At Digital Tech Explorer, we believe in sharing compelling stories that bridge technology and human experience. Today, TechTalesLeo delves into a particularly poignant narrative from the highly anticipated Hollow Knight: Silksong. As players unlock Act 3 and venture into the optional endgame, many are encountering Shrine Guardian Seth, a boss imbued with a truly profound backstory. This character was conceived by Seth Goldman, a 16-year-old Hollow Knight fan who tragically passed away in 2020 from a rare bone cancer, ewing sarcoma. The discovery of Shrine Guardian Seth’s origin has sparked a wave of emotional responses from the community across Reddit, comment sections, and even Goldman’s online obituary, showcasing the deep connections forged through gaming.
Player Tributes and Community Impact
In June 2020, the Goldman family published an obituary for Seth on the Dignity Memorial website, leaving it open for condolences. While many messages were posted around that time, Silksong players recently found the page and have begun sharing their own messages in Seth’s memory. “I am one of many who never got to meet Seth, I am not even from the same country, I only got to know of him thanks to a video game that we both share a passion of,” wrote a player named Nahim Cano on September 13. “I just encountered his character in Silksong and as I remembered his story alongside the sad music that plays on the fight against his character, tears started to form in my eyes. I never got to meet you but I can’t help but to thank you for creating such a beautiful part of that videogame.” Another player, Minna Rewers, wrote on Goldman’s birthday, “Despite never personally having known you, I just want to say that there are countless people from all over the world who care about you, and who mourn you all the same… You would have turned 22 today. We would have been the same age, only having entered adulthood the year prior. Happy birthday, little guy. May you be remembered until the very end, and beyond.”
The Creation of Shrine Guardian Seth
In early 2020, Seth’s father reached out to The Marty Lyons Foundation, a non-profit that fulfills wishes for children with terminal illnesses. Seth’s wish was to have a video chat with Team Cherry, which the foundation arranged. This single meeting blossomed into several, and Team Cherry invited Goldman to design a custom NPC boss for their upcoming game, Hollow Knight: Silksong. Despite the game’s release being years away, Goldman was able to see the completed boss design in action. In an April 2020 Reddit post, he shared that the in-game Seth is “really cool and has a boss fight.” When another user expressed hope that the boss would be challenging, Goldman replied, “Ohhhh, he will, I saw gifs of Seth and he is a fucking monster.”
Seth’s Boss Battle Abilities
Videos from the finished game confirm Seth is an agile and formidable warrior. He wields a cymbal-like shield that he throws in a style reminiscent of Captain America. The boss can also teleport to quickly get behind Hornet and executes a swift diagonal downward stab, similar to Hornet’s own move, but Seth’s attack creates an explosion on impact accompanied by a flashy musical gonggg sound effect.
Goldman’s assessment of his creation’s difficulty certainly holds true in the final game. As the top comment on one gameplay video reads, “Bro might not have beaten cancer but he sure did beat my ass.” The community’s reaction across the internet has been one of universal appreciation for Seth’s story and his lasting contribution to the game.
