Global & Local Lights with Bloom

2D Lighting: Global & Local Lights with Bloom

Lighting is a subtle but powerful tool for guiding the player's eye and making the scene feel alive.

So far, our vignette has helped create a sense of lighting by darkening the edges. But sometimes, we want specific objects to glow or stand out, like the player or power-ups.

Global Lighting

The Global 2D Light in the Hierarchy affects the entire scene.

• adjust its intensity to make the scene brighter or darker;
• adjust color tint to set mood or atmosphere.

Global lighting is great for overall tone, but doesn't highlight individual objects.

Local Lights (Spotlights)

To make objects stand out:

• create -> Lighting -> Spot Light;
• make it a child of the object (player or power-up).

Adjust:

• Radius -> how far the light spreads;
• Intensity -> how bright it is;
• Color -> match object's theme.

Result: the object has a visible aura, attracting attention.

For prefabs, add the light to the prefab itself so all spawned instances inherit it.

Adding Bloom for Glow

Bloom enhances the perceived brightness of lights, making them pop.

In your Post Processing Volume, add a Bloom override.

Adjust:

• Threshold -> which brightness triggers bloom;
• Intensity -> how strong the glow is.

This makes player and power-up lights visually "pop," increasing aesthetic appeal.