Alan Zucconi

📝 Valve's Flickering Lights (Patreon)

Published:

2021-06-15 15:32:42

Imported:

2026-06

Tags:

tutorial unity

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Content

Hi everyone! 👏

A few hours ago Reddit exploded on discovering that Valve has been re-using the same flickering code for almost 25 years, from "Half-Life" to "Portal". The same code also appeared in "Quake" and "DoomED".

This bite sized tutorial explains how the code works. A Unity package to replicate this effect is also available to $10+ patrons.

Making such a quick article was really fun! Let me know if this is something you would like to see more often! And as always, thank you so much for your support! 🙏

🧔🏻

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The Secret Behind Valve's Flickering Lights - Alan Zucconi

This article will explore the origin of Valve's flickering light effect, seen across many of their titles including "Quake", "Half-Life", "Half-Life: Alyx" and "Portal". A Unity package to use this very effect can be download at the end of the article.