Exploring Worlds - What Death's Door Can Learn From Hollow Knight

#gamedesign #videoessay #environmentdesign #environmentalstorytelling #hollowknight #deathsdoor #leveldesign This time around, we’re hopping into a case study examining the environmental storytelling & creature lore of The Mantis Village in Hollow Knight & The Overgrown Ruins in Death’s Door. 00:00 Intro 01:30 The Mantis Village 03:23 Level Design, Set Dressing & Environmental Storytelling 04:48 The Overgrown Ruins 07:16 Meaningful Locations & Design 08:15 Creature Design & Lore 11:06 Key Takeaways 13:09 Outro _______________________________________________________________ Gameography (in order of appearance): Hollow Knight (Team Cherry, 2017) Death’s Door (Acid Nerve, 2021) Silk Song (Team Cherry, TBD) The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo, 2017) _______________________________________________________________ Deep Dive: [1] Trent Kaniuga on Worldbuilding in Environment Concept Art:    • The secret sauce! - Environment Concept art   [2] Noclip documentary on Death's Door Developers Explain its Design & Philosophy:    • Death's Door Developers Explain its Design...   [3] Adam C Younis’ Breakdown of Environment Design for Insignia:    • How I Design Environments For Storytelling   _____________________________________________________________________ Credits & Music: Hollow Knight - Greenpath Hollow Knight - Fungal Wastes Hollow Knight - Mantis Lords Hollow Knight - Queen’s Gardens Death’s Door - The Crows Death’s Door - Overgrown Ruins Death’s Door - The Forest Settlement Death’s Door - King of The Swamp Death’s Door - Grandma Death’s Door - Shall We Dance Death’s Door - Secrets Credits © All rights reserved to the copyright owners of the original game soundtracks used.