10 years ago today, Paranautical Activity was released into the world. It started us on an amazing journey that almost no one gets to experience. People from all walks of life are consistently envious when I tell them the story of my life, and I don't know if I'll ever fully appreciate how lucky I am to have gotten to do and see so much while I'm still so young. 

We may not have always made the smartest decisions (lol), and there have definitely been ups and downs, but I wouldn't tradeit for the world, and I can't wait to see what the next decade brings. 

If you don't know what I'm talking about, lucky for you, we made a song about it for the release trailer of ParaSHOTical ARKtiviBeatings!

And don't forget to join us on twitch tonight for a chance to win some keys!

Our new game, ParaSHOTical ARKtiviBeatings comes out in less than a week! On release day (Feb 14th, 2023), we will be hosting a live stream at twitch.tv/CodeAvarice.

During the stream, anyone can download the free demo, and challenge Code Avarice in a 1v1 or 2v2. If you win, we'll give you a free steam key for ParaSHOTical ARKtiviBeatings!

During the stream we'll also be talking about Code Avarice history, the development process of the new game, and what we've been up to since our last release.

Influcers (no matter how small!) or members of the press, feel free to reach out to [email protected] to book a specific time for your battle, and optionally join in on the stream via discord.

Check out the flyer below for more details:

Hard to believe it's been 10 years! Though me (Mike) and Travis have moved on from treating Code Avarice as our job, we still enjoy working together on little projects just for the joy of creation. When I noticed towards the end of 2022 that Feb 14, 2023 would be the 10 YEAR anniversary of Paranautical Activity's release, I knew we had to do something cool. 

What we came up with was more of a celebration of ALL our time developing games together, rather than being purely about PA. We wanted to take the most iconic and essential piece of all our released games, and mix them into a single (ridiculous) game. We ended up with:

• The movement and shooting of Season's Beatings
• The randomized levels and items of Paranautical Activity
• ARKSHOT's multiplayer

The result is, honestly, way more fun than it has any right to be. And it's so nostalgic to see the old assets, the classic sound effect and text popup for getting items, and just recontextualize all this work that we're so proud of into something that really feels like a celebration. 

The game will be coming out on February 14th, 2023. More info to come soon, but in the meantime, enjoy this trailer!

If it looks fun to you, check out the game page for info on Steam and Itchio releases!

The Season's Beatings OST by Dean Cutsforth is available now on Bandcamp!

Included are the 3 rockin' in-game tracks, PLUS the classic holiday jingle. All available to stream/download for whatever price you deem appropriate. It's pay what you want, but please consider "wanting" to pay at least a little something to support our friend Dean Cutsforth directly. :D

And check out some of Dean's other work while you're there. The song 'Teeth' from his album See-Saw is one of my favorite songs of all time.
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​​What's that? You're reading this and you don't own Season's Beatings already? Well what are you waiting for! Head on over to CodeAvarice.com/Seasons-Beatings.html and pick it up on Steam, Humble, Itchio, or any of the other wonderful stores that stock the holiday themed murder simulator.

Mike's first person Hotline Miami "inspired" game (see: ripoff) is out now on Steam and other digital distributors! And it's 15% off for one week!

Most places give steam keys, and some have DRM free builds as well! Pick a store and buy the game! And then buy the game again. And then maybe but it two or three more times. I'll tell you when to stop.

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/749410
Humble Store: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/seasons-beatings
Itch.io: https://codeavarice.itch.io/seasons-beatings
indiegala: https://www.indiegala.com/store/product/seasons-beatings/749410
GreenManGaming: https://www.greenmangaming.com/games/seasons-beatings/
GameJolt (no steam keys): https://gamejolt.com/games/seasons-beatings/313375
Gamersgate: https://www.gamersgate.com/DD-SEASONS-BEATINGS/season-s-beatings
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Oh, and check out the release trailer and sing along with Dean Cutsforth:

I may have just posted an update yesterday, but I must return yet again to sing the song of the steam wishlist.

