Louis Rollet

Hytale mod / Minigame

Blackout

3rd-place Hytale ModJam co-op minigame: escape five backrooms floors before the timer runs out — cooperate, communicate, craft, survive.

Role
Gameplay programmer
Team
4 people (team PERL)
When
Jun 2026
Status
released
5
backrooms floors
3
new monsters
7
days to build it
46:37
fastest community escape

Blackout was built by the four-person PERL team for The Hytale ModJam, a 7-day modding event organized by HytaleModding and funded by Hypixel Studios. The mod turns Hytale into a cooperative backrooms escape: a dynamically generated map that is unique on every run, five floors with distinct rules — base defense in the Office Rooms, boiling Pool Rooms, an alarm-swept Garage Floor, the Infinite Staircase, and the foggy expanse of Level 10 — plus three new monsters, crafting and fortifications, and a fully original soundtrack. It placed 3rd in the Minigames category at the live judging stream.

What do you do when the lights go out?

Blackout drops you and your friends behind a wall you were never meant to no-clip through: one timer, five backrooms floors, three things hunting you. Cooperate, communicate - and get out.

Watch the trailer on the ModJam page Source on GitHub

Five floors between you and the exit

Every run generates a fresh map, and every floor plays by its own rules - learn them fast, the timer keeps running.

  1. Office Rooms

    The classic mono-yellow wallpaper. Scavenge by day, fortify by night - something out there goes for your fences first, and the key won't corrupt itself.

    Office Rooms
    Ready your defenses - night falls on the Office Rooms

  2. Pool Rooms

    Tiled corridors and still water. Stay dry while the sun is up - it boils - and trust the red arrows. One of them points down.

    Pool Rooms
    Explore your surroundings - the Pool Rooms boil by day

  3. Garage Floor

    Concrete, sirens and sewage drains. When the alarm sounds, hide underground - and whatever you hear scratching, do not open the hatch.

    Garage Floor
    Discover secrets - the Garage Floor hides its exit

  4. Infinite Staircase

    Just keep going up. You've got this.

  5. Level 10

    An open sea of fog with silhouettes on the horizon. The way out is close - if you can tell which pillar is lying to you.

    Level 10
    Escape - Level 10, the last stretch

The community runs it back

After the jam, teams started racing the escape and posting their times on the HytaleModding thread.

Blackout screenshot
A seven-player crew tops out - final time 46:48
  1. Brugo · Ikari · Kerp · Syprus · Riprod 46:37
  2. Kiri · Zenkuro · Lordimass · Ikari · Neil · Riprod · Edilan 46:48
  3. Zorbze (solo) 1:23:52

Team PERL

Made with love and zero sleep by four people, one letter each.

  • Paralaxe Gameplay & systems - that's me
  • Ev0 Original soundtrack
  • Riprod Development
  • Lordimass Development

Every track in the mod was composed for the jam by Ev0 - and released free to use in videos and content.

Features

  • 5 iconic backrooms floors, each with its own rules
  • 3 new monsters with unique counterplay
  • Dynamically generated map — unique every run
  • Timed co-op escape, solo or with friends
  • Crafting, fortifications and base defense
  • Dozens of new items and mechanics
  • Original soundtrack composed by Ev0

What I did

  • Designed and implemented gameplay systems in Java across the five backrooms floors with the PERL team, under a 7-day jam deadline.
  • Built the co-op escape loop around communication: timed progression, base defense, puzzles, and monster encounters with distinct counterplay.
  • Integrated dynamic map generation on top of a modified Gridwave so every escape attempt plays on a unique layout.
  • Tuned floor difficulty and pacing through team playtests up to the submission deadline.

Project timeline

Seven days from secret theme reveal to submission: concept, five floors, three monsters, dynamic map generation and an original soundtrack — then community voting, the live judging stream, and a 3rd-place finish.

  1. Jun 2026Planning / Research

    ModJam kickoff - secret theme revealed

    The Hytale ModJam opened its 7-day window and team PERL (Paralaxe, Ev0, Riprod, Lordimass) formed around a cooperative backrooms escape.

  2. Jun 2026 → Jun 2026Planning / Research

    Backrooms escape concept locked

    Scoped a timed co-op escape through five backrooms floors and split floors, monsters, items, and music across the four-person team.

  3. Jun 2026 → Jun 2026Development

    Five floors in five days

    Built the floors and their mechanics — Office Rooms base defense, boiling Pool Rooms, the alarm-swept Garage Floor, the Infinite Staircase, and Level 10 — on top of dynamic map generation with a modified Gridwave.

  4. Jun 2026Release / Delivery

    Submitted to the jam

    Shipped Blackout to the ModJam with its trailer and screenshots, and released the first public build on GitHub the same day.

  5. Jun 2026 → Jun 2026Release / Delivery

    Community voting week

    Players tried the submissions and voted; the top entries advanced to the live judging stream.

  6. Jun 2026Impact / Result

    3rd place - Minigames category

    Judged live on stream by the ModJam panel, Blackout took 3rd place in the Minigames category.

Built with

  • Java
  • Hytale modding
  • Procedural generation
  • Co-op game design
  • Game systems
  • Level design