So I'm interviewing Daisuke Amaya for my senior paper

It's about the music of Cave Story.

Here's the body of my email to him asking the questions (we had talked some before, but the content of those messages isn't important):

Okay then. If you could please answer these questions, then...

1. Did you write the music for Cave Story for any particular instrument, or was it written for the organya format directly?
2. What (musical) pieces were easiest and hardest to compose?
3. What is your favorite piece?
4. Are there any pieces you would have changed if you had access to a more complex format?
5. Was there any overarching theme to the soundtrack, or did you write each piece separately from the others?
6. Why was the Plantation music chosen as the title screen music?

And some more questions unrelated to the research paper, that I would still like to ask...

1. As you may or may not know, Balrog's catchphrase was translated "Huzzah!" by the fans and "Oh Yeaaaaah!" by Nicalis. Which do you consider closer to your original vision (assuming that the difference is noticable to you)?
2. Did you expect Cave Story to become as popular as it did?
3. Is the Cave Story sequel you've hinted at actually a prequel?
4. Do you know the full backstory of Cave Story, or were you just inserting vague references as you went along?

I'm waiting for a reply.

 

That is going to be the best senior paper ever.
You better tell us his answers! Unless of course he does not want his answers told to anyone else.

 

It's about the music of Cave Story.

Here's the body of my email to him asking the questions (we had talked some before, but the content of those messages isn't important):



I'm waiting for a reply.

He doesn't really know english very well so don't get your hopes up?

 

Oh, I'll post them here. And once I'm done with high school, I'll post the paper too (note that I'm about to reach my holiday break in my junior year, so that'll be a while).

And I already know that he does speak English, just not well. Enough to be understood, at least.

 

Oh my gosh I am so copying this idea when I get to high school

 

I'd really like to see Pixel's answers too.

 

I am going to copy you. This must be done.
I really hope he does send a reply, I don't know that he replies to a lot of stuff

 

Well, he replied to my emails up to now. I give him a few days.

 

I think it's unlikely Pixel will answer those last four, but he's answered #2 in previous interviews. He was blown away by the success, he never expected it to go beyond Japan, the stuff Nicalis has done for it is amazing, etc. Maybe I can find a link to an interview.

 

The answer to the last question is "It's up to the player to decide"

Unless he's drastically reconsidered his viewpoint in the last year or so, he basically said he has no background for cave story other than what is directly in the game.

 

And one and two are Nicalis and no, respectively.

 

Aaand I might as well mention that you won't get an answer to #3. You probably wouldn't get a straight answer even if you asked "Are you planning another Cave Story-related game?"

 

The answer to the last question is "It's up to the player to decide"

Unless he's drastically reconsidered his viewpoint in the last year or so, he basically said he has no background for cave story other than what is directly in the game.

All it takes to reconsider is one particularly imaginative shower, and the ball starts rolling from there.

Success breeds more success.

 

One does not shake a core belief by dousing themselves with water.

 

Unless it's holy water.

 

Or sexy water

 

Or sexy water

My brain exploded when I tried to think of what sexy water could possibly be.

 

So I got a response. Engrish Amaya's, not mine:

> 1. Did you write the music for Cave Story for any particular instrument, or
> was it written for the organya format directly?

I made the music by various means.
organya directly, by code with guitar, with synthesizer, with piano,
my old tune, from signal of a station, and so on.

> 2. What (musical) pieces were easiest and hardest to compose?

Maybe, "Access" is easiest.
"Meltdown2" is hardest.

> 3. What is your favorite piece?

I like "Eyes of Flame" now.

> 4. Are there any pieces you would have changed if you had access to a more
> complex format?

There are it, if I think about that.
but, if I had access to a more complex format,
My poor things is found out.

> 5. Was there any overarching theme to the soundtrack, or did you write each
> piece separately from the others?

There is not the theme is defined.
I'm always fickle.

> 6. Why was the Plantation music chosen as the title screen music?

It's effective approach to let people feel familiarity.

I'll send you sequels of response later.

I'm assuming the bit about "sequels of response" means the last 4.

My thoughts:
The bit about "signal of a station" would seem to mean he might have taken riffs and such from the radio. Intriguing.

Access being the easiest to compose wasn't surprising, but I wouldn't have guessed Meltdown 2 would have been the hardest. Interesting.

His answer to Plantation was pretty much what I had expected, that he wanted to create a sense of familiarity when you entered Plantation.

DISCUSS.

 

There are it, if I think about that.
but, if I had access to a more complex format,
My poor things is found out.

The music is like the graphics; better because it's simple. Pixel wouldn't have been able to craft Cave Story so well if things were more complicated.

And the Plantation music choice was interesting. It made it feel more like home than a slavery operation.

 

I think the idea with Plantation was to give you a feeling that hope was not lost, after the depressing cutscene and music in Outer Wall.