I'd originally designed and animated the main character for an earlier jam we'd attended, Ludum Dare 27. 'These in-game sprites show the Hollow Knight alongside some of the other friends you'll encounter. The game's ambition quickly exceeded what was possible in 72hrs, but this the core concept has remained through to its final form.' The theme for the jam was 'Beneath the Surface.' This rather abstract image was the first one produced and it still represents the game quite well, with a small town above and the player spelunking through dark caverns below. 'Hollow Knight began from the game jam Ludum Dare 29. Clicking the sketchbook images takes you to a slightly larger version but otherwise what you'll see when you click through is the same picture, but it turns them into a clickable slideshow which can be a nicer way to look at concept art as it greys out the rest of the page and lets you concentrate :) First Impressions Here is a whole bouquet of concept art along with Ari's own comments and explanation.

As a result artistic lead, Ari Gibson, has opened his sketchbooks (at one point literally) for RPS. HOWEVER that didn't stop me emailing the game devs about the artwork.

There's a beta awaiting further exploration in my Steam library but I've only been able to dip in for small chunks of time thanks to a set of trips and other distractions. It's all bluey greys and underground exploration to solve a mystery - kinda elegiac.

Hollow Knight was a Kickstarter project I remember being captivated by because of the art style.

Hollow knight enemies