Lighting for Design: Research 2
Lighting can serve multiple functions in games, from illuminating the scene to guiding the player to serving as a mechanic in the game.
This will explore how different games use light as mechanics
Minecraft
Light can be generated from different sources in Minecraft, from items that are designed specifically to create light such as Torches, from the day/night cycle such as Sunlight and from items that create light when activated such as Furnaces.
Different objects emit different ‘light levels’ and unless areas are lit to a certain level, enemy mobs will spawn in that area.
Light can also be used to uncover objects and allow the player to see the game world in unlit areas such as underground caverns.
Don't Starve
Light is used to light up the world at night in Don’t Starve, darkness decreases Sanity levels dramatically, and so light lowers the rate at which Sanity decreases. Many different objects can be crafted to create light sources, campfires, torches, fire pits, lanterns and variations on these being able to protect the player from the Sanity decrease and Charlie.
In total darkness, a character called Charlie will attack the player. Charlie cannot be attacked back, and will reduce the player’s health drastically every 5-10 seconds of being in total darkness. Characters state when they are vulnerable to attack, giving the player the 5 second window to re-enter a lit zone. Most players can survive one attack without armour, but are unlikely to survive another.
Thief
In Thief, a section of the HUD is dedicated to a Light or Visibility Gem. This tells the player how visible the player character, Garrett, is to enemy NPCs. It does this by lightening or darkening the light levels to indicate how well he might be seen, if they are facing or looking at him.
It has been used across the series of games, sometimes integrated with other HUD elements such as the Compass but can also be used as a separate inventory item.
Shadowmatic
Shadowmatic is an iPhone/iPad game that allows the player to rotate objects in the light to create a shadow. Each level the player is given a different object to turn into a recognisable silhouette, and they must manipulate the shape until the make it. A progress meter helps the player determine whether they are close to the correct silhouette, a meter made up of lights that turn on and off depending on the proximity to completion.
Players are judged based on completion time. As the game progresses in levels, more objects are introduced to manipulate and put together to make the correct silhouette. For example, 2 objects can make up a chess figure. These objectives become more obscure the further the player progresses.
Helsing's Fire
Helsing’s Fire is an iPhone/iPad game that the player uses light and tonics to destroy monsters. The player places down a torch where the beams can reach the most monsters of a colour matching the tonic (scenery blocks the light) and then adds a tonic based on the colour of the monsters being effected by the light and this kills them. The aim is to do this in as small a number of tonic uses per level.
There are 3 coloured tonics, yellow, blue and red, each effecting a different type of monster. For example, only a red tonic will kill a red werewolf. The torch is used to show where the tonic will affect.
Closure
In the indie game Closure, light orbs let the player see their surroundings. A 2D style platformer, the world is pitch black unless a light orb is lighting the section up. The player begins by carrying one of these light orbs into a world of pitch black, only able to see where they are going due to the light orb. A horror style game about ‘darkness and the unknown’, the player must solve puzzles to progress in the game.
The player can pick up and put down orbs so solve puzzles, text on screen guides the player in these puzzles to progress through doors.
Kerbal Space Program
In KSP, electric charge is a resource that is used to make different parts of the ship work. Light from solar panels is one way of generating this resource for the game. They only work on the sides of the planet that receive sunlight, so can only be sued during the day. They are one of the less reliable sources for electric charge, which can be sourced from engine alternators, radioisotope thermoelectric generators, fuel cells and launch clamps.
It can be stored for later use, and are used by several major modules, modes, sensors and engines in the game.
HUE
HUE is an indie 2D platformer game based on using coloured lights to solve puzzles. Interacting with different colours allows the character, Hue, to perform different things in the world of black and grey. Hue can collect colour shards to change the world around him, for example, if he collects a blue shard, he can turn the world around him blue. There may be an obstacle blocking his way that he cannot pass through, if this is blue, he can use this shard to turn the sky/background blue and he can pass through.
Although it uses colour instead of the traditional white light, it uses colours as mechanics to allow Hue to interact with the world around him in different ways to overcome different obstacles.
Sunless Sea
Sunless Sea is a top down ship controlling roguelike. The light on the ship uncovers the world around them so the player can see where they are going, what islands can be encountered and monsters that are in the sea. You can also uncover enemy boats. Players can battle these boats and monsters, and they can stealth around the boat avoiding your light cone, as this is the only way of seeing enemies and islands.
Light is an essential part of discovery in this game, the player only being able to discover new things using the light cone.
Amnesia
Across the series of games, a lantern is one of the most vital pickups in the game. The environments are dark, and the lantern lights the way. However, it can alert certain enemies to the player’s location, these namely being Gatherers and Manpigs.
It requires oil to keep burning in Dark Descent, once oil has run out it will no longer burn, oil can be collected throughout the game. In A Machine for Pigs, it runs on electricity and can run infinitely. In DD, it lit the environment in a 360 degrees, however AMFP it only lights in front of the lantern. Also in AMFP, it flickers to alert the player of a Manpig in proximity, and when face to face, it will go out completely.
In DD, the main character, Daniel, has nyctophobia (intense fear of darkness), and without the lantern his teeth start grinding and chattering. This can cause Gatherers nearby to be alerted to his location.
Alan Wake
In a third person psychological thriller game, in which the player character, Alan Wake uses a torch to help navigate his environment and as a tool in combat. It can be used to incinerate enemies. Standing in light helps escape the monsters of the shadows as they will not enter the lit zones, but these are few and far between.
The game’s setting, a forest and haunted valley, are naturally very dark areas. The torch helps the player discover hidden areas. The main enemy is the darkness, the player’s light is their main weapon. Light can stun and hold back enemies, but also damage their shadow armour. Once that has gone, standard weapons can replace the light in destroying enemies.
Uncharted Series
The Uncharted series have used light to guide the player through levels. Lights are used to show the player their end goals, a light in a tower in the distance is probably where the player is aiming for and is kept in sight in most camera shots.
They’re used to guide the player where to turn, where to climb, where to crouch. Lights shine from windows or come through leaves in jungles guiding the player where to go.
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