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Black Out!

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Black Out!
Developer(s)Stormworks Interactive
Publisher(s)Stormworks Interactive
Programmer(s)Jeff Nihlean
Artist(s)Shawn Lavery
Composer(s)Chris Mylrae
Platform(s)Atari Jaguar, Atari Jaguar CD
ReleaseJuly 9, 2012 (Jaguar)
August 13, 2012 (Jaguar CD)
Genre(s)Puzzle
Mode(s)Single-player

Black Out! is a 2012 puzzle homebrew video game developed and published by Stormworks Interactive for the Atari Jaguar and Atari Jaguar CD. It is the first and only title shipped currently by Stormworks Interactive. In the game, the player must turn off all the light bulbs in a 3x3 grid pattern with the lowest amount of moves possible across four stages comprising ten levels each. The player also has a pre-set move limit and a fixed time limit to solve the puzzle efficiently depending on the difficulty setting.

Stormworks Interactive, one of the few independent developers committed to Jaguar at the time after Hasbro Interactive released the console's patents and rights into public domain, had previously announced and worked on various homebrew projects that were never finished but served as learning exercises in order to program for Jaguar. Black Out! started development in 2009 but was shelved despite the engine and rules being completed until production resumed in 2011, with Stormworks Interactive rewriting the game while also fixing bugs and additional artwork.

Gameplay

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Gameplay screenshot of the first stage, Toxicity

Black Out! is a grid-based puzzle game reminiscent of Tiger Electronics' Lights Out and Parker Brothers' Magic Square from the Merlin handheld electronic game, where the main objective of the player is to turn off all the light bulbs in a 3x3 grid with the lowest amount of moves possible.[1][2] There are ten levels across four stages in total, each one presenting a set light pattern that must be solved to advance into the next level.[1][2] Depending on the difficulty setting, the player has a pre-set move limit and a fixed time limit to solve the puzzle efficiently.[1][2]

The player is awarded with two items (a time freezer and a bomb) when several levels are cleared in a row without failing and at a quick pace, which can be used to solve puzzles.[1][2] The game has no pause feature and if the player press the pause button during gameplay, the game will mock them for attempting to do so.[2] Failing to solve any puzzle will send the player back to the starting level of a stage after using a limited number of continues, and the game is over after running out of continues. Finishing the game on the highest difficulty setting unlocks an extra stage at the main menu, which features new puzzles to solve for the player.

Development and release

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Black Out! was created by Stormworks Interactive, a small Texas-based game developer.[3][4][5] They were one of the few independent developers committed to Atari Jaguar, at the time after Hasbro Interactive released the console's patents and rights into public domain in 1999.[6][7][8] Stormworks Interactive had previously announced and worked on various homebrew projects such as Arkanna (a Myst-style graphic adventure) and Zero (a shoot 'em up), neither of which were ever finished but served as learning exercises in order to program for Jaguar.[3][5][9][10][11] The game was solely programmed by Jeff Nihlean, while Shawn Lavery created the graphics and sound effects.[12] The soundtrack was composed by Chris Mylrae under the pseudonym "-cTrix", and the game's cover art was illustrated by Emily Sheldon, among other staff members assisting in the production.[12]

Development started in 2009 but was shelved despite the game's engine and rules being already complete until production was resumed in 2011, with Stormworks Interactive rewriting it while also fixing bugs and additional artwork.[4][5] Black Out! was released for Jaguar under a very limited run on July 9, 2012, complete with packaging mimicking officially licensed Jaguar releases, however the initial batch of cartridges do not work correctly on PAL consoles.[13][14][15] An Atari Jaguar CD version was also released on August 13, while the game's ROM image was released online for free.[16][17] It received coverage from gaming outlets like VentureBeat and Retro Gamer for being on a platform deemed as a commercial failure.[13][18]

Reception and legacy

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Kieren Hawken writing in Retro Video Gamer reviewed the Atari Jaguar CD release.[1] Hawken found the game to be fun and compared it with the electronic game Lights Out (1995) by Tiger Electronics.[1] He also praised its soundtrack, presentation, graphical style, and difficulty curve, regarding Black Out! as a "great addition to the homebrew library of the Jaguar."[1]

