Post by Deniz G. Lerosi in Chromatic Agape comments

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One of my favorite players is back, and I couldn’t be happier! <33

As for your first question, that’s a tough one! Depending on how the edits turn out, it could end up being a hidden gem that people discover later, or it might stay subtle and fly under the radar. It’s really up in the air ;;

Now, about the wings and their meanings: in general, they’re a symbol of each character’s freedom and their ability to act on their desires. But there are exceptions! For example, Shyloh’s wings are designed to look “weighed down,” showing the limitations and challenges that hold him back. This theme will be explored more during his route. Sev, on the other hand, doesn’t have wings at all, which is an even stronger statement. It represents a complete lack of freedom and makes her a symbol of feeling trapped.
Each character’s wings tell their own story too~ For example, Yulen, the Hero of Wrath, has Goliathus Beetle wings to show his strength and resilience. There’s a unique winged creature behind each pixie’s wings, so it’s definitely something fun to look into if you’re interested!

Also, FJHSGJFGSJSGJ I GENUINLY CANNOT BELIEVE YOU GOT THE REF WITH HAFT PEYKAR. That's a scary level of attention to detail and research, I legit have goosebumps and I absolutely love it—even the team didn’t spot that one, so huge kudos to you Hehe!! It was an epic that inspired me during the drafting phase since, at that time, I was also researching the 7 stages of love from Sufi traditions, which inspired some of Nizami’s work (though, I eventually decided to go with the Eastern Monastic Tradition, the precursor to the Western concept of the seven deadly sins which includes the "Eight Thoughts," as outlined by Evagrius Ponticus and later discussed in the Philokalia.)

Fun fact (and do excuse me if I’ve mentioned this before lol): Sev’s name actually ties into one of the seven stages of love from Sufi tradition.

Jasmine flower75 days ago (1 edit) (+2)

I am definitely excited to see what’s behind the meaning of the different pixies depiction. When I first played the demo it stuck out to me

I am not a winged creature expert but I’m still gonna do research about each pixies wings. There’s always new things that we must learn about. We hope Sev will learn to fly by themselve

About the Haft Paykar I am sadly not rlly knowledgeable about Persian literature, I’m more of an Arabic literature nerd. I didn’t pick up the reference right away. I was looking at Qajar era paintings and thought there would definitely be some pixies that could rock these fits and then suddenly the dots connected in my head and here came the associations with Haft Paykar ☠️ And I can assume that the pixies domains are like the princesses pavilions

That aside Im so glad I could find a game that uses other religions and mythologies than Christianity and Greco-roman mythologies. And since I’m also from the SWANA region I’m extra glad to see Islamic references and concepts from our region.

I had some doubts that you used the precursor of the seven sins instead of the recent version because of Kai. I think he’s a little far from the modern depictions of sloth and is closer to Acedia or melancholy. In fact I didn’t know there was 7 stages of love, I only know about the Arabic version who got more than 7 stages. To which stage Sev corresponds to ?

And since you scrapped the 7 stages of love concept for the pixie, which stage is attributed to which pixie ?

Deniz G. Lerosi75 days ago

Exactly! I’ve played so many games rooted in Christian and Greco-Roman themes that they started feeling a bit repetitive after a while. But I get why developers stick to familiar territory; introducing too many new themes all at once can be overwhelming. That’s why I chose a mix of influences for the game. I grew up surrounded by religious ideas, though I’m not as connected to them now. This inspired me to blend a variety of elements—everything and nothing all at once—so that it stays rooted in the world of the painting while hinting at different aspects of various religions.

