Talisman of Dawn [extended demo]

will this be blind accessible?

will the full game be free?

Sob this little demo was so lovely already!! The idea behind the story already resonates so much with me, and then actually seeing it in action and the chars and their thoughts and fears and misgivings... GUHHHH. My heart felt so seen and I could relate to all of them so so much 😭💕

Absolutely in love with Sher, I felt like so many of her thoughts could have been my exact own?? Not only the expectations of how to look and what you're supposed to "want" in life, but also just that guttural fear when it comes to anything involving the bedroom. This recurring theme of "expectations" is something I also find myself coming back to again and again and again in my own works, especially when it comes to sexuality. And so I instantly clung to Sher and her story. Also the fact that she would give up a part of her own life/future in order to give her sister more freedom. There was just so much about her that I loved so much!!

Also just loved how we get to see this kind of nervous tension between Sher and Shariar because we as the players can see that neither of them actually want this. That they're both scared. That they're both plagued with these expectations they feel they need to fulfill. And also that they both assume that the other has these expectations of them, as well. And it just makes me GUHHHH FLDKHGDJDFAD my heart feels for both of them so much. As if communication wasn't already tough enough when both people do understand each other, but now with neither of them fully understanding themselves and their own feelings and weighed down by all these expectations to boot. I really look forward to seeing how it continues and if they will both ever find that actually their thoughts and feelings are similar and that they don't need to give in to everything that's pressuring them sob.

Just really lovely and sweet. The art and GUI and everything is positively lovely, too!! I really loved the design of the characters and how you designed everything with the BGs almost feeling like paintings or pages from a storybook atop the patterns. It's a really unique way to design the interface and I feel like it works so wonderfully for this story that's all based around stories! And the GUI is so detailed and ornate, it's so beautiful!! 💕

All in all just a really fantastic start to a beautiful story and I'm really excited to see how the story progresses. I just want both of them to be so so happy sobbbbb 😭💕

Okay, I finally have enough energy to leave my comment!

So, I cannot emphasise how much I ADORED this demo!! Gosh!!!!!! This was so good I want to scream!!!!!!!!!

I really appreciated the nuances and colours of the characters: Mudhik, despite being a rather light-hearted and well-meaning character, still enforces oppressive norms on his daughters. If Sher sacrifices herself for her sister, it does have a cost and she feels it way too much. I could go on, but Talisman of Dawn connects allonorms (and therefore the struggles of being aroace), toxic masculinity and women's misfortune in patriarchal societies, while staying nuanced and profoundly human. Indeed, all the characters are seen as human beings, with their own vision of the world, their own personal struggles, interrogations and integrated norms, and such things are pointed at as "problematic" only when they do endanger others' freedom and well-being. For example, although Duna doesn't understand how her older sister, Sher, could satisfy herself with a life of doing chores, when she is burning with dreams of being a painter. Per usual in Len's work, the characters are deeply human, touching in their individuality, and their thoughts wonderfully put into words thanks to a poetic and very sensitive writing.

I also appreciated a lot the relationship which has started to form between the two leads, Sher and Shariar. Not only Sherazade telling stories to avoid what others call her "marital duties" is an amazing idea for an ace-rewriting of the Arabian Nights (a genius one even in my opinion), I really appreciate how both, deep down, don't care much about such obligations (for example, when Shariar sees Sher all dressed-up, his first thought is to wonder if she's going to sleep in this outfit because it would be uncomfortable, rather than to desire her, as anyone else expected to) and manage to create their own relationship by being themselves (Shariar, by embracing his side which loves stories; Sher, by being a story-teller who doesn't try to play the part of a perfect wife), and this felt very touching and authentic. Once again, the writing feels very human, but also, very sweet. It does help that both characters are very great, and I want to insist on this: they are amazing characters, and Sher clearly is a strong contender for Dulari in the "my favourite female protag" contest.

The art was also great, I loved how you worked around my GUI to integrate it better (the marble background), and how you rendered the backgrounds and the CGs. It really was fairy tale-like, and playing this game felt like reading a storybook. You completely nailed this feel!

Long story short, it really was amazing: touching, marvellous, sweet, bittersweet, and deeply rooted in humanity, in authenticity. You painted so many genuine, complicated feelings that moved me so much, and, just like Shariar, I'm looking forward to the rest of the tale.

Aaww my heart goes to Sher and Shariar <333 I'm wishing for their happiness! I hope they will be able to share more stories with each other in the future. Please let them know it's good to be themselves and don't mind too much of people's expectation, they're the one living their life! Even when it's an arranged marriage, both of them seem so sweet, I hope they'll be more comfortable with each other, being themselves!!

Oh, and I hope Duna will be able to chase her dreams too!!

It's a well done story tackling some societal issues indeed. You did well in bringing it up! I sincerely hope they can go through it and life a happy life.

I love the vibe and the motifs of Talisman of Dawn, you're doing so well with the art: it pops so well and it gives the feeling of a fairy tale; "Once Upon A Time" indeed! I'm enjoying the writing and BGM as well. It's well done and I'm looking forward to more!

A really interesting, soft story tackling societal expectations. Everyone in the cast is extremely huggable and in some cases, also relatable. If you're in the comments trying to find out if it's worth your time, it is, especially if you enjoy your aroaces (I sure as hell do!). Can't wait for more to come <3

YAY IT'S OUT

And it was incredibly lovely!! I proofread this so I was already familiar with the story, but the character art and backgrounds/GUI/music added so much to the experience. I especially liked how the tone of the texture over the background changed in order to reflect different settings/times of day/etc., which made the experience much more immersive. The character designs are very well done, effectively communicating the personality of the character without needing to hear a line of dialogue. 

The real strength of this work is in the character writing. All of the characters involved feel well-rounded, nuanced, and deeply relatable (even overbearing Mudhik is sympathetic, with understandable motivations - he wants his surrogate son and his daughter to be happy, even if he doesn't exactly know what's best for them). 

==SPOILERS FOR THE DEMO BELOW==

Sher is the "oldest child," the one who is pressured by her family,a nd as a result she feels like she doesn't have the right to do what she wants. She feels powerless to rebel against the "marriage" and role of "wife/mother" that society thrusts upon her, even though she is assexual and the thought of intimacy disgusts her. 

Shariar on the other hand is a good man trying to do his best, but he struggles with trying to meet the expectations of others. He feels responsible for others' happiness and constantly acts in the way that he thinks that he "should" act rather than by his own judgment. Like Sher, he wants to fulfill this role of "husband" and "sultan" that society has imposed on him. 

Duna is a free spirit, the foil to Sher's subdued acceptance of her lot in life - Duna wants to be free, to fulfill her dreams. Duna recognizes Sher's inability to voice her own desires, but at the same time the little sister doesn't recognize the responsibility/pressure that her older sister feels. Unlike the other characters, Duna is the only one that bucks against the expectations of society to pave her own path. 

Mudhik is a good man, but he is set in his ways. Like Sher and Shariar, he just listens to what others tell him - he advises Sher and Shariar to act a certain way because that was the way that he was told that people should act. He causes trouble for his daughter and the sultan, but not because he's a bad person - like almost everyone else, he just parrots what you "should" do, what society "expects" you to do. 

I really love this take on 1001 Arabian Nights! It's a softer, more humanistic approach, where the sultan isn't an unrepentant murderer, but a man just trying to fulfill his duties. I'm looking forward to seeing how this story develops, considering how many similarities Sher and Shariar have (their struggles with societal expectations + with the "expected template" for a "romantic" relationship) and their shared passion for stories and storytelling!

 Fantastic work, and I can't wait to see where it goes!!