Development Blog: Week #30

Gladiators

This week we continued our focused on the matchmaking system, the creation of new gladiators, lore, and the implementation of our MetaHumans to work with our existing character skeleton and animations.

Code

  • Continued with our matchmaking framework
  • Begun implementing our MetaHumans gladiators

Art

  • Continued with greyboxing Rome
  • Created 3 new gladiators and their lore
  • Begun creating several new gladiators and merchants
  • Reworked our initial 3 gladiators and jeweler merchant

 

Garos Caturix

  • Age: 42
  • Height: 6′ 2″
  • Weight: 190 lbs
  • Origin: Saxon, Gaul
  • History: Garos is a third generation barbarian from Gaul that shows no mercy for his enemy, and has a heart as cold as ice. His parents were both executed for stealing when he was a young boy. Growing up with no mother or father he was forced to raise and defend himself. With no one to provide for him he had to fight, steal and kill to survive.

During a visit to Rome he was imprisoned for murdering an old man in cold blood, facing starvation and seeing the man carrying a loaf of bread, he did what he had to do in order to survive. He spent 7 years in prison, and was tortured daily by the guards until he finally agreed to his release under the condition that he become a gladiator. Garos was sent to a nearby Ludus where he trained for the next year in preparation for his time in the Colosseum. His kill count rivals that of some of Rome’s 13th legion’s best men. Warrior or not, if you’re against Gaul, you’re against Garos.

Tau Zuberi

  • Age: 35
  • Height: 5′ 10″
  • Weight: 161 lbs
  • Origin: Alexandria, Egypt
  • History: A Medjay to Queen Cleopatra, Tau lived by a strict yet simple code of conduct, defend Egypt and her leaders no matter what. While Tau lived to protect Egypt, he fell victim to love for one of Cleopatra’s servants, Layla Zalika. He would secretly visit her late at night for years where they would sit for hours, sharing their dreams of a better and simpler life of freedom, which consisted of living on a small farm with children. Tau saved all of his earnings from trades that he had made over the years in the hope of one day buying Layla’s freedom and starting their life together.

On the eve of Layla’s 29th birthday Tau left his guard post a few minutes early to give her the surprise gift that they had always dreamed of, freedom. Little did Tau know that leaving his post early that night would change his and Layla’s life forever. Leaving early resulted in someone stealing gold from Cleopatra’s palace. When the other Medjay went searching for Tau, thinking that he had been murdered, they found him with Layla. He was thrown in prison for abandoning his post which resulted in the theft of the Queen’s gold. He was in prison for several years before one day being taken to Rome by a Magister that traveled to Egypt looking to fill his ranks of fighters. While Tau and Layla never saw each other again after that night, he still dreams daily of one day being reunited with her.

Layla Zalika

  • Age: 32
  • Height: 5′ 11″
  • Weight: 152 lbs
  • Origin: Alexandria, Egypt
  • History: With both of her parents murdered in a robbery when she was a young girl, Layla had to raise herself growing up after her parents left one morning to meet a trader