Dev Diary #20 - It's All in the Name

[p]\[RECOVERED TRANSMISSION: ORPHEUS-AUD.17] Timestamp: 04:12:37 // Location: Primary Habitat Deck // Speaker: Unknown[/p][p]\\[/p][/p]

[p]“The red emergency strips barely light the corridor… but I can still hear it. Not footsteps... something else.
Low, pulsing, almost like a heartbeat carried through the hull.
Sometimes it fades, like it’s retreating. Other times, it swells until it’s right behind me… even when nothing’s there.[/p][p]The others think I’m imagining it. Maybe I am. But there’s a rhythm to it… a pattern. Like the ship itself is trying to warn us… or mourn us.”[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Naming Doom: The Journey to Moros Protocol[/h2][p]As we enter the final week before launch, we wanted to take a step back and reflect on the journey that got us here. Today’s dev diary is about something deceptively simple… but hugely important: how this game got its name.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]Wasn't there another name?[/h3][p]For the long-time followers, you might remember that we first announced this project as Darkverse: Rogue, tying it to an earlier prototype of ours. But there were a few issues:[/p]

[p]Too crowded: “Darkverse” already existed in other media (books, mobile games), making it harder to find us online.[/p]
[p]Too familiar: The “:Rogue” subtitle made it sound like a sequel, when in reality we wanted to build something entirely new.[/p]

[p]In short, it didn’t feel right. So… the hunt for a new name began.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]The Whiteboard Saga[/h3][p]Working with our publishing partner Super Rare Originals, we went through dozens of options (see the picture above of our workshop whiteboard). The core questions were:[/p]

[p]What is this game really about at its heart?[/p]
[p]How can the name reflect the lore and atmosphere of a lone ship adrift in space?[/p]

[p]This eventually led us down a very Greek path.[/p][hr][/hr][h3][/h3][h3]Enter: Mythology[/h3][p]Our team is based in Athens, and some of us are hopeless mythology nerds. It felt right to explore that heritage.[/p][p]We started with ship names: Nyx, the goddess of night, caught our attention. From there, we dug into her connections - her children, her consort, her role in the primordial void.[/p][p]Some contenders:[/p]

[p]Primordial (already taken)[/p]
[p]Erebus Rising (cool, but cliché and unavailable)[/p]

[p]Then we stumbled upon Moros.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Who is Moros?[/h3][p]In Greek mythology, Moros is the personification of doom, the inescapable force driving all mortals toward their fate.[/p][p]For a game with roots in intense metal music, chaotic combat, and cosmic dread, it was perfect. Doom meeting doom. The cycle of destruction written into a single name.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Why “Protocol”?[/h3][p]Moros on its own was strong, but we needed something that grounded it in the sci-fi setting. “Protocol” emerged naturally, it had already shown up in earlier brainstorming sessions, and thematically, it fit like a glove.[/p][p]The ship could initiate the Moros Protocol, a last defense against inevitable annihilation and... doom.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Doom vs Doom[/h3][p]And so it clicked: Moros Protocol.[/p][p]A title that, for us, embodies both the lore and the feeling of the game; where doom itself is met head-on, resisted with every last ounce of strength.[/p][hr][/hr][p]Thanks for reading about how we named the game, we hope this gives a little bit more insight into our process and inspirations. We've very excited to be launching onto Steam next week, Thursday 18th September, and we hope to see you onboard the Orpheus, fighting your way through rooms of Darkphage![/p][p][/p][p]See you in the stars 💫
- Pixel Reign 🚀[/p][p][/p][h2]Be sure to wishlist👇[/h2][h2][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/h2]