Spider-Men control differently. The classic Spider-Man has a lot of web-based combat moves, like forming a giant hammer out of webbing and using that to clobber thugs. Spider-Man Noir uses a stealthier approach, taking down enemies from the shadows. Spider-Man 2099 uses his suit for freefalling sequences and midair chases with the Green Goblin. Finally, Ultimate Spider-Man is all about the black suit, which whips out tendrils when the player enters "rage mode."

Lee made his appearance at that point to a standing ovation from the crowd and delivered effusive praise to the developers. He called them geniuses without reservation and expressed admiration for the years of dedication required to create a single game. Slott gave Lee praise in return, explaining how much he drew upon the groundwork laid in early Spider-Man stories. He added there are going to be an abundance of nods to established continuity in the game, including an appearance by X-Men villain Juggernaut.

Gilvezan said it had been 30 years since he voiced the webslinger in Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, and he was originally concerned about how he would go back to that character, considering the changes his voice has gone through in the intervening time. However, given that Spider-Man 2099 as a character has a far different tone than that of the Saturday morning cartoon webhead, Gilvezan said the changes to his voice actually made his job easier.

Quote: "They are brilliant, absolutely brilliant. And I'm a guy who doesn't like to flatter anybody. I like to save all my adjectives for myself!"--Stan Lee, on the Shattered Dimensions team.

The takeaway: From the outset, the developers of Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions have tried to deliver four distinct yet intertwined experiences in one package. Also, Stan Lee is very excited and impressed. About everything.

Who knew?: Keaton is a gamer himself, but his title of choice wasn't Spider-Man. He said he "lost about a year and a half" to World of Warcraft, in which he played a druid.