--- key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle type: mechanic id: game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle lang: en title: Day & night cycle summary: >- Game time changes world lighting in a repeating cycle. Day and night may affect visibility, world behavior and route choices. updatedAt: '2026-10-22' status: active url: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle/ jsonUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle.json markdownUrl: >- https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle.md aliases: - Day–night cycle tags: - Game design techniques - Immersion - Weather sourceIds: - source-3f732f278509dd4b - source-b4a5264fe9cef122 - source-ae0975eeee0b23ed - source-6f2bb8fd2b17bf58 sources: - id: source-3f732f278509dd4b title: 'Game Mechanics: Day & night cycle' url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/day-night-cycle' verifiedAt: null - id: source-b4a5264fe9cef122 title: 'Tom Clancy''s Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (2019)' url: >- https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/day-night-cycle/game/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-breakpoint verifiedAt: null - id: source-ae0975eeee0b23ed title: Far Cry 3 (2012) url: 'https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/day-night-cycle/game/far-cry-3' verifiedAt: null - id: source-6f2bb8fd2b17bf58 title: Minecraft url: >- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/documents/commandsintroduction?view=minecraft-bedrock-stable verifiedAt: null relations: [] placements: - catalogId: game-mechanics id: gm-day-night-cycle title: Game design techniques url: 'https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/game-mechanics/#gm-day-night-cycle' categoryIds: - gm-category-immersion - gm-category-weather supersededBy: [] attributes: preview: updatedAt: '2026-10-22' title: Day–night cycle description: >- Game time changes world lighting in a repeating cycle. Day and night may affect visibility, world behavior and route choices. image: src: images/mechanics/minecraft-day-night.webp width: 1170 height: 500 game: Minecraft sourceUrl: >- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/documents/commandsintroduction?view=minecraft-bedrock-stable originalUrl: >- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/documents/media/commands/introduction-to-commands.jpg?view=minecraft-bedrock-stable credit: Mojang Studios / Microsoft; comparison screenshot via Microsoft Learn rights: >- Minecraft imagery © Mojang AB / Microsoft. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. caption: 'Minecraft: lighting at different times of day' alt: 'Minecraft: Minecraft: lighting at different times of day.' markers: - x: 12 'y': 59 label: Nighttime darkness - x: 63 'y': 60 label: Daylight tips: - 'Account for darkness affecting landmarks, threats and available actions.' examples: - title: Minecraft url: >- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/documents/commandsintroduction?view=minecraft-bedrock-stable 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 --- # Day & night cycle id: game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle type: mechanic key: mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle lang: en status: active url: https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/game-mechanics--gm-day-night-cycle/ Game time changes world lighting in a repeating cycle. Day and night may affect visibility, world behavior and route choices. ## At a glance ![Minecraft: Minecraft: lighting at different times of day.](https://gamemechanics.pro/images/mechanics/minecraft-day-night.webp) [Minecraft](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/documents/commandsintroduction?view=minecraft-bedrock-stable) · Minecraft imagery © Mojang AB / Microsoft. All rights reserved; excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0. 1. Nighttime darkness 2. Daylight - Account for darkness affecting landmarks, threats and available actions. - [Minecraft](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/documents/commandsintroduction?view=minecraft-bedrock-stable) ## How it works A repeating time-of-day cycle changes world lighting. ## Variants ### How the technique works - A repeating time-of-day cycle changes world lighting. ## Context and limits 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. ## Connected materials ## Sources and 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. - [Game Mechanics: Day & night cycle](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/day-night-cycle) (id: source-3f732f278509dd4b) - [Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (2019)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/day-night-cycle/game/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-breakpoint) (id: source-b4a5264fe9cef122) - [Far Cry 3 (2012)](https://gamemechanics.org/patterns/day-night-cycle/game/far-cry-3) (id: source-ae0975eeee0b23ed) - [Minecraft](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/minecraft/creator/documents/commandsintroduction?view=minecraft-bedrock-stable) (id: source-6f2bb8fd2b17bf58) CC-BY-4.0 · gamemechanics.pro contributors