Hello, this is SILOEGI Operation.
With the demo release just around the corner, we'd like to briefly introduce how BLACKOUT began and the direction it’s heading.
Development Started After Military Discharge
BLACKOUT is a game we started developing with friends after completing our military service. We’ve always loved co-op shooters like Left 4 Dead 2 and Alien Swarm, so the release of GTFO was especially exciting for us.
GTFO was a major inspiration for BLACKOUT.
Its teamwork-based structure, brutally challenging difficulty, grotesque creatures, and dark atmosphere — these were all elements our team was passionate about.
While GTFO was a game we genuinely enjoyed, our first experience playing it turned out to be a little different from what we had expected.
At first, we thought it would be a shooter where we could go in guns blazing and mow down creatures — but in reality, the gameplay was centered around stealth and assassination.
So we thought:
Let’s make a game that focuses entirely on shooting!
While inspired by the hardcore tone of GTFO, we decided to develop BLACKOUT with full-on firefights and action at its core, rather than stealth mechanics.
A Side-Scrolling Co-op Shooter?
There are already a lot of amazing games where you can shoot creatures to your heart’s content.
To stand out, we thought back to a game we enjoyed before military service: Katana ZERO. Most co-op shooters are either 3D or belt-scroll 2D, so we thought...
“Wouldn’t it be awesome to make a side-scrolling co-op shooter?”
Of course, as we began development, we quickly realized why there are so few side-scrolling co-op shooters. Ha...
The biggest challenge we faced was the limitation of directional axis.
Co-op shooters are fun because you split up and cover different angles, but side-scrollers restrict that to left and right.
360° Shooting – Handcrafted Pixel by Pixel
To address this, we made aiming full 360 degrees.
We considered pixelating spine rigs or 3D models, but instead, we drew nearly 180 degrees’ worth of pixel animation frames by hand.
This handmade pixel art let us express tactical details like gun mounting and reloading in a more dynamic way.
(Probably because we had just finished our military service and were obsessed with tactical details...)
Then we focused on developing environments to support 360° combat—platforms with bullet holes, varied terrain, and more to increase density and variety.
We’re still refining it, but making steady progress.
Our Direction Moving Forward
Our next goals are to expand aiming directions and enhance co-op gameplay.
For aiming, while not included in the demo, we plan to add airborne and ceiling-crawling enemies to introduce more threats from above and increase aiming variety.
We’re also concerned about the current lack of role differentiation in co-op. We’ll definitely improve this based on feedback.
Since the gunplay and aiming were done manually, the number of weapons is limited. Instead, we’ve been working to diversify mission types to reduce repetition and boost immersion.
Another key part of co-op fun is equipment and role specialization.
While not in the demo, we’re preparing to add special gadgets like sentry guns to diversify gameplay further.
We need your help!
We’re a small and relatively inexperienced team. We’ve had many failures and setbacks throughout development, and we know there’s still a long way to go.
Through this demo, we hope to gather your feedback and build a game completed together with players.
(To be honest, after developing for so long without player interaction, every word of support or feedback means the world to us.)
We’ll see you in the demo on July 31. Thank you!!