Today, the Steam page is officially live, feel free to check it out for more info on the game and to wishlist it so you can get notified when the game releases:

http://store.steampowered.com/app/749410/Seasons_Beatings/

We also dropped a teaser trailer to celebrate. Check that out below for some sweet, high octane Season's Beatings action: 

Season's Beatings is continuing to come along great, and I just put together a new video that shows some new levels, as well as some new mechanics and improvements to the game.

The star of the show in this update is definitely the new dive move. Diving allows you to clear ground quickly, dodge bullets, or leap through windows. And diving into enemies stuns them!

It really adds a whole new dimension to the gameplay, as does a lot of the other awesome stuff I added this time around. Check out the video below for some gameplay and commentary on the state of the game: 

The changelog for this build is too huge to just paste in, so here's a screenshot of my Trello board showing the changes:

Tons of people had great feedback after the first Season's Beatings video, and now there's a new video with a lot of that feedback put into the game!

The bulk of the changes were to make the game more satisfying to play, and more fair/balanced. Guns are now more viable to use, and enemies don't instakill you quite so...instantly. Plus there's more blood. Lots and lots more blood. There's also lots of other cool additions/changes, which I talk about in the video. Full changelog below:

• added enemy alert noises
• added enemy footsteps
• added gore system
• added enemy hats flying off
• added knife
• added crosshair
• added level stats/goals
• fixed enemies never hitting you at very close range
• slightly slower enemy bullets
• slightly lower shotgun spread
• enemies rotate faster
• enemies pause before shooting
• gun pickups now outlined for greater visibility
• more generous gun pickup detection
• made "random" wandering enemy deterministic, so it can be learned like other enemy patterns

Hope to get lots more feedback on this video so this game can be as awesome as possible!
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The incredibly handsome and talented Mike "strong hands" Maulbeck is making his very own game published under Code Avarice!

This one man project is Season's Beatings, a lightning fast one hit kill FPS best described as first person Hotline Miami. Maybe someday Code Avarice will release a game that isn't just a first person translation of another indie game, but that day hasn't come just yet.

The game takes place in an office building on Christmas. You are tasked to get all the way to the top floor, leaving nothing but a trail of dead bodies behind you. And all you have to accomplish this with is the weapons you can pry from the cold dead hands of your enemies. 

The fast one hit kill combat is complimented by a total lack of a HUD, making combat clumsy and extremely risky at range. No crosshair to rely on for aiming, and no ammo counter means you're counting your shots and getting as close as possible before pulling the trigger. Throw your weapon at distant enemies to stun them so you can get in for a safe kill shot. But if that kill shot comes from a firearm, prepare for half the enemies in the level to flood in within seconds.

It really is coming out incredibly fun. With just one level in my current test build, I still spend hours a day just playing the game. Randomized enemy weapons and the dynamic nature of the combat make it almost endlessly replayable. I can't wait to get the game into the hands of more people.

Check out this quick and dirty gameplay video where I talk a little more about the game.

Arkshot is coming to Steam, Humble, GreenManGaming, IndieGala, and BundlStars this Thursday.

We're launching with 14 maps, 11 powerups, 5 gamemodes, and dozens of cosmetic customizations.

Launch gamemodes are:

• Deathmatch: Kill other players for points. 
• Slow Down: Deathmatch with a twist. Kill other players for points, but every point you gain slows you down. Forcing you to carefully plan your movements and shots for those last few kills.
• Headhunter: A combat/objective hybrid where killing players makes them drop a skull, which must be collected and brought back to a turn in location to be scored. If you're carrying more than one skull and you die before scoring them, you drop them all. Scoring 5 or more skulls at once yields double points. 
• Capture The Flag: A classic FPS gamemode with a free for all twist. Grab the flag and race to the turn in location to score it. Scoring the flag is a real challenge when every other player is gunning for you and you're slowed to 50% speed.
• King of The Hill: Enter the familiar pagoda from Headhunter and Capture The Flag to capture it. Once captured the hill changes to your player color, and you get points every second you manage to keep other players out.

​Check out the launch trailer below!