Hmm, that's strange — the first time you open the crafting menu, it should normally give you instructions explaining how it works. Maybe if you reach it after finding the crystal, everything will trigger properly... I'll think about how to make the tutorial clearer and less prone to breaking, and I'll improve it in the next demo update :)
Ah, now I know exactly which shadows you mean! Yes, that's the custom shader I made for the game :) I'm glad you noticed it!