Those among us who have followed the development blog may recall the time when we put out a call for artists, aptly titled, “Calling All Artists”. We didn’t specify why we were looking for artists, but in the coming weeks you’re going to see why we did and what the artists who responded created in the form of fan art.

Continuing towards Cave Story’s March 22nd (2010) launch we’re going to be showing some of this fantastic artwork and while asking these very talented artists questions about themselves and how they created these works.

We know James Harvey as the artist who's name we don't really know. It's either James Harvey or Harvey James. Either way the dude has two first names so that's got to be good for something. James is well know amongst independent game fans and developers for his unique style and continued collaborations with other designers. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get a hold of him so he, instead, sent a Secretarybot to answer his questions. He also included a drawing of what she looks like. I'm guessing he didn't send a photo because she must be top secret, or something.


Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Secretarybot! HARVEYJAMES™ programmed me to perform this interview for him! He is a 27 year old Englishman (complete with top hat, monocle, and imperialistic tendencies!) living in Edinburgh. As for me, I am a robot, about a foot and a half tall, and I have rabbit teeth!

What is your day job?
If watching Youtube videos were a job, HARVEYJAMES™ would be a millionaire!

How did you get involved in artwork?
One day he figured out his hands could do other things than stroke up and down in a vice grip. That was the day that changed his life-- for the worse.

What are your tools of the trade?
He uses pictures of Ashlee Simpson, tracing paper, and crayons, in that order.

What kind of advice can you offer someone interested in getting involved with artwork and digital media?
He says: "offer to work for me for free".

What is your experience with Cave Story? When did you first learn about it?
One day HARVEYJAMES™ was doing his regular yahoo image searches (he still hasn't learned about Google, please do not tell him) for "sexy mold grandmas", "stalagmite bondage", and "gaint snake pron (sic)", he happened upon a forum about "cave stories".

Have you beaten the game, if so which ending did you get. And if you didn't beat it, how far did you get?
HARVEYJAMES™ says he got the ending where the main character dies after falling on a spike! It was 'poignant and affecting'. The other ending, where the main character dies after a bat touches him, failed to move him as much.

Um, that's not really an ending. That means you played for about 3.8 seconds. Okay, you opted to re-created the main character in a sort of cut-away/cross-section. Can you tell us why you selected this specific image, what inspired you and what you thought about when creating it?
HARVEYJAMES™ has a keen interest (and a whole lot of experience) in dissection. He drew from his own experiences and from some of the things stored in his industrial-sized freezer and storage unit in a secret, remote location.

The painting is called 'The Island Core' and depicts the moment just after the two robots flood the central chamber. This is where most first-time players will lose their beloved Curly Brace, and may spend a lot of time here futilely trying to prevent her death, not knowing that the method to do this is in fact obscure and seemingly arbitrary. For many players, the only way to keep Curly alive in their minds is to play the game, but by playing the game one causes her to die- by choosing to show the moment the robots lose consciousness, their circuits flooding with water and their fate unknown, HARVEYJAMES™ has preserved them in a state of limbo.

How long did it take you to put together? Did you find it difficult to think of "what's on the inside"?
It took a long time because he finds it far too easy to think about "what's on the inside" and he could not, in fact, stop thinking about it.

Can you tell us a little bit about the process of creating it? Do you have any work-ups or anything we can see?
I promise you you don't want to.

Where can people find your work?
Edinburgh public bathrooms. Also http://www.harveyjamestm.com !!

What's your latest painting?
You'd have to go to Edinburgh. In the bathroom (Ladies').