Week 6: Research (Hollow Knight)

Hollow Knight

Description

Hollow Knight is an action-adventure platform game of the subgenre Metroidvania. The game is developed and published by Team Cherry, and was released for MAC, Windows and Linux in 2017 and was later released for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Play Station 4 in 2018. The player will adventure through the underground ancient Kingdom of Hallownest as a silcence knight with insect0like features. This player character uses a cone-shaped sword as both a weapon and a tool for interaction. The player can do various types of attacks, from melee to long range. As for the enemies, there are both smaller enemies scattered throughout the areas, as well as bosses the requires to be beaten in order for the player to proceed further into the game.

The Design

The game uses a 2D, handrawn art style with flowy animation. The characters' designs are inspired by various insects, many having big, hollow eyes. The overall environment of the game is dark with many glowing lights from various places, matching with its setting of the being in an underground word. In addition, each level would have different accent colors depending on the areas within the game. The music of the game also played a big part in creating the mood and tension within the levels. The characters of the game speak in untelligible gibberish that seems fitting to their outer appearances.

My Thoughts

With the music and the environmental design, it could be said that the game provides a very atmospheric experience to its players. I think that the tension from the soundtrack, along with the dark settings really conveys a certain melancholic and mysterious of the setting of the game. In addition, I think that the game has a very cohesive overall aesthetic, from the environment to the character designs. The cute and cartoonish art style tranformed the insect-inspired creatures into something more magical. It would be a totally different experience for the players if the characters were to look and behave exactly like the real insects in which they were inspired by (in which case, I would be terrified). Alhtough the main charcater's look is fairly simple, the strong shillouette of its horns and the cape that flows with every movement makes it a unique character that is satisfying to move around.