Light and darkness are not limited to the environmental aesthetic. Vision can be an important part of your game rules, used to create and influence the information horizon: that is, how much players know about the state of the game world and its participants.
With mechanics such as fog of war (a staple found in many top-down strategy games), you can reward and encourage exploration, and put an entirely different spin on light and darkness.
In games that utilize this mechanic, any area on the map that hasn't been explored is either:
- Completely blank: With black patches on the map
- Heavily dimmed: Showcasing the topography, but indicating the player can't see what's going on in that part of the level
Regardless of the ...
