Riot Games Reveals How It Introduced Turkish Culture to Valorant Fans Through Fade
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Riot Games’ Erika “Riot Cashmiir” Haas detailed how Fade was first conceptualized and how the Turkish agent introduced Valorant fans to Turkish culture. The goal behind creating Fade was to challenge Sova’s dominance in the meta. Sova is one of the best characters when it comes to reconnaissance and Riot Games wanted to introduce a new legend that could fit the same role while also being unique. It led to Fade being created as everyone’s favorite bounty hunter in Valorant.
Riot Games wanted to create an agent which Turkish players could potentially relate to
Riot Games’ Lead Character Producer John “Riot MEMEMEMEME” Goscicki shared in a blog post, “A lot of people in Turkey play VALORANT—like, a huge amount. And in the same way we saw an opportunity to make another recon Agent, we also saw the opportunity to make a character that Turkish players could potentially relate to” stated Gosicki.
If you have paid attention to Fade’s eyes, they have two different colors. Fade’s heterochromia is inspired by Turkish Angora cats and there are other things as well that clearly stand out as Turkish in her design.
The “nazar boncuğu” is a symbol common in the Mediterranean and is used to ward off the evil eye, a curse brought about by a malevolent look. And the design can be seen all over Fade, from the pendants on her clothing, to the ring she wears.
In Turkish culture, henna signifies sacrifice: Sacrificing your single life to join your spouse’s family, your personal life to join the military, or even an animal sacrificing its life to provide food. Riot Games implemented this aspect to showcase how Fade sacrifices her own sanity and comfort to know more about a people's darkest fears.
A lot of fans wonder if Fade is evil and Goscicki answered the question in the blog post. He said that when he was growing up, there was a stereotype that exists to this day, like the metal scene features blunt, grungy, and intimidating people. But once you actually become a part of the metal scene, it is a fun-loving crowd and Fade is very similar. Fade simply chooses to express herself differently and is not “evil.”
Fade is the newest agent in Valorant and her design has been well-received by a lot of Valorant fans. With Valorant Masters 2 coming up, fans are excited to see if the Turkish agent breaks into the competitive meta.
