If you are to take anything away from Embers Adrift’s development manifestos and enthusiastic essays, it’s that MMORPGs have done darkness a dirty deed by making night too much of a non-scary thing. The upcoming title revels in bringing back pitch-black inky nightscapes for players to penetrate with a feeble torch and perhaps a jar of lightning bugs.
Maybe that dev team has a point? After all, most MMOs have a night that’s only slightly less dark than day (and coupled with a soft blue filter). It allows players to keep on questing without visual impediment while conveying that perhaps they should be tucked in bed by now.
How dark do you think that nighttime should be in MMOs? Are we losing out on immersion and even potential danger by existing in virtual worlds that are too bright at night?