61 Frames Per Second : pixel

The Best News In Sixteen Thousand Years: Cave Story Coming to WiiWare

Nadia Oxford — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:06:00 GMT

Well, there were rumours about this possibly happening. I remained cynical and said, "Naaaaah," but I was just putting on my icy bitch act (wait, act?) to keep my heart from being broken. Oh the tears I shed at night in hopes that Pixel's beautiful Cave Story would come legitimately to WiiWare, XBLA, PSN, a Tiger Handheld game, anything that let me get my fix through a different means.

And now, Praise Ballos...

I've ripped through Cave Story forwards, backwards and upside-down; if someone wrote a Cave Story Gama Sutra, I would totally flip through it and nod confidently at, uh, half the positions, I guess. I haven't finished Hell, you see.

I have reason to delay my attempts even further, since there are whispers that the WiiWare edition of Cave Story will have extra features. Fascinating. I wonder what they'll be? Probably Mega Man 9-style achievements that will validate our lives like religion and community service never could.

Perhaps the story will be fleshed out more, though I don't think Cave Story needs that. Its storytelling is beautifully subtle; pretty cute and funny with something thin and dark coiled around it. There aren't many games, movies or novels around that can actually make bloodthirsty rabbits seem daunting without turning it into a Monty Python tribute.

Related Links:

Spelunking Through Cave Story
EPIC Cave Story Medley on Piano
Underpowered Cave Story "Ports"

Yahtzee Says, Support Your Local Independent Developer (He's Right).

Nadia Oxford — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:42:00 GMT

If you're 1) a gamer and 2) not insane, then one of your favourite all-time games is Cave Story. Cave Story was planned, designed and developed by one demigod, the radiant Pixel. One of the greatest games of all time came from two arms, two eyes and one brain.

Cave Story works so well because the graphics, sound, story and gameplay all compliment each other beautifully. But what if Pixel had proposed the title to, say, EA and had a hive mind work on the game? For starters, it would look and sound radically different because players today are all about the big noises and shiny things according to the Big Men In Charge (which is why Mega Man 9 has everyone leaping like dogs at a lambchop). The aesthetic shift alone would have sent Cave Story's delicate feng shui swirling down the toilet.

Yahtzee talks about the importance of indie games this week, specifically Braid on XBLA. His argument for indie titles against corporate titles is that too many cooks spoil the broth—or rather, too many faceless men in suits destroy the original intent. Sometimes we all need to step back and clear our heads with games that don't stray far from the man or woman who originally thought up the idea.

I don't feel guilty for playing the likes of Mario or Metroid or God help me, Mega Man.. I also very clearly remember a time when developers had a lot of creative control over their games and still managed to mass-produce a lot of cock-ups that clogged the industry's arteries and eventually felled it. I'm a person of balance; things like crooked picture frames drive me insane. Thus, I understand that corporate regulations are sometimes an evil necessity...but I wholly support the independent scene with my enthusiasm, love and moolah (since that's ultimately what it needs instead of the former).

I r dumb. I didn't really “get” Braid when I played the demo, but I will buy the game in full and try harder. Nothing thrives on homogenisation, the game industry least of all. It needs all the creative infusions it can manage.

Related Links:

Indie Dev Moment: A Game a Month from Kloonigames
Yahtzee on E3: Are We Gaming in an Age of Uncreativity?
Yahtzee and the Webcomics Plague

Spelunking Through Cave Story

Nadia Oxford — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 21:29:00 GMT

Something in the air--I'm going to blame all that dang fireflower pollen blowing around out there--has me in a retro mood. For all the 3D delights I could be indulging in (my brother loaned me Guitar Hero III), I've recently made a happy return to Pixel's Cave Story.

If you haven't played Cave Story, drop what you're doing and download it. No, I don't care if you're performing CPR on your half-dead mother, you simply must experience one of the most endearing and well-balanced 2D platformers ever developed. It's easy to find and it's free. You have no excuse. No, I don't care if trafalmadorians are lifting you into their saucer right this minute.

Granted, I avoided Cave Story for years because the name sounded like some slow and winding "adventure" through a key-driven maze. "Cave Story" brings to mind cheap NES bargain-bin knockoffs that your well-meaning aunt would buy you at Christmas. Wow, thanks Auntie Shiela. I can't wait to throw this at the dog next time he gets into the garbage--I mean, I can't wait to play this.

As reality would have it, Cave Story is far more ambitious than its simple title lets on. Though it is freeware developed over the course of five years by one noble man (Pixel), Cave Story plays like the best of Mega Man, Gunstar Heroes and Metroid and is comparable in length to many of your favourite 2D adventures. It's not too short and it doesn't drag on. Its difficulty is adjustable depending on how you play it; there's no challenge selection, but you can steer away from--or towards--much pain depending on the choices you make and the weapons you choose.

If you're masochistic, you can literally choose to go to hell. Good luck with that.

With its simplistic but distinctive graphics and its rocking 8-bit sound library that deserves to be on every iPod in the nation, Cave Story will bring you joy, peace and love. It's certainly filled up the airless black void that used to be my heart.