Aqua Kitty is an indie game success story. Developed by Tikipod and initially released in 2012 as a Playstation Mobile game, it saw continued releases with new features and improvements up to its most recent release on Switch in 2018, and it remains a blast to play today. We’re very lucky to be joined by the game’s composer, Mark Day (aka Electric Cafe) to talk about the music for Aqua Kitty in its various incarnations, as well as several other projects he’s worked on.
The game is a tough as nails underwater arcade style horizontal shooter where you defend milk mining kittens from being abducted from waves of robotic fish. It borrows some of the best elements from games like Defender and R-Type and combined with the catchy soundtrack makes for an addictive experience that encourages “just one more game”.
Developer Tikipod is an indie game studio started in 2009 by artist and designer Dugan Jackson. They specialize in modernized classic arcade style games with Dugan’s beautiful pixel art. Their other games Rock Boshers and Iron Crypticle are top down 8-way directional games like Gauntlet and Robotron and are both great fun to play. They’ve also contributed dev work to other game studios like Curve’s Stealth Inc, JAW Games Gravity Crash and Gravity Crash Ultra, and Omnisystems’ Eufloria, among other projects.
Mark Day is a UK based composer also known by his production company name Electric Cafe. Mark’s work on Aqua Kitty infuses chip sound reminiscent of the C64 and Amiga with modern styles and production for a pumping energetic soundtrack to keep you going throughout the frantic action. His new tracks for Aqua Kitty UDX in 2016 add flavor to the game while remaining true to its original spirit. Electric Cafe has been producing music for games and TV for over a decade, including music for popular British TV shows like “BBCs – The Apprentice” and “Top Gear” as well as games like Rock Boshers, Crazy Comets and Diner Dash.
In the later part of the show we talk with Mark and play music from several of his other projects, like his “imaginary RPG” album Shadow Spirits co-written with Cody Carpenter (son of the famous director John Carpenter), his ongoing remake of Double Dragon on the Amiga, and upcoming games Neopolis and the recently announced Aqua Kitty 2. As we often say on the show, let’s take a listen to a wide range of music by Mark Day.
All tracks composed by Mark Day (Electric Cafe) unless otherwise stated
Track List:
- 0:00:00 Aqua Kitty – Aqua Kitty Theme
- 0:09:50 Aqua Kitty – Buttermilk Bay
- 0:20:05 Aqua Kitty – Creamy Cove
- 0:31:54 Aqua Kitty – Kitty Rock
- 0:40:39 Rock Boshers – Rock Boshers Theme
- 0:49:29 Aqua Kitty UDX – In The Hunt
- 0:55:48 Aqua Kitty UDX – Roll Tide
- 1:02:48 Shadow Spirits Vol. 1 – Victory Road
- Composed by Mark Day and Cody Carpenter
- 1:14:42 Double Dragon (Amiga remake) – Industrial
- Composed by Kazunaka Yamane
- Remixed by Mark Day and Cody Carpenter
- 1:23:00 Neopolis – Teaser / Trailer
- 1:32:25 Aqua Kitty 2 – Stage 1
Links to the music:
- Electric Cafe music (Bandcamp)
- Shadow Spirits Vol. 1 (Bandcamp)
- Composed by Mark Day and Cody Carpenter
Other links
- Tikipod website
- Articles by Tikipod lead designer and artist Dugan Jackson
- Neopolis – Upcoming game with music by Mark Day
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:37:04 — 133.5MB)