The problem with dark places is that no one can see anything. While this can be used to help set a tone in some fictional settings, particularly for horror worlds where low visibility can be used to heighten tension, often designers instead want to showcase interesting locations or other elements that would otherwise be hidden in darkness. Exploring an ancient tomb, for example, is less fun for everyone involved if the entire place is pitch black. To solve this problem, worldbuilders typically use a few common techniques.

The first is to simply incorporate world-appropriate elements that create light or bring light into a space, such as torches, mirrors, or skylights. For worlds set in a future era, an array of glowing buttons or a back-up generator can be enough to illuminate what should be a dark space, for instance the interior of a derelict spaceship. For natural spaces that may not contain man-made elements, designers often turn to glowing rocks and bioluminescent plants (glow-in-the-dark mushrooms are a popular element to incorporate into fictional caves and glowing ores are common in fictional mines). All of these elements can provide reasonable explanation for why a space is dark, but not too dark.

Another approach is to ignore the problem. Worldbuilders may provide enough context that the location is in fact dark, but simply not have it dark enough to cause an issue. This manifests itself in caverns that should be pitch black, but instead are just rather dim. This allows audiences, game players, or characters to explore the space without presenting a wall of black.

Problems & Solutions

Playing with light and darkness is a staple of horror worlds, where elements like dark corridors and flickering lights are often used.