Light (concept)
This article is about a game mechanic. For other uses, see Light (disambiguation).
Light is a resource of which the player cannot always take for granted. At some points in nearly all Ultima games, the player will not be provided light by default and must resort to providing a light source by natural or supernatural means. Without this utility, gameplay becomes impractical.
Darkness[edit]
The screen will default to darkness under conditions where a sun, a town’s or dwelling’s infrastructure will not provide artificial light. This usually happens under two basic scenarios.
Underground[edit]
When a player is underground, in a dungeon, cave or some other phenomenon or structure, darkness will envelope the viewing area and the player will need to provide a source of artificial light. To make matters worse, the finite duration of these light sources might be reduced even further by so-called “strange winds”.
Night[edit]
Starting with Ultima V, gameplay involved daily cycles where night would set in and the player could only see a very short distance while in the wild.
Light Sources[edit]
Among the natural and supernatural, there are many ways to create light. The (almost?) only mundane light sources are torches and lanterns but a multitude of spells can also provide light, such as Light, Great Light, and Lorum. Some potions, whose nature is uncertain, can also produce illumination.
Exceptions[edit]
Long after light became a game mechanic in the series, Ultima VIII did not make serious use of it. While there are some artificial light sources in Ultima VIII they provide almost no discernible illumination and darkness is never a challenge that the player must overcome.