While at the NIS America Press Event Thursday night in San Francisco I got the opportunity to have a short talk with Daisuke Amaya, the creator of Cave Story. He developed Cave Story in his free time over the course of five years. The game focuses on an amnesiac silent protagonist Quote, who awakens in a cave. Through his explorations, he discovers a plot by the Doctor, a megalomaniac who intends to force the inhabitants of the cave to fight for him in his bid to conquer the world. A direct port of the game was released for Wii Ware and DSi Ware by development studio Nicalis. It was announced at the event that Cave Story was updated by Nicalis and will be released as Cave Story 3D for the Nintendo 3DS.
You can also see the announcement post and a screen shot pack here.
Disclaimer: Mr. Amaya was using an interpreter so the dialogue below is not the word for word dialogue. It has been cleaned up for clarity and flow.
GB: Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions. Did Nicalis approach you for this project or did you pitch it to them?
DA: Nicalis approached me.
GB: Do you have any plans right now for a update / remake of your previous game, Ikachan?
DA: There are no set dates yet, but I am currently working on a DSi port of the game.
GB: Do you have any other games in the pipeline?
DA: Not currently. I was about half way through a RPG that had to be halted.
GB: What was your inspiration behind Cave Story? Were you trying to emulate games you liked or were you trying to simply make a game you would like to play?
DA: While being partially inspired by the games I have played my main motivation was to make a game I would like to play.
GB: Can we expect a Cave Story sequel?
DA: Always in mind but not currently in the pipeline.
GB: Is Cave Story 3D just a graphical update? Are there any new quests for Quote?
DA: There are no new quests but the music and graphics have evolved greatly.