Designing a light meter you cannot ignore
Our first lantern was a number in the corner of the screen. Nobody looked at it. Here is how it became the heart of the game.
By Tomas Reyhan · Engineering
In the first playable build, your light was a number from zero to one hundred in the top corner. Playtesters ignored it, ran out of light and were surprised every single time.
Make the world the meter
We removed the number and moved the information into the world:
- The radius of light around you shrinks as the lantern fades.
- Colour drains from the islands at the edge of your light.
- Sound narrows: distant bells fade first, then the wind, until only your footsteps remain.
Nobody misses the number. Players now feel the lantern running low before they could explain why.
Spending light
Light is also your main tool. You can pour it into old machines to wake them, burn it to scare off the hollow things, or keep it to see further. Every choice costs the same currency, and that tension is what holds the loop together.
If a resource can save you and doom you at the same time, players will never forget it.
Still tuning
The balance is not final. The winter playtest will tell us whether the lantern is generous enough for explorers and tense enough for everyone else. If you want to help, the Discord is the place to be.