The 16 colour CGA or was it mspaint pallete was specifically used for the play field in the scene where the maitenence guy is playing the handheld game :)
You're not the first person to mention the lack of visiblity earlier on. If I make any addtions to the game post jam I'll probably increase the initial light radius and or do something else to make it easier. The emergency lighting does have a certain appeal though I'm not sure if it would work well performance wise. Still something worth considering if I upload a newer version.
Cheers :)