Blackout-Game

About this project

Blackout is a hacker infiltration thriller built entirely in CAVE — the first full game to showcase what the Contextual Adventure Verbose Engine can do. You play as a systems infiltrator hired for one last job, navigating corporate security, digital defenses, and moral choices that shape the outcome.

The game serves dual purposes: a complete interactive fiction experience for players, and a reference implementation for CAVE authors. Every mechanic in Blackout demonstrates a language feature. Study how it works, adapt the patterns for your own games.

Building Blackout alongside CaveDraft ensures the tool actually supports real game development. Every puzzle I design, every conversation I write, every edge case I hit — all feed back into the editor and language design.

Features

• Full-length interactive fiction thriller (2-4 hours playtime)
• Multiple infiltration approaches: social engineering, technical exploits, brute force
• Branching narrative with distinct endings based on player choices
• Puzzle design that rewards exploration and lateral thinking
• Runs entirely in browser — no downloads or installation
• Built with CAVE, fully exportable from CaveDraft

The Story

A corporate tower. A data vault. A client who pays well and asks no questions.

You've infiltrated dozens of systems, but this job feels different. The security is too tight, the target too specific, the payout too generous. Something bigger is happening inside Meridian Industries, and you're about to find out what.

Navigate physical spaces and digital networks. Manipulate people and machines. Decide how far you're willing to go — and who pays the price when the lights go out.

Design Philosophy

Blackout embraces classic interactive fiction conventions while pushing into new territory. Parser-style interaction meets modern usability: clear feedback, logical puzzles, no guess-the-verb frustration.

The game respects player intelligence. Solutions emerge from observation and experimentation, not pixel hunting or walkthrough dependency. Multiple valid approaches mean your play style matters.

Part of the CAVE Ecosystem

Blackout connects to CaveDraft as a creation showcase, CaveFormat as a living example of documented syntax, and NextRoom.io where it will eventually receive community reviews.

Players enjoy a thriller. Authors study a reference. The ecosystem grows together.