OCTOBER UPDATE, THE MYSTIC JIJI!
Team Cherry is checking in!
As per our last few updates, we’re still hard at work getting Hollow Knight all polished up. It’s often an exhausting process and it can feel a never ending one, but it’s very rewarding to see the game come together as it has in the last months.
There’s lots of polish now being added and lots of the little bits that make it feel like a real game. That includes achievements, dynamic button prompts, a full set of menu options and final script.
Script
In these updates, we haven’t talked much about the game’s script, which encompasses the character dialogue and the in-world lore to uncover.
For all of Hollow Knight’s text, we use a shared Google Sheet. Writing is split between William and Ari, with no hard boundaries between. Some characters have been largely handled by one or the other, if only due to personality, though overall it’s a joint effort.
Intentionally, a lot of the script was left blank till the game locked in place. By not writing too much up front, we never constrained the building of the game or the world with specific narrative concepts. Now that world is largely resolved, we’re taking a moment to fill in the blanks
Character Reveal
Behind a locked stone door, on the outskirts of Dirtmouth, waits a mysterious friend. Meet Confessor Jiji.
Jiji will aid the player in dealing with their regrets. But not for free! Jiji’s built up something of an appetite during her long slumber and to grant her assistance she requires delicious food.
Pay Jiji her tasty tithe and she’ll summon the Knight’s Shade from wherever it waits in the caverns below.
The Shade is a spectral remnant of the Knight’s previous death, carrying all of it’s lost geo and some of its strength. Reconnecting with the Shade is vitally important for players to proceed through the world.
That’s it for today! We’ve been a little quiet on social media recently, due mainly to the intensity of this last stretch. A big thanks to all who get in contact, whether through email, Twitter or Kickstarter asking for updates on Hollow Knight’s development. We love the continued enthusiasm for Hollow Knight (and pressure to get it done!). It’s been hugely motivating as we head toward release.