New Year Message!
2012 has been a really big one for Parabox Games.
I have always had ambitious ideas, and it’s been very difficult to stay motivated, to have the resources, or skills, to accomplish them. With thanks to Tim’s design vision and artistic skills, encouraging friends & fans, and the blessing of Ricky Garcia and Greg Vanderbeek’s contributions, Caveman Craig 2, our magnum opus, got completed with very little compromise on features and quality. Seeing your positive feedback, particularly those from fans who have been with us since the original Caveman Craig (and even earlier, with Conflict: Arcade and the GameCave era), has really paid off all the years of work.
It’s both a blessing and a curse that CC2 has only given way for bigger and more ambitious ideas. We’ve already announced NIGHTBEAR and STADIUM BUILDER, and have plenty more ideas up our sleeves. With Game Maker Studio, we are now able to branch off into all sorts of platforms and other markets – mobile, web, and other desktop platforms. We are still busy people outside of Parabox, and can’t churn out games as quickly as most indie game companies, but trust us.. we’re always thinking, always talking, and always passionate about creating games.
But the Caveman Craig franchise certainly doesn’t finish here. We’re working on the “Battle at Dudu Forest” DLC for Caveman Craig 2 right now. The DLC doesn’t just add a new level with new dinosaurs and unlocks, but we’re also going through ALL the feedback you have posted on various websites, to find new features to add to the game.
Some of you may be wondering about the release of Caveman Craig 2 for Mac, iOS, and Android – as mentioned in previous blog entries. It’s a real shame we were unable to release CC2 for mobile devices and Mac users this year, but there are a number of significant technical restraints on GameMaker Studio that we did not anticipate. Particularly for Mac, we expected a direct port to require minimal work, but alas GM Studio crippled the ability to save/load games, external resources, settings, and so on. Caveman Craig 2 pushed Game Maker to its limits, and a very elaborate loading/unloading system was put in place to minimize memory usage and lag. Rewriting this will be very difficult for Mac, and near impossible for mobile devices, unless we re-imagine the entire game for mobile. BUT, never say never!
And what of a multiplayer version of Caveman Craig 2? We hope to make an announcement on this in 2013. We’ll see!
Our best wishes to you all for 2013.
-Parabox Games
Caveman Craig 2 END OF WORLD SALE
Today I have some helpful christmas advice!
If you’re struggling to find a meaningful gift for your friends or family before the destruction of the entire world, then our Caveman Craig 2 “End of World Sale” is for you! Caveman Craig 2 is 50% off from cavemancraig.com between now and 1/1/13, or when the meteors fall, whichever comes first.
Furthermore, we guarantee to give you a full refund if the world does end before you get to have a full playthrough.
And if THAT’S not enough, then you might be pleased to know that, mayan’s willing, we’ll be releasing our “Battle at Dudu Forest” DLC for Caveman Craig 2 in early 2013, free for all owners of Caveman Craig 2!
Just click the banner at the top of this post to claim your bargain!
October’s Etc
Hello all!
It has been a very very busy two months for me, having just moved into my first home and working my way through a number of big life changes. Tim has been busy kickstarting some of his various personal projects, including (Video TV Show), and (Youtube + Radio Movie ‘Reviews’).
A lot of conversation is happening revolving our next 3 projects, NIGHTBEAR, STADIUM BUILDER, and a 3rd yet-to-be-announced game. And with CAVEMAN CRAIG 2 still gaining ground in the Steam Greenlight Scene (we’re now up to 26% towards being in the top 100… PLEASE support us!!), we are looking at future development of the CAVEMAN CRAIG franchise to support CC2 in Greenlight.
I hope to upload a new devlog video for Stadium Builder soon. Please stay tuned!
-Rhys
Let’s Push for Steam!
Hey guys! Caveman Craig 2 is about 25% towards making the top 100 list of Steam Greenlight.
We’ve had almost entirely positive comments from visitors to our steam greenlight page, and that means we know CC2 is a worthy candidate for Steam. However we’re lacking the exposure, and it takes a wave of supportive fans to get the exposure we need!
If Caveman Craig 2 is released on Steam, any existing owners of the game (purchased either through Desura or BMT Micro) will receive a Steam key for the game if it is technically possible for us to do so.
So what can you do??
If you haven’t yet, VISIT OUR GREENLIGHT PAGE and select “YES” under “would you buy this game if it were available on steam?”. Then use the share buttons for facebook, twitter, reddit, and digg (depending on what you use) to spread the word!
Help us release Caveman Craig 2 on Steam!!
Hi all!
As outlined in our previous blog post, we need YOUR help to get Caveman Craig 2 released on Steam, the mother of all distribution platforms.
