Talk:Dark
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Non-conjecture[edit]
If we're looking for a working non-conjectural title, would "dark" not work, going by several in-game instances? LinkTheLefty (talk) 23:41, September 25, 2023 (EDT)
Is the Retro Studios DKC "silhouette level" really meant to be "darkness"?[edit]
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So... I think in our quest to categorize unrelated platformers, we've made an error. Darkness in Super Mario is near universally low light preventing the player from seeing anything except for circles around themselves and most enemies, with available counteragents that increase the player's visibility being things like Glow Blocks, Light Boxes, and Glowing Baby Yoshis. The exceptions are Super Mario World (uses a spolight), and Super Mario Bros. Wonder (things are in silhouette).
What is Donkey Kong Country Returns doing here? None of the game's iconic "silhouette levels" (not an official name) have anything to do with darkness! Sunset Shore is plenty well lit, considering the level is named after a source of light, as is Smokey Peak (video game lava is a light source) Foggy Fumes and Smokey Peak imply that the mechanic's flavor isn't "darkness", its "low visibility due to confounding factors like smoke and thick foliage". And mechanically, it only lines up with darkness as interpreted by Super Mario Bros. Wonder, a game that released after Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, so we know Retro Studios did not base the visual mechanic tying the "silhouette levels" together off Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Dark and "silhouette" are different concepts, this article knows that because it leads the sections for these games on "A different kind of darkness occurs in Donkey Kong Country Returns... in an attempt to smooth this out. I don't think it succeeds. We should flat out remove this article's sections on Donkey Kong Country Returns and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, and figure out which place, if any, they should actually go. Salmancer (talk) 15:52, August 12, 2025 (EDT)
(There's also the bit where traditional Super Mario darkness can be lit up for greater visibility, which isn't true of "silhouette". Even in the applicable Wonder scenarios. The only options are "is silhouette" and "isn't silhouette" with no inbetween that Dark has.) Salmancer (talk) 15:57, August 12, 2025 (EDT)
(Amiss Abyss also isn't "darkness", though it could be confused for that. Its "low visibility because of the player being in the depths of the ocean due to how the water of the higher elevations absorb the sunlight". That is very different from "the light fixtures don't work" and "the light fixtures do not provide enough light".) Salmancer (talk) 16:16, August 12, 2025 (EDT)
- I agree that silhouette levels don't belong here. They aren't using darkness as an obstacle, there's very little (if any) hindering of the player by reduced visibility. It's just an aesthetic choice. --
Too Bad! Waluigi Time! 16:56, August 12, 2025 (EDT)
- Personally, I'd consider "the characters appear dark against a bright light source" to be a type of oscuro, myself. Mainly chiaroscuro. Doc von Schmeltwick (talk) 11:56, August 13, 2025 (EDT)
