POST EASTER UPDATE: WHITE PALACE, BACKER NPC, HOLLOW KNIGHT AT GDC!
Update Time All!
Team Cherry is crunching our way towards a completed Hollow Knight and that means it’s time to share more development news starting with a huge new area: the White Palace!
The White Palace was the first major stretch goal hit during Hollow Knight’s Kickstarter campaign and added a huge trap-filled palace to the game. The area is explorable late in the Knight’s journey and is entirely optional (though there are some great benefits to completing it!).
Check out all those saw blades! This area only exists because of the support you guys have given us and we can’t wait for you all to dive in there, discover its secrets and overcome the intense challenges.
Hollow Knight at GDC!
The 2016 Game Developer’s Conference has just wrapped up in San Francisco and Hollow Knight was on display thanks to our friend’s at Unity. Thanks Unity! Just check it out on that big screen! And amongst a tonne of amazing looking Unity games in their GDC sizzle reel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lWpnvNxs8k
You can probably tell from the trailer, but there are some seriously impressive 2D games coming out this year. Team Cherry’s beyond thrilled for Hollow Knight to stand amongst them!
Hollow Knight on Nintendo Direct
As if GDC wasn’t enough, Hollow Knight was also featured on the latest Nintendo Direct. Check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTXWfbGRqZM&t=12m59s
Thanks to Nintendo for including us amongst their other independent titles! Get ready to hear more about that Wii U version in an upcoming update. You want achievements in your Wii U version? You got’em!
To finish off, we’ve an ultra-special sneak peek: Our first Backer NPC, Cloth!
Cloth is a Cicada-type warrior to meet on your quest through the caverns. Just listen for his Cicada song and you’ll know he’s close. Cloth’s a friendly sort, though he’s having doubts about his combat prowess. As the Hollow Knight, you can help Cloth regain his morale and in doing so gain his assistance through some tough battles. Watch out though! Cloth isn’t invincible and without the two of you working together he may end up meeting a warrior’s demise.
Cloth was originally conceived by Noah Sturtridge, who provided a fantastically detailed outline for the character. In fact, that’s Noah’s very first sketch above! Fun Fact: Cloth was originally called Burlap until we realised burlap, the material, doesn’t exist in Hallownest so he underwent a name change. We’re still working with Noah to finalise Cloth so look forward to his exciting (possibly tragic) tale when you play the final game.
On the topic of a completed game: We’re oh so close to content complete and our main task from there on is polish! It’s time to pull all the elements together and add all the niceties you guys expect. We’ve got cutscenes coming in, pretty menus with lots of switches and knobs, achievements, Steam Trading Cards (We don’t really understand them but we’ll make them happen!) and lots more. After that it’s just a matter of ironing out all the game’s technical bugs.
Thanks so much for all your patience with Team Cherry through Hollow Knight’s epic development. The game’s shaping up to be something weird and huge and crazy and we’re pretty proud of it. But none of that means anything if you guys can’t play it, so for now, Team Cherry’s getting back to work!
Speak Soon!