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
Multiplayer sounds very interesting. I am excited for the new DLC coming out along with all the new features of the game.
I would like a different type of sandbox level, one where you do not get attacked every minute by a T-rex or 50 rivals. I would like a full, easy sandbox, starting Craig off as a small caveman and growing your tribe. Or you could just add a difficulty option. Sandbox = Easygoing experience, meant to explore every feature of CC2 and feel like the original CC. Survival = Take a challenge and see how long you can survive in the fierce land of Boggdrop.
As for mobile devices, you can do what other companies do. Just make a simple version on the go. But, while being simple, add a new campaign to keep you entertained.
I think for both Computer and Mobile there should be a save for campaign and a save for sandbox. Maybe the Mobile version can be 10 simple missions that take 10-20 minutes to do, but it will also have a sandbox mode, and a leaderboard to compare to other players.
As for multiplayer, maybe you could make a Caveman Craig 3. Featuring:
– A 3D experience, with multiple tribes competing in each level.
– A whole new campaign featuring __ levels with an exciting storyline.
– A sandbox mode, allowing you to build your tribe.
– Buildings: Gather resources to research tools and create buildings, to get even more resources.
– Multiplayer mode: Go team or solo, compete with up to __ players at once, and end the game by conquering all rival tribes.
– New types of cavemen: Researchers, Hunters, Guards/Soldiers, Gatherers, Preparers, Miners/Wood cutters, and farmers.
– Dynamic peace and war against each tribe by attack, bribery, or support.
– Every caveman must sleep and eat for added realism.
For CC3, I might suggest making it like Spore. In the Tribal stage, all babies are born by paying 10 food (similar to preparers in CC). They stay inactive until grown into full adults. All adults can perform any action, and the tools they have only help a certain one. For example, any adult can fish, gather, hunt, or attack. However, fishing spears can help them fish, gathering canes can help them gather, throwing spears help them hunt, and stone axes to help them attack. You can add builders and researchers too. They may only carry one tools at a time but can switch whenever they want. Just think about it.
Anyways, looking forward to a whole new year of Parabox Games and CC2.
Best of luck,
-Sean
Bummer about GM Studio not being up to snuff…I’d love to buy an android version for my Galaxy Tab!