SWANA literature often doesn’t get the attention it deserves, especially in English translations, where much of the poetic beauty can be lost. That makes it harder to weave into mainstream media, but I’m hoping the pixies will help bridge that gap! XD

To answer your next question, here’s a bit of background: there are the 'Eight Thoughts' (which were precursors to St. Gregory the Great's seven deadly sins). They include 1. Avarice, 2. Gluttony, 3. Lust, 4. Sloth, 5. Despair, 6. Anger, 7. Vainglory, and 8. Pride. The traditional seven deadly sins are: 1. Lust, 2. Gluttony, 3. Greed, 4. Sloth, 5. Wrath, 6. Envy, and 7. Pride. You’ll notice that ‘Despair’ is the extra one here, which I wanted to tie to Sev—this is also known as ‘Naomidi,’ as Kai calls it.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992), sloth is described as a “culpable lack of physical or spiritual effort,” which connects to Kais' future route (hence the confusion from the demo). Think of it this way: his melancholy is more of a symptom than the root cause.

As for the seven stages of love, we have: 1. Dilkashi (attraction), 2. Uns (attachment), 3. Ishq (love), 4. Akidat (trust/reverence), 5. Ibadat (worship), 6. Junoon (madness), and 7. Maut (death). Can you guess which one Sev represents? Hint: her name is the Turkish verb for one of these stages!

Annnnd for your final question, I actually never fully linked the stages to the characters since they were developed after the game’s philosophy was set. But it’s something fun to think about for when the game is released! (This reminds me of when a friend once asked me how I’d imagine the characters in an omegaverse world, I have an entire list + analysis for that FSHGFJHSGJFSH).

Jasmine flower75 days ago (1 edit) (+1)

spoilers

Omgg I’m so excited for what you have in store for us. I’ll definitely also think about what stage corresponds to each pixie.

I just noticed something concerning Rosario again. In the bad ending 1, before sexually assaulting the mc his eyes glow pink. And the mc was very passive, didn’t even move an inch, didn’t even speak etc. I wonder if it’s because either freezing is Sev’s trauma response or maybe Rosario have the power to paralyze them somehow ?

Deniz G. Lerosi75 days ago

Aww, thank yoooou <33 I really hope it lives up to expectations! ^^

About Bad Ending 1 and Rosario, there’s actually a simple reason behind it. The eye glow is part of his 'yandere' expression (each pixie has their own unique one), hence the change before he did the deed. And as for your comment about the powers: each pixie only has a single power, so for Rosario, that’s shape-shifting (he can’t have everything, haha! XD).

For Sev's response, I felt the freezing fit the scene better since she lost the will to fight after half-blinding Adonis but still couldn’t get away. Also, in case anyone was self-inserting as the MC, the scene wouldn't get too uncomfortable (had they chosen to see the sexual scenes.)

Jasmine flower75 days ago(+1)

Ohh okk I understand. Does that mean that Helios’s plain black smile is his special expression ?

Deniz G. Lerosi75 days ago

Yeeees, exactly! Right on the mark~

Jasmine flower73 days ago(+1)

Wait a secccc idk a thing about omegaverse but now I’m curious on how the characters would do in that type of setting (ofc ik you cant say a lot of things bc spoilers for the full release etc etc so just the surface level)

Deniz G. Lerosi72 days ago

Soooo bascially, omegaverse (Alpha/Beta/Omega [ABO]) is a storytelling setting that's become super popular in mangas/manhwas lately. It features characters as omegas, betas, or alphas. There are also subcategories for the omega and alpha roles, like submissive and dominant, plus a "switch" option where characters can change their traits. My friend and I were chatting about an ABO visual novel that we both played, and that got me thinking about it, haha!

Now as to how they would do in the setting and which trait they'd have... that could be a major spoiler XD but I can safely say that Merka would definitely be a Beta! LOL

Jasmine flower72 days ago(+1)

Yeaa i kinda know about the basics like the ABO stuff, Merka being a beta definitely would suit him tho, inferiority complex etc etc

Deniz G. Lerosi72 days ago

Yeeeees, he’d definitely question why he’s not an alpha or an omega, wondering that he isn’t as rare and special as his comrades.

I remember you mentioning that you liked Helios/Rosario too! While Helios is more spoiler territory, Rosario would definitely be a switch—after all, how else could he be the Hero of Lust? XDDD

itch.io

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