Light/darkness mechanic in dungeon

I have an idea to use light/darkness mechanics in a dungeon in the following way: The 'dungeon' is an old, creepy manor that has wonky electricity. So every 10 seconds, the lights are switched off for 10 seconds. This gives room for some interesting and creepy gameplay. But I'm still thinking about how to use this mechanic. Anyone has good ideas for puzzles based on this mechanic or example games that used this in a good way?

For a creepy atmosphere, why not trying to imitate horror movies and make monsters appear suddenly nearby the party when light switches on back?

Hmmm, monsters aren't really a part of my games' universe. And that's more a gimmick than an actual game mechanic.

Have a room with obstacles that need to be avoided, like spikes or broken glass on the floor. Make the obstacle course take longer to navigate that the time the lights stay on. The  player now has to try and remember where the safe path was while the lights are off.

Of course, the player could just stop and stand still whenever the lights are off and avoid navigating in the dark. To avoid this you could add a time limit somehow. Maybe a security door that only stays open for thirty seconds at a time, forcing the player to rush through the obstacle filled room even though they can't see half the time?

Just don't overdo it. I could see something like this easily going from "a clever puzzle" to a "a frustating waste of time that I had to play ten times to finally get right".

You could also have important clues and interesting features that only show up when it's dark. Maybe ghostly writing on the wall or maybe a glowing item that blends into the background when it's bright.

On a semi-related note, in Immortals Should Try Harder I had a bonus dungeon that was pitch black. The player had to navigate based entirely on messages like "I think we can go west or north from here" that popped up every time they hit a turn or a fork in the narrow one square wide path. It was entirely optional and the player has constant access to an emergency teleport spell so I figured the risk of players get frustrated and lost was worth experimenting with a non-standard maze.

I made a minigame called "Lights Out" in How Badly Do You Want It? with a very similar mechanic - at random intervals, the lights will flicker for a few seconds, then stay off for several seconds before coming back on.  I think the host described it as "more blackouts than a summer in Los Angelos".

You had to tread a relatively thin and windy path with several different obstacles such as moving mine carts and spikes that would pop out of the floor at timed intervals, and it became very tough to do it while the lights were out (you'd have to remember what was immediately in front of you if you wanted to progress).  If you fall off the path, you fail the minigame, and various things happen if you hit obstacles.

The event was timed, so the player usually couldn't just wait for the lights to come back on each time they went out.

I think this kind of timing/obstacles setup is one of the best uses you can have for faulty lighting.

A couple of points.

In your OP you speak of lights on for 10 seconds, then off for 10 seconds.  I think wavelength's idea is better -" at random intervals, the lights will flicker for a few seconds, then stay off for several seconds before coming back on".  Much more atmospheric than a very regular pattern.

When working out any mini-game for getting across the room with obstacles and a timer, remember basic physiology.  Not everyone will have the same reflex speed.  Obviously there will be exceptions, but broadly speaking, the group with the fastest reflexes are male teenagers.  The next fastest group is males in their twenties.  You need to ensure that any timed game which requires accurate movement is not so fast that a significant number of potential players will be unable to complete it without a lot of re-tries so that they have memorised the route.  You will always be able to complete this fast because you have designed it.  If you are also in one of the 2 groups I mentioned, your speed is no indication of how much time players will need.  It has to be tested by a variety of people.

Thanks for the ideas and pointers. I have ideas for both a timer based puzzle (quick reactions) but also for a classic click-and-point puzzle that in tself would be easy but get's more challenging and interesting because of the black-outs. More ideas are still welcome!

You could have a set of switches.  To open the door requires them to be pressed in a certain order, within X seconds.  Said order is determined randomly per game.

Scatter the switches around and you can have a non-lethal puzzle that wouldn't be overly annoying.  Maybe some are down paths, or whatnot.  If the time limit passes, the player hears a buzzer and the switches all reset.

You could have there be certain objects that 'glow' in the dark, and can only be seen in the dark. I don't know how you would work that in a puzzle, but I'm sure there's something you could do with that.

Great idea, thanks!