CLICK HERE TO VISIT OUR GREENLIGHT PAGE AND RATE US UP!
We need a BIG response in order to have the game considered for release. Even if you already own the game, this milestone will help Parabox with further development on both Caveman Craig and our other games. Our very small revenue is what enables us to keep going and Steam will open us up to many more opportunities.
So RATE & SHARE! Thank you!
-Rhys
Caveman Craig 2 + Steam Greenlight
Late this month, Steam will be launching a new service called ‘Greenlight’. The service will allow game developers such as ourselves to submit games for the Steam community to decide whether they want to be able to buy it off Steam.
Steam currently has a game submission process, however the fate of every submission is in the hands of staff. I dare say, catch them on a bad day or fail to grab their interest immediately, and a game with oodles of distribution potential misses out on the best opportunity an indie developer could ask for – to sell their game on the biggest game distribution service on the internet.
Needless to say, we’re excited about this and will be submitting Caveman Craig 2 to the service as soon as we are able.
Many of you have been urging us to try and get Caveman Craig 2 released on Steam. We have decided to wait for Greenlight to leave the decision in the hands of our fans.
So in order for the game to be released on steam, we NEED your help! Once Greenlight is released and CC2 is submitted, we will be urging you all to support it in any way possible. Caveman Craig 2 fits into an awkward category of indie games. It needs the support of its fans to draw the attention it deserves.
– Rhys
Development Video for Stadium Builder
Check out our first development log video for “Stadium Builder” on youtube! It’s short & sweet, but I’m sure we’ll have a lot more to show you soon! 
Announcing ‘Stadium Builder’!
We’re really excited to be announcing the 2nd of our games in development – “Stadium Builder”! Check out our latest Vlog entry below for full details!
With Tim being quite the sports fan (I also enjoy the occasional yelling at the TV screen), we wanted to try something new and come up with a game that is appealing to fans of a number of international sports without forsaking our existing indie game fans. As such, Stadium Builder will be a true ode to simulation classics like Sim City, Sim Tower, and Theme Hospital – introduced into the smartphone/casual age!
I’ve been spending some time on the basic engine for Stadium Builder using GameMaker Studio, to become acquainted with its new functionality and changes in the programming language & interface. I’ll be uploading development videos for Stadium Builder throughout its development to keep you updated on its progress.
The Vlog above also reminds you of our “Battle at Dudu Forest” DLC which will be released once we get enough facebook likes, twitter followers, and youtube subscribers. We’re edging closer and closer! The DLC will include a new dinosaur or two, a new enemy to verse, new and special scenery, and some other challenges! So keep sharing Caveman Craig 2 with your friends and you’ll be rewarded!
Thank you all for your support!
-Rhys
New Website & Blog Launch!
Hi everyone!
Welcome to our new website & blog!
We wanted a site that was easier to maintain, and to also put all our eggs in one basket. All our press information, links, games, social integration, and our blog can be found on the same website, now. I’ve spent the past week or so putting this one together and am quite proud with the result.
IMPORTANT!
If you were receiving new blog posts from us by email, you will need to RE-SUBSCRIBE from our new location to continue receiving email notifications. To do this, visit our website and enter your email address in the subscribe box! Thank you so much!
As for our old blog location (cavemancraig.wordpress.com), we will keep it in ‘archive’ mode, indefinitely, which means all the content will remain, but no more content (including comments) can be added. For all the latest news and comments, stick around here!
Thank you all for your support,
Rhys
Craig hits the Portals! June’s etc
We’re excited to be announcing that Caveman Craig 2 is now available on a large number of portal websites – including i-play, yahoo games, and more. This means that more people get to play our game!
The past couple of weeks have been spent marketing our upcoming Caveman Craig 2 DLC, and preparing the announcements for our next projects. We are also experimenting with Game Maker Studio and coming up with some more game ideas.. as we do!
Nightbear is still in planning stages – it’s the sort of game that really needs to be worked out to the finest detail before it can be put together. I can’t wait to show you some more epic concept art that Tim has come up with, and release some more details on the game!
Our 2nd game announcement is coming soon via our video log, so make sure you if you haven’t already! This game will likely be created natively for mobile and desktop platforms, and will include a free version and ‘deluxe version’. BUT SSHH!! I’m not supposed to say anything yet.
Some of you may have noticed that our domains have changed around a little bit. Parabox Games is now running on a dedicated host (rather than sharing a room with Autumnhouse Web Services), and this is a step forward in trying to combine all our sites together. Eventually I hope to migrate this blog into a new version of the Parabox Website, which should be exciting!
We appreciate your support + patience! As a newly-established design team, progress is slow as we are juggling full time jobs and general lifeness. But we love making video games and we hope that one day we will be able to commit more time to it!
-Rhys
