Hi everyone!
It’s time for another development update on Knitewings.
Over the past few weeks, most of my work has been focused on building the environments that will make up the later stages of the game. One of my main goals is to make each realm feel immediately recognizable, not only through its visual style, but also through its atmosphere and the way the player travels through it.
Today I can finally show you two of them: Purgatory and Hell.
Purgatory — Chimera’s Cathedral
Purgatory has been one of the most interesting environments to develop so far.
The journey through this realm eventually leads to an enormous gothic cathedral, a place deeply connected to Chimera and to the fate of the souls trapped in Purgatory.
I wanted the cathedral to feel monumental and solemn, but at the same time cold and unsettling. Its towering architecture, statues, stained-glass windows and violet light are meant to preserve the appearance of a sacred place while suggesting that something within it has gone terribly wrong.
At the heart of the cathedral lies the Altar of Mercy, once the final destination for souls that had completed their penance and hoped to ascend to Heaven.
There is much more behind this place and Chimera’s role in its history, but I’d rather let you discover that while playing. :)
Hell — The Realm of the Hanging Prisons
Hell takes the visual direction in almost the opposite direction.
Instead of the enclosed, solemn architecture of Chimera’s Cathedral, the player enters an enormous volcanic landscape dominated by a distant volcano and a seemingly endless network of gigantic chains.
And hanging from those chains are the prisons.
This region of Hell is known as the Realm of the Hanging Prisons, the domain of Lilith.
Countless souls condemned to Hell are imprisoned above the volcanic lands, inside cages suspended at different heights. Some stand alone in the darkness, while others form part of a much larger network stretching across the entire landscape.
The chains themselves are a major visual element of the level. They cross the sky in every direction and help give the feeling that the entire realm is one enormous prison.
Unlike Purgatory, there is no expectation of redemption here.
Making Every Realm Feel Different
One of the things I’m enjoying most while developing these new levels is seeing how different parts of Knitewings are beginning to acquire their own identity.
Heaven, Purgatory and Hell aren't simply different backgrounds.
They are different places, with their own architecture, atmosphere, colors, landmarks and history.
And because Knitewings is built around constant movement, I want the player to experience these worlds as a journey: seeing important locations in the distance, approaching them, flying through them and eventually discovering what waits inside.
Both environments shown here are still work in progress, and there is still plenty of work ahead, but the world of Knitewings is getting closer and closer to its final form.
More development updates are coming!
Thank you, as always, for following the development of Knitewings. ❤️
— Profenix Studio
These souls have already been judged.
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Knitewings™ — Old-school arcade. Reforged.