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Cave Story 3D producer on Pixel's involvement, franchise future, Wii U interest
A portion of an IGN interview with Cave Story 3D Producer Jack Niida...
IGN: Pixel is something of a legend in the gaming community, having single-handedly created such a wonderful - and successful - video game adventure. What was his involvement in the creation of Cave Story 3D?
Niida: Pixel actually worked really closely with us from the very beginning of the project. And that's not just the planning and game design itself, but also the graphics, the artwork, and so on. Making it into 3D we sort of had to redo everything - every little artwork, even the background and small items and details. After we created it on an art template, he would approve it and come up with suggestions, fixes, things like that. Then he'd pitch it back to us, we'd fix it again, send it back - so it was this ongoing process of sending it back and forth, trying to perfect every single detail.
Same goes for game design too, because we've added a couple of extensions to the stages, new items, and little fixes here and there on how the game plays. But everything went through Pixel, so basically he oversaw the entire project.
IGN: What does the future hold for the world of Cave Story? Has that story come to an end? Will there ever be a sequel of sorts? Surely this isn't the last we've seen of the Mimigas!
Niida: I'm pretty sure Pixel has something up his sleeves. Last time we talked, he did mention that he's working on various projects. Whether it will be Cave Story related or not, we'll find out eventually. I personally can't say on his behalf, so we'll just have to wait for Pixel himself to say something.
IGN: Looking into the future a bit, what do you think about Nintendo's next generation of home consoles, the Wii U? Does it interest you as a developer? What would you like to do or see done with it?
Niida: As a developer, I think it's a really interesting console, because it's completely different from what's been released previously. But at the same time I think it's a really difficult platform to develop for, just because the standards are so high now with Nintendo always creating the best stuff on their consoles. So third party publishers and developers sort of have to meet that expectation, which is such a challenge. It's an awesome console, but at the same time it's kind of scary for a third party, because what if we don't create something the fans will enjoy as much. It's like, if this game isn't quite as good as Mario and Zelda, what do you do? But looking into the future, I think we have some pretty cool stuff coming out.
Full interview here
IGN: Pixel is something of a legend in the gaming community, having single-handedly created such a wonderful - and successful - video game adventure. What was his involvement in the creation of Cave Story 3D?
Niida: Pixel actually worked really closely with us from the very beginning of the project. And that's not just the planning and game design itself, but also the graphics, the artwork, and so on. Making it into 3D we sort of had to redo everything - every little artwork, even the background and small items and details. After we created it on an art template, he would approve it and come up with suggestions, fixes, things like that. Then he'd pitch it back to us, we'd fix it again, send it back - so it was this ongoing process of sending it back and forth, trying to perfect every single detail.
Same goes for game design too, because we've added a couple of extensions to the stages, new items, and little fixes here and there on how the game plays. But everything went through Pixel, so basically he oversaw the entire project.
IGN: What does the future hold for the world of Cave Story? Has that story come to an end? Will there ever be a sequel of sorts? Surely this isn't the last we've seen of the Mimigas!
Niida: I'm pretty sure Pixel has something up his sleeves. Last time we talked, he did mention that he's working on various projects. Whether it will be Cave Story related or not, we'll find out eventually. I personally can't say on his behalf, so we'll just have to wait for Pixel himself to say something.
IGN: Looking into the future a bit, what do you think about Nintendo's next generation of home consoles, the Wii U? Does it interest you as a developer? What would you like to do or see done with it?
Niida: As a developer, I think it's a really interesting console, because it's completely different from what's been released previously. But at the same time I think it's a really difficult platform to develop for, just because the standards are so high now with Nintendo always creating the best stuff on their consoles. So third party publishers and developers sort of have to meet that expectation, which is such a challenge. It's an awesome console, but at the same time it's kind of scary for a third party, because what if we don't create something the fans will enjoy as much. It's like, if this game isn't quite as good as Mario and Zelda, what do you do? But looking into the future, I think we have some pretty cool stuff coming out.