How Cave Story Changed My Perspective on What Games Can Be
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Back in high school, I went through a bit of a pretentious phase where I would avoid any games developed by big studios. I wanted indie games and I wanted them immediately. So I decided to begin with what many consider to be the start of the indie revolution: Cave Story.
Cave Story was developed over the course of 5 years by a single man named Daisuke Amaya and it was published as a freeware title in 2004. You read that right. A completely free game developed out of pure love by one person. He did the art, story, music and the game design all on his own.
This game blew my mind on so many levels. The idea of one person making something out of a labor of love and having it turn out so perfect really spoke to me. And the visual/gameplay style is so simple! The pixel art could be interpreted as dated but that just makes the impactful story more impressive. Video games have this beautiful way of delivering hard-hitting stories through simplistic visuals and Cave Story is no stranger to that.
Cave Story tells the tale of a silent robot in a post-apocalyptic world who has to save a race of rabbit-like creatures from being turned into bloodthirsty beasts by a mad scientist. This game was surprisingly deep in the way it dealt with subjects like loss and dictatorship and it did that with very little dialogue. You get a sense of how the island you’re on is falling apart based on the design of the levels you’re going through and I think that’s beautiful.
Just imagine a 16-year-old hipster holed up in his bedroom getting way too frustrated with the final stages of Cave Story and the relief he felt when he finally beat the game. It’s weirdly cathartic to finish a game so difficult with such a satisfying ending. There’s more, too, that I haven’t done. A secret true ending is out there that I’ve yet to try for.
It’s gone through several remakes and iterations over the years including an updated Steam port call Cave Story+ and a completely 3-dimensional remake the Nintendo 3DS. The franchise continues to grow with guest appearances from the characters in games like Blade Strangers and Crystal Crisis. But it’s the original freeware version that holds a special place in my heart.
Cave Story changed the face of indie gaming forever. It showed people that anyone can make a video game. All it takes is passion and a hefty amount of time. The indie game community is thriving and it’s massive now, but back then, all we had was a handful of freeware games. Indie games have so much heart and Cave Story is proof of that.
Dylan has been playing games since he was a wee lad. For the last 25 years, he has built up a terrifying backlog of games he claims he will get to “eventually.” Unfortunately, this backlog continues to grow because of his crippling Tetris addiction, and his horrible attention span.
His other interests include: thinking up Dungeons & Dragons characters he never ends up playing, watching compilations of sad anime scenes, and trying to be funny.
You can find him occasionally tweeting here: @dylanproy
