MO behind-the-scenes: Incarnating Love

Hey guys! The next chapter of Mounting Olympus is (tentatively) titled "A Lesson from Love", and will feature a highly educational scene from Aphrodite herself. If you'll indulge me, I'm going to yap way, way, way too much about Aphrodite's design.

Aphrodite has been in the works for over a year -- she was one of the first goddesses that we knew we wanted to include in the game. For all of our characters, I start with consulting depictions of them throughout time. Obviously, this starts with the Greek sources. Hesiod's Theogony describes her as quick-glancing, golden, laughter-loving. Flowers and sweet-smelling perfumes are also often mentioned in concert with her. I especially liked this excerpt (Cypria Fragment 6, from Athenaeus 15.682, translated by Evelyn-White):

"She [Aphrodite] clothed herself with garments which the Kharites (Charites, Graces) and Horai (Hours) had made for her and dyed in flowers of spring--such flowers as the Horai (Horae, Seasons) wear--in crocus and hyacinth and flourishing violet and the rose's lovely bloom, so sweet and delicious, and heavenly buds, the flowers of the narcissus and lily. In such perfumed garments is Aphrodite clothed at all seasons."

Unfortunately, smell-o-vision for visual novels isn't a thing yet, so I had to resort to describing Aphrodite's scent through writing and environmental design. Her chapter takes place in a private section of the bathhouse that was introduced earlier. When reading about Aphrodite surrounded by flowers, I couldn't help but be reminded of an Alma-Tadema painting called The Roses of Heliogabalus, which depicts an apocryphal banquet held by the Roman emperor Elagabalus at which they smothered their guests with rose petals. I thought that the luxury and extravagance symbolized by the petals suited Aphrodite quite nicely, so I made sure to include plenty while thumbnailing the CGs for this chapter.

As for Aphrodite's personality, the ancient sources offer several different depictions to pick from. Homer's take didn't really seem like a good fit: there, Aphrodite seemed to me quite weak and limited, with Zeus even scolding her and telling her to essentially stay in her lane after she's wounded by the mortal Diomedes ("No, my child, not for you are the works of warfare. Rather concern yourself only with the lovely secrets of marriage..."). I was more inspired by a passage from Apuleius' The Golden Ass (trans. Walsh), which emphasizes her elegant, intentional gestures, making her seem quite intelligent and cunning.

"As they affectingly softened the hearts of onlookers, Venus [Aphrodite] still more affectingly began to gently stir herself; with gradual, lingering steps, restrained swaying of the hips, and slow inclination of the head she began to advance, her refined movements matching the soft wounds of the flutes. Occasionally her eyes alone would dance, as at one moment she gently lowered her lids, and at another imperiously signalled with threatening glances."

How does she interact with mortals, like the main character of the game? I found the answer in Sappho fragment 1, an ode to Aphrodite. There, Sappho pleads to Aphrodite for help in matters of the heart: specifically, her unrequited love for another woman. Aphrodite appears, asking "who is wronging you, Sappho?" and promising that the object of her affections will soon be pursuing her, giving her gifts, and loving her back, even against her will. To Sappho, she's tender and personal, concerned with her suffering. But her solutions are uncompromising. At the end, Sappho calls her her "ally in war".

I imagine her advising the protagonist throughout the story, guiding him as he's put through various trials of eroticism and sensuality. The upcoming chapter features her giving the player a private lesson in seduction. Here's a few snippets:

"I would like to teach you something. Take it as a gift. It is knowledge that will serve you well--with Hermes, yes, of course--but also with any other lover that you may take in the future. Does that interest you?"

"Um, yes. Very much."

"Good." Her hand finds yours beneath the water; your fingers interlace. "Then let us start. Touch is a language, my dear. I shall teach you to speak it. Like any tongue, it has its own grammar, syntax, poetry. Most people never learn to speak it properly. They fumble through it, like little children reciting the old hymns, mispronouncing words, putting the emphasis here or there without thought. But I think you can learn. You certainly have the best teacher. Would you like to try?"

"I think we should move somewhere more comfortable. The bath is lovely, but I want to teach you something that requires a little more space." A wicked smile. "Come."

She rises from the water, rose petals and droplets sloughing off of curves that would make a sculptor weep. You follow her out, trying not to stare.

She doesn't bother with a towel. Instead, she reclines on the plush curtains on the side of the room, arranging herself with the grace of a woman who knows exactly how beautiful she is.

"Come here." She pats the cushions in front of her. "Kneel before me."

Your heart feels like it might actually burst out of your chest. You allow her reel you in, moving forward on unsteady legs, sitting exactly where she indicated. From here, you can see everything: a flush spreading across her chest, her thighs falling open in invitation...

Very mommy-dommy hot, no?

Anyways, that's all for now; I need to get back in the mines and bang out the CGs for this chapter; hopefully I can get it all done by the end of the year. I'll leave you all with a couple pieces of early concept art. Thanks for supporting, and please let me know if you guys would like to see more behind-the-scenes posts like this.