JoJo Zhou, Narrative Lead at Massive Monster, shared Cult of the Lamb's approach to world-building through omission. Yngya, the God of Winter, started out as just a name in collectible text but later became a central character in the DLC Cult of the Lamb: Wooland.
In his speech at Gamescom Asia x Thailand Game Show 2026, Zhou categorized players into three groups: "Surface Skimmers" who focus only on the main storyline context, "Swimmers" who are willing to understand the story's meaning, and "Deep Divers" who gather details, maintain wikis, and participate in community discussions. The team places particular emphasis on engaging the latter two groups.
The team first established "rules" to maintain consistency in the world, such as power coming from the Crown, the Crown requiring followers, and nature dominating all, but they avoided restricting creativity with rigid regulations. Meanwhile, the game raises more questions than it provides immediate answers, allowing dialogue, collectibles, and off-screen events to serve as starting points for player speculation and creation. Different characters also describe the same events from their own perspectives.
Yngya is a prime example of this approach. The character initially appeared only as a name and clues to their disappearance in collectible texts that diverged from the main storyline, back when the game's seasonal system had not yet been finalized. Players subsequently began discussing Yngya's identity; when the team decided to create a season-themed DLC, Zhou proposed making Yngya the God of Winter.
Yngya ultimately became a central character in Cult of the Lamb: Wooland, released in January 2026. This approach allowed the team to preserve room for player imagination while leaving interfaces open for future expansion, even when subsequent content was not yet determined.