Spider-Man games have not always followed a similar formula to one another, but traversal has persisted as one of the colorful superhero's most unique and enjoyable mechanics. Spider-Man games such as Spider-Man: Edge of Time decided to opt out of open-world traversal for a tighter, character-driven narrative, while titles such as Ultimate Spider-Man or Spider-Man: Web of Shadows use its traversal for optional activities.
Spider-Man 2's traversal is considered by many players to be the definitive formula, which Insomniac took direct influence from for Marvel's Spider-Man. Now, development on a fan-made Spider-Man project has been shared, which pays homage to the enjoyable traversal that can be achieved in many of the character's best games.
Gibb09 and Sarp Serter's project, while in admittedly early stages, has already produced fluid animations for the character's traversal that could rival that of big-budgeted developers. While it may not be explicitly intended, Spider-Man's character model suit and running animation appear similar to the Amazing Spider-Man's in Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions. It is clear that the creators have placed priority on putting together an entertaining, animated model of Spider-Man in Unreal Engine that can navigate and interact with the environment.
Gibb09 and Sarp have been intermittently sharing advancements and progression to the project as they are introduced, such as the "vaulting system" that shows Spider-Man hurdle over textureless vehicle models. Everything else in the project is still in a level blockout stage for environments and the New York City skyline, but it is impressive nonetheless that Gibb09 and Sarp have been able to create such fun-looking Spider-Man animations.
Backflips are performed off the arc of a pendulum web-swing, a dive mechanic can be seen that echoes Marvel's Spider-Man's, and creative mid-air stunts can also be executed in Gibb09 and Sarp's project, fleshing out a ton of iconic and stylish animations that Spider-Man is capable of and that players love to pull off in-game. Gibb09 has also added a prototype for pizza missions a la Spider-Man 2, which would be sure to please players if the project ever got distributed.
Gibb09 has been working on the project since at least May of last year, and the animation development from Sarp has smoothed out its rougher edges. Spider-Man fans may be excited to track the fan-made project's building blocks - even if licensing issues halt it from ever being playable anywhere - if only to observe how many more fun elements can be added in the future.