Black Out! is currently the only title completed and shipped by Stormworks Interactive, and formed part in a string of projects under development by the group for Jaguar such as homebrew conversions of the Freedoom project (retitled as Doom+),[19][20] Heretic (1994),[21] Chex Quest (1996),[22] among others games.[5][23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Hawken, Kieren (2012). "RVG Reviews – Atari Jag CD: Blackout! – By Storm Works Interactive". Retro Video Gamer. Zaps Media. Retrieved 2023-06-11. (Transcription. Archived 2023-02-07 at the Wayback Machine).
  2. ^ a b c d e Black Out! (Instructions) (North American ed.). Stormworks Interactive. 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Jaguar Previews: Arkanna". Jaguar Front Page News. GameSpy. June 28, 2000. Archived from the original on 2001-01-19. Retrieved 2023-10-10.
  4. ^ a b "In-Dev". Atari User. Vol. 2, no. 13. Anglo Internet Press. October 20, 2011. p. 32.
  5. ^ a b c d Battison, Jamie (May 19, 2012). "RVG Interviews Storm Works". Retro Video Gamer. Zaps Media. Archived from the original on 2012-07-21. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  6. ^ "Classic Gamer Newswire: Jaguar News — Hasbro Sets Jaguar Free". Classic Gamer Magazine. Vol. 1, no. 1. March 1999. p. 10.
  7. ^ "The Atari Jaguar 64-Bit Multimedia Entertainment System". Atari Explorer. 2003. Archived from the original on 2003-04-21. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  8. ^ Goss, Patrick (2011). "Redundant gadgets: Atari Jaguar". MSN Tech & Gadgets UK. Microsoft. p. 5. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  9. ^ "JagFest 2000 Photos". JagFest. June 24, 2000. Archived from the original on 2018-03-20. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
    ("JagFest 2000 Pics!". The JagFest Homepage. 2000. Archived from the original on 2001-02-24. Retrieved 2023-06-10.)
  10. ^ "Arkanna: Game progress". lonestar.texas.net. 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-05-03. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  11. ^ Nihlean, Jeff (rush6432) (October 3, 2011). "Blackout!". AtariAge. pp. 1–5. Archived from the original on 2022-01-28. Retrieved 2019-07-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ a b Stormworks Interactive (July 9, 2012). Black Out! (Atari Jaguar). Stormworks Interactive. Level/area: Black Out! Team.
  13. ^ a b Crawley, Dan (April 25, 2013). "Consoles that won't die: The Atari Jaguar". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on 2017-07-01. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  14. ^ Elpianistero (July 11, 2012). "Black Out est disponible à l'achat sur la Jaguar". RetrOtaku (in French). Association RetrOtaku. Archived from the original on 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2020-09-02.
  15. ^ "Blackout! - Atari Jaguar [NA]". VGCollect.com. 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  16. ^ Nihlean, Jeff (rush6432) (August 13, 2012). "BLACKOUT! RELEASED NOW!". AtariAge. pp. 1–16. Archived from the original on 2023-03-26. Retrieved 2023-06-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Projects". Stormworks Interactive. 2012. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
  18. ^ Hawken, Kieren (August 15, 2013). "Jaguar: 20 Years On". Retro Gamer. No. 119. Imagine Publishing. pp. 76–81.
  19. ^ Lavery, Shawn (KANGAshawn) (September 13, 2012). Doom Conversion on Atari Jaguar Storm Works Interactive (YouTube). United States. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  20. ^ Nihlean, Jeff (rush6432) (June 5, 2016). "Jaguar Doom+". Retro Video Gamer. Zaps Media. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2019-08-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ Retro Video Gamer (April 25, 2014). Heretic - Atari Jaguar - Sneak Preview (YouTube). United States. Archived from the original on 2015-07-26. Retrieved 2019-07-14.
  22. ^ Nihlean, Jeff (rush6432) (September 18, 2016). "Chex Quest Jaguar". Retro Video Gamer. Zaps Media. Archived from the original on 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2020-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  23. ^ "Airstrike for JagCD". Retro Video Gamer. Zaps Media. August 10, 2016. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2023-06-10. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
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