World Video Game Hall of Fame

Not sure if this is the right category to put this or not, but The Strong - National Museum of Play is taking nominations for games that people think deserve a place in their World Video Game Hall of Fame.

These are the criteria that the games should meet:

Icon-status: the game is widely recognized and remembered.
Longevity: the game is more than a passing fad and has enjoyed popularity over time.
Geographical reach: the game meets the above criteria across international boundaries.
Influence: The game has exerted significant influence on the design and development of other games, on other forms of entertainment, or on popular culture and society in general. A game may be inducted on the basis of this criterion without necessarily having met all of the first three.

I feel Cave Story meet all 4 of these criteria and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. It is arguably the most important indie game of all time and made the indie game scene become what it is today. It also deserves to be there because it's a fantastic game in and of itself. It became popular even though Pixel barely advertised it, which is pretty amazing.

If anyone here has some time to spend, please consider nominating this game (and any other games that you think deserve it). I myself nominated it but the more, the better.

Here's the link to nominate:
http://www.worldvideogamehalloffame.org/nominate

 

Cave Story is just an excellently designed game in general, and there is so much merit to how it was created and how it became popular. One of the early indie games released, it influenced others with an example that still holds up today with its strong story, fun gameplay and overall stability. As a well known and beloved part of indie game history, I think it definitely deserves a place in the hall of fame.

Cave Story was not only one of my first computer games and the first that I completed, I still play it regularly nearly half a decade later. It's the reason why I met a lot of people who I'm good friends with now, and indirectly responsible for what amounted to an upheaval of my life as I knew it, a massive change for the better. I owe it a lot.

And now, I wait. I hope it wins a spot. ^_^

 

That was very well phrased, Polaris! It felt so sentimental to read it. I do wish my composing skills were nearly as good as yours, or a few other people I know.
Why didn't I think of writing anything in the story/experience field? I've had a very similar experience to yours, and it does seem the kind of thing to show that Cave Story really is awesome, right?
I truly hope and pray that Cave Story wins this. Hope can be a double-edged sword, though...

 

Hmmmmm...
While I'm sure Cave Story is a great game and definitely meets those first three criteria, I'm not sure how it really fits the fourth. Kinda hard to argue that, since it mostly seems to take inspiration from other games. I can't really name many other games that it influenced, aside from a few other indie games. Anyway, this is an interesting idea! I didn't know this thing existed, and while I'll probably nominate something else or maybe nothing at all, I think it would be cool if a lot of us tried this out. Who knows, maybe Cave Story will actually make it in if enough of us do.

 

I can't really name many other games that it influenced, aside from a few other indie games

Every indie shooty platformer in the last ten years. There was even a period where the indie scene was basically platformers.

 

Here's what I said:

Spoiler

I nominate Cave Story because it is a fantastic, well-built game. It is my favorite video game from the 21st century (Robotron: 2084 is my favorite video game from the 20th century, which I will also recommend.) This game has good graphics, but to be honest, good graphics have never really been my priority when it comes to games. I've always preferred games with good sound/music and a good story. The story is good, with unique characters that stand out from one another and a plot that is simple at first, but gets more complex as the game progresses. I expected this game to have a good story because "story" is 50% of the title. The sound effects in the game are simple, but they are good. Then, there's the game's soundtrack, which is probably one of the - if not, the - best soundtracks in a video game I have ever heard.

With all of that being said, I believe that Cave Story is one of the best video games ever created and deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame. Now it's time to write a recommendation for Robotron: 2084.

And here's what I wrote for the other thing:

Spoiler

I'll keep this story short. AfterI had finished Cave Story, I found a site called "The Cave Story Tribute Site" (http://www.cavestory.org/). This site had a forums section, where I would later meet a lot of cool people (Paths and Aar, to name a few from a group of many.)

Now it's time to go also recommend Robotron: 2084!

 

Pixel in particular should get recognition for Cave Story. After all, he spent 5 years of his life making the game just to distribute for free. That means ANYONE with a computer and internet can play this game.

Call of Duty (or anything else alike to it): Same cookie cutter stuff I've seen for the last 8 years, I can almost smell factory off of it.

Cave Story: A joyous gift from someone I barely know, and yet it feels like a gift I'd get from my parents on Christmas, It glows, it's like it has it's own soul.

"labor becomes joy when I know there are those who will enjoy my work to the utmost" -Hermit Gunsmith

 

"labor becomes joy when I know there are those who will enjoy my work to the utmost" -Hermit Gunsmith

One of the most emotion-and-thought evoking quotes there was. Truly sums up the game's spirit well. It's like it sort of reflects Pixel's ideals to some extent, like he's speaking to the players through the game. That's how it felt, almost.

 

That's literally exactly what it was, iirc.

 

"labor becomes joy when I know there are those who will enjoy my work to the utmost" -Hermit Gunsmith

It's not every day when a character in a game can so beautifully sum up the thoughts of game developers everywhere, but while I don't have the time or articulateness to nominate the game, I wish you the best of luck in getting it nominated guys.

 

It doesn't take much time at all. Maybe two minutes? And you don't need that mch articulateness about it. If you truly love Cave Story, just let your passion loose, and you should be able to come up with something convincing! Please, try and chip in!

 

Well I don't know how widely recognized it is. Most people I know have never heard of it before I told them about it.

 

My entry:
It influenced the indie gaming scene for years. While it may not be as well known amongst many mainstream gamers, in indie gaming circles there are few games more well known than Cave Story, or more iconic. It is still being played ten years on, a nigh perfect videogame made by the efforts of one man. In all aspects, be that story, gameplay, graphics, or music, Cave Story excels. It has a forum, fansite and modding community that are still active to this day. It has been fan-translated into 12 different languages with more on the way, has wikipedia pages in 16 different languages, has been ported to 10 different platforms (6 of these being by fans who painstakingly produced demos for Pixel in order to be granted limited access to the source code), has had a series of upgraded commercial re-releases, and the creator has been interviewed at least 23 times despite the language barrier. But really the reason for all of this is because Cave Story is such an amazing game.