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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).