{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-flickering-lights","type":"mechanic","id":"game-mechanics--gm-flickering-lights","lang":"en","title":"Flickering lights","summary":"Unstable brightness changes local visibility and atmosphere.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-flickering-lights/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-flickering-lights.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-flickering-lights.md","aliases":[],"tags":["Game design techniques","Immersion","Lights","Atmosphere"],"sourceIds":["source-70b74aee830126eb","source-616ea210293398ba","source-b8d39df253fdf083","source-dbaef86810a9263e"],"sources":[{"id":"source-70b74aee830126eb","title":"Game Mechanics: Flickering lights","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/flickering-lights","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-616ea210293398ba","title":"Doom 3 (2004)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/flickering-lights/game/doom-3","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-b8d39df253fdf083","title":"F.E.A.R. (2005)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/flickering-lights/game/f-e-a-r","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-dbaef86810a9263e","title":"Outlast (2013)","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/flickering-lights/game/outlast","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"Unstable brightness changes local visibility and atmosphere."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### How the technique works\n\n<a id=\"gm-flickering-lights-rule\"></a>\n\n- Unstable brightness changes local visibility and atmosphere. <a id=\"gm-flickering-lights-definition\"></a>"},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"All 199 Game Mechanics entries at the check date: player actions, systems, presentation techniques and contested patterns. Entries are grouped by their first source-card category; all categories appear in their descriptions. Definitions use original wording. References link to game-specific galleries; images and videos remain at the source."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"game-mechanics","id":"gm-flickering-lights","title":"Game design techniques","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-flickering-lights","categoryIds":["gm-category-immersion","gm-category-lights","gm-category-atmosphere"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Flickering lights","description":"Unstable brightness changes local visibility and atmosphere.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/atmosphere-flickering-lights.webp","width":600,"height":334,"game":"F.E.A.R.","sourceUrl":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/flickering-lights","originalUrl":"https://cdn.gamemechanics.org/webm/fear_lights.webm","sourceFrameSeconds":0.82,"credit":"Monolith Productions; frame from clip via GameMechanics.org","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Source host: GameMechanics.org. Visible source watermarks preserved. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"An unstable light illuminates a passage","alt":"F.E.A.R.: An unstable light illuminates a passage.","markers":[{"x":51,"y":24,"label":"Flickering ceiling fixture"}]},"tips":["Preserve route readability and adjustable flash intensity."],"examples":[{"title":"F.E.A.R.","url":"https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/flickering-lights"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Editorial reference index based on the 199 public Game Mechanics pattern pages checked on 2026-10-20. Original concise RU/EN definitions by gamemechanics.pro; pattern names, category associations and game-reference URLs retained from gamemechanics.org. The source gallery includes a film analogy. Linked materials retain their original rights; references are upstream attributions, not independent verification.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/game-mechanics"}}