(6.0 spoiler?) what's the deal with platinum color?

[Exosapien]

So if anyone else remember, Yoshida hyped 3 things before endwalker. First is the platinum color, second is the Amano artwork of hydaelyn and zodiark, and last is "things on eorzea (pre-endwalker) that only Yoshida know, not even foxclon realize it". And he subtly implied those three are important for EW.

After finishing 6.0 though, I still don\\'t understand them. For hydaelyn and zodiark artwork, I guess it about "oh, that\\'s actually how they look like"?. Can\\'t find anything about platinum nor "things only Yoshida know" though.

I wouldn't say he hyped anything about "the platinum color". He explained his process and design goals. He wasn't saying, "Look forward to it!" He even mentioned how he understands that most people wont even understand what he's talking about. That happens a lot with creative type people. There are things that you just can't explain but make perfect sense to you. "Platinum" is his thing for EW. I'm also pretty sure a lot of context was lost in translation. His translators are amazing at what they do, but even the best translator can't always express the more intangible things.

The most obvious tie to this "platinum" theme is what the first person responded to this thread with. The Amano artwork was just something they were all very excited about (rightfully so) - and if you can't find the relevance to that in EW I don't know how to make it more obvious.

And as for things only Yoshi-P would know, how would anyone spot things that only he knows?

[KizuyaKatogami]

I’ve just kind of stopped listening to Yoshi p tbh. A lot of what he says doesn’t seem to come to fruition. Like for example when he was teasing Endwalker way back when and he was saying things like “no one is safe, the scions aren’t safe just because they’re locked behind quests etc.” And yet nothing ever came from that.

[Kozh]

The most obvious tie to this "platinum" theme is what the first person responded to this thread with. The Amano artwork was just something they were all very excited about (rightfully so) - and if you can't find the relevance to that in EW I don't know how to make it more obvious

I knew about that theory since before EW, as I frequently visit the ffxiv discord (lore channel), but the interpretation of platinum isn't really specific to EW. You can even match SB/ShB with it. But anyway,

For amano art, he said "this is hydaelyn and zodiark, please look at this and revisit it again after you finish EW, you might find something interesting" (paraphrasing obviously).

And as for things only Yoshi-P would know, how would anyone spot things that only he knows?

Because he made it sound like a puzzle/challenge for the players to find after EW? So pre-EW obviously only he noticed that things, but after EW players should have been able to noticed it too, assuming those "things" really exist.

[SeverianLyonesse]

I think it's intended to point toward a few things:

1) Sun/Moon duality. We see that played with a lot in this expansion. We go to the moon, but we as Azem are the sun. The two jobs also have loose references to the sun and moon: Sage has Icarus and an LB3 that looks like sunbeams; Reaper has Harvest Moon and Waxing Slice.

2) Pointing toward alchemy and the pursuit of perfection. This is definitely a very "alchemy" themed expansion. We have an entire zone dedicated to creation magic. It is headed by Hermes, presumably a reference to the Hermetic Order. We see themes of perfectionism in Sharlayan (Fourchenault), Garlemald (Quintus), and even some discussions about it in Ultima Thule. Sage is also basically our alchemist job. I admit I don't quite know what platinum specifically has to do with the pursuit of perfection, but the alchemical signaling is very striking.

3) Yoshi-P's own interpretation of platinum as containing a "flash of gold". We see this visualized a couple of times in EW, but I think it makes a lot more sense when combined with his other theming pattern. The previous expansions were representing the sky at various parts of the day, and EW is supposed to be "A New Dawn" after "The Blackest Night". The logo and title screen seem to combine these two motifs where we see the glint of the sun peeping from behind the moon. I think in a more abstract sense Yoshi-P intends "platinum" and that "flash of gold" to suggest that hint of light at the end of the story, a visual representation for the hope of a new day. And since the whole point of Endwalker is finding hope in a hopeless world, I think that is very fitting imagery.

So, in summary, I think platinum makes enough sense for this expansion because it hits on EW's heavy alchemy and celestial themes, as well as serves as a nice embodiment of its themes of duality, perfectionism, hope, and one's ability to create their own purpose.

[LatisFarsight]

For me, I thought Meteion was the platinum theme when she and her sisters were depressed they looked gray/black metal themed , even the blasphemies when they die they leave a black/gray haze thing. So I thought that was the theme the depressing idea of the final days which when we change Meteion's mind she gets her colors back. I don't know about the alchemy theme of sun and moon representing platinum, it just seems too far stretched for me. Again those were my thoughts I could be way wrong , we will know from yoshida himself hopefully soon.

[Jennah]

I mean, it's not like BLUE (Heavensward) and CRIMSON (Stormblood) meant all that much either.
Aymeric and Lyse dress in them; and we do a lot in the skies / there's (allegedly) a lot of blood.