Originally published as an Advisory Hour Substack post on 2026-10-19. This first-party site copy preserves the text, localizes public supporting media, and connects the record to its project trail.
Original post
I’m not sure how many games exist where the main character is a lighthouse, but whatever that number is, it’s grown by at least one.
Prism Light is a game where you play as a lighthouse. An actual lighthouse, next to the seashore. There’s a bit of a sci-fi element, with a giant planet sitting on the horizon to keep you company while you work.
Your primary task is to guide ships safely through the rocks. You position the beam to give them enough visibility to see what’s ahead. That’s the basic idea, and it turns out to be strangely enjoyable.
Then there are the special abilities. Ember burns off fog banks. You can use ice to freeze a rogue wave threatening a ship, disperse a waterspout, or use poison to deal with tangled growth. There’s even a void ability for when the birds attack.
These are all abilities belonging to the lighthouse. So, you know, it’s a fully featured game.
It’s a little ridiculous.
I was trying to explain it to my wife. I said, “When was the last time you played a game where you were a lighthouse?”
She looked at me, and I’m not sure she knew exactly how to respond. Which seems fair. On the surface, it sounds pretty preposterous.
The funny thing is that playing as a lighthouse is soothing. I hate to admit how much fun I’ve had positioning the light, watching the ships move through the water, and making sure they get through safely. The extra abilities give you something to work with when the weather and other hazards start complicating things.
Maybe we’ve been deprived of an entire series of lighthouse games all these years. Maybe there are plenty and I just haven’t found them. Either way, this is the one I’m starting with.
It also got me thinking about where lighthouses first appeared in my projects. I think it was an IslandLab experiment sometime over the summer of 2026. I wanted a lighthouse on the shore so the robot would have something interesting to look at when I drove it down to the water.
A few months later, you get to be that lighthouse and guide the ships through.
That’s a fun little callback. It’s also how a lot of these projects develop. Something I added to one experiment gives me an idea for another. The technology gets reused, improved, and put to work in a different setting. A piece of scenery eventually becomes the main character.
As more capable intelligence becomes available, I get to take these ideas further and build things the world probably doesn’t need, but that I feel ought to exist.
Today, that thing is a lighthouse video game called Prism Light.
The video is below, along with the link to play. Check it out.
Trailer
Play now: https://www.ericrhea.com/gamelab/projects/prismlight/
Read more: https://www.ericrhea.com/gamelab/prismlight.html
The Screenshots
This contact sheet I just found interesting. You might, too.
Connected work
- Prism Light Build Notes: Read how the lighthouse, cape, light, and sound were made.
- Play Prism Light: Turn the lighthouse beam and guide the ships safely home.