Ichin didn't let Shinoda Haji completely defeat the Hornet boss. Instead, he had her stop midway through the fight.
"Okay, that's it for the live gaplay demonstration of the Switch version. As for how to beat this boss, you'll have to figure that out yourselves when the ga releases."
Completely ignoring the barrage of comnts demanding they finish the fight, Ichin cheerfully instructed Shinoda Haji to exit the ga and switch over to the PC version's interface.
"Before we dive into gaplay, let's first take a look at the ga's settings page. Unlike the Switch version, the PC version offers resolution and fra rate settings. For fra rates, the maximum option is 'Unlimited.' Of course, the ga doesn't require much in terms of hardware. Most computers can easily run it smoothly at 1080p and 60 FPS. Right now, we've selected a 2K resolution and set the fra rate to a standard 60 FPS.
We've also turned on the fra rate monitoring software so you can clearly see the ga's performance."
The specs Ichin ntioned made most of the viewers in the stream chat green with envy.
Seeing those comnts, Ichin calmly explained, "No need to be jealous. For regular gaplay, this level of performance is absolute overkill. If your monitor is 1080p, then a 3060 Ti or 3070 graphics card is more than enough. Even for 2K resolution, most gas can be run smoothly at 60 FPS. Ga developers always ensure their gas are accessible to most players' computer specs. Even now, the most commonly used graphics cards on Steam are still the 1050 Ti and 1060. You even see plenty of people using the 750 Ti."
Ichin's statent was true, but it didn't stop everyone from drooling over the studio's high-end hardware.
"Playing _Minesweeper_ on that setup would be buttery smooth!"
"Yep, absolutely! Even _Minesweeper_ would have zero fra drops!"
After throwing out a playful comnt in response, Ichin signaled for Shinoda Haji to start the ga.
This ti, the showcased area wasn't an early-ga location but a mid-ga zone called the _Ancient Basin_, which also featured a boss—the _Broken Vessel_.
"Huh? What's this area?"
After quickly loading the save file, Shinoda Haji looked around the unfamiliar region, confused. "My own save file hasn't gotten this far yet!"
Now completely lost, she had to rely on Ichin's guidance to head toward the _Ancient Basin_.
Seeing the comnts, Shinoda Haji glanced at the translation and imdiately fired back, "Yes, I'm part of the developnt team! But I'm an action designer, you know? Action design! I don't handle map design, so of course, I wouldn't know the way!"
After taking just a few steps, she was suddenly confronted by a charging enemy.
"Ah, I know this monster! I designed its moves... Wait, why is it so fast?!"
"BAM!"
She was hit directly by a leaping strike, losing a health point.
Just as she tried to pull back to assess the enemy's movents, another flying creature suddenly appeared from behind, glaring at her nacingly from above.
"Where the heck did that co from? I didn't even see it!"
Panicking and fumbling with the controls, Shinoda Haji quickly lost her life and was sent back to the last checkpoint.
Looking at the character that just revived, Shinoda Haji felt a slight headache.
"Ah~~ This isn't looking good. And it's happening during a livestream, too."
Glancing at the barrage of comnts on the screen, she indeed saw a flood of amused ssages.
"Argh! I'm not giving up. Let's go again!"
Controlling the protagonist, Shinoda Haji began her second attempt.
Ichin, of course, was quite happy to see this situation. After Shinoda Haji successfully passed the spot where she previously died, he began explaining, "Everyone, you don't have to stress too much about being defeated by monsters and respawning at the checkpoint. One of the core aspects of this ga is providing players with countless opportunities to learn through trial and error. Failing once isn't a big deal. All you need to do is return to the area where you previously failed and challenge it again. And whatever you lost from dying before? You can reclaim it all."
Progressing steadily forward, Shinoda Haji defeated monsters one by one. The regular enemies weren't too challenging as long as she was careful, but she still ended up dying once when facing an elite monster, forcing her to restart from the checkpoint.
Throughout this process, Ichin didn't give her any tips. He rely continued explaining the enemies encountered and the various ga chanics.
Finally, after half an hour, Shinoda Haji reached the boss area of the _Ancient Basin_ and confronted the boss: the _Broken Vessel_.
As soon as the battle began, Shinoda Haji felt sothing was off.
"Wait, why are the boss's moves different from how I originally designed them? Ichin, did you change them? Why didn't I know about this?!"
Ichin chuckled and replied, "If I told you, wouldn't it be boring when you play the ga yourself? You'd already know all the boss's moves. So, I made so adjustnts to the attack patterns of the bosses you designed. That way, even as the designer, you'll have a fresh experience while playing. Oh, watch out—it's coming."
Just as Ichin finished speaking, the boss leaped into the air and dashed over the protagonist's head. Suddenly, an orange, jelly-like bug materialized above the character, dropping down from above.
Thankfully, Shinoda Haji reacted quickly, launching an attack upward and taking down the summoned creature.
But before she could catch her breath, the boss leaped high once more, drew a weapon from its back, and dove down with a lightning-fast thrust aid at the protagonist.
"Ah!! I got hit! Why does it have a bit of tracking on its attacks?!"
After surviving for two minutes and using up all her healing energy, Shinoda Haji finally t her end once again and was returned to the checkpoint.
Although she had managed to hit the boss quite a few tis, it was clear she hadn't done enough damage to defeat it.
After explaining to the viewers where this boss appeared within the ga's progression, Ichin glanced at Shinoda Haji. "So, what do you think? Want to try again?"
"Of course! One more ti!"
With a loud shout, Shinoda Haji set off once more.
This ti, the viewers finally understood what Ichin ant earlier.
On her way to the boss area, Shinoda Haji had already morized the path and all the monsters she would encounter. With fluid, precise dodges and attacks, she defeated everything along the way without losing a single hit point and reached the boss area once more.
Originally, the ga had a feature where, upon death, a shadow version of oneself would appear where the player died. Defeating this shadow would allow the player to reclaim their lost soul energy.
However, since this type of ga was a first of its kind, Ichin had decided not to include that feature right away. Instead, he planned to add it and other new chanics and gaplay elents through updates after the ga's release.
Ichin had no intention of abandoning _Hollow Knight_ after launch. In fact, he had a ton of ideas for post-ga content and extra features he still wanted to implent.
...
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