Inspiration came from family, “My dad and sister would always sit around the N64 together”
Playing a video game built in 2023 that so closely resembles a bygone era is strangely hypnotic. We’ve had plenty of retro throwbacks in the last decade or so, especially in the indie space, but Cavern of Dreams is so meticulous in its homage to Spyro the Dragon and Banjo-Kazooie that it plays like a remaster rather than the spiritual successor intended. Textures occasionally blur, pop-in occurs when pressed against its boundaries, and sound effects are frequently laboured. By the way, this is all on purpose. And it’s quite impressive.
Tyler McMaster, a solo developer, made an easy decision to lean into a generation now approaching 30 years old, motivated by both nostalgia and pragmatism. “That’s what I value in older games: simpler assets, simpler graphics, games made by small and passionate teams,” McMaster says. “In modern 3D games, if you have realistic graphics, any interaction between two characters that feels wonky will feel ten times more wonky with two realistic humanoid characters versus a little cartoon Dragon.”
“You’re not going to notice the little cartoon dragon clipping into a wall a little bit or interacting in a slightly weird way. But we’re so hardwired to recognize slight weirdnesses in reality, that games that try to be realistic are required to do a lot more work just to get the same results. I was able to create Cavern of Dreams with this in mind, making all the assets myself. And I was, of course, inspired by my formative years.”
McMaster’s inspiration comes directly from the flagship console platformers of the mid-to-late 1990s. His first memories of video games are of his father and older sister playing Banjo-Kazooie on the N64, and being blown away by how immersive these 32-bit endeavors felt at the time. McMaster became enchanted by these virtual spaces, from their crude interpretations of dripping wet caves to foggy white chasms, eventually filling notebooks with his own homemade sketches and ideas as he grew older.
McMaster was hesitant to turn his crude designs into living and moving games, so he sought advice from his software engineer father before attempting his own programming and falling in love with the process. “I took my dad’s advice, and I loved it,” he said. “And that was kind of the final step I needed. From there, I just made games like crazy.”
McMaster’s first proper solo venture, a Gameboy Color-style horror platformer called A Night Alone, was released in 2017, followed by the cozy top-down adventure game Forest’s Secret the following year. Before Cavern of Dreams was released on Steam on October 19, 2023, McMaster created Pocketman Third D, a surreal 3D monster-tamer game that stood as a parody of the myriad Pokemon knock-offs of the late ’90s. McMaster acknowledges that his entire family has been very supportive of his work, particularly his older sister, who has provided a steady stream of helpful feedback along the way.
“My older sister, the same person I played Banjo with all those years ago, helped me a lot when developing Cavern of Dreams,” McMaster said. “She suggested ideas on all sorts of stuff, and we have a good rapport and I’m very lucky that she was able to help me. Ultimately, my advice is: if you are in a position where you have anyone you can reach out to just to play what you are making, then solo development becomes a lot easier.”
“We are 25 years out from these games. And guess what, if you were a little kid when you first played them, you’re now 25 years older”
Personally, one of my favorite aspects of Cavern of Dreams – and indeed McMaster’s entire body of work – is what it’s doing for video game preservation. As access to games that are less than a quarter-century old becomes more difficult, games like this one serve to preserve the mood and feel of a long-forgotten era, warts and all, which speaks to me as a 37-year-old player. Despite the fact that Banjo-Kazooie and Spyro the Dragon are both (somehow) 25 years old, playing Cavern of Dreams today feels like stepping back in time.
Time itself frames McMaster’s ability to tap into that appeal, “So, we are 25 years out from these games. And guess what, if you were a little kid when you first played them, you’re now 25 years older,” he says. “A decade ago, we had games like Shovel Knight that were heavily inspired by the NES era. People who grew up during these games, as adults, are often fondly remembering those days.”
“If you’re a game developer, you’re of the age now where you can make them. And if you’re not a game developer, but you still fondly remember these games, you’re of the age where you have your own capital, spending money, your own wants and needs.
I don’t love everything about older games, but I do love passionate people making things they’re passionate about. Some of the most famous games of those eras were made by one to 10 people… and while I was keen for Cavern of Dreams to speak to players [seeking] nostalgia, I also made sure the game is still approachable for people who’ve never played a platformer before.”
So, whether you’re a nostalgia junkie looking for old-school 3D platforming from the past, or someone curious to see what all the fuss was about back then, Cavern of Dreams is worth a run (and jump) on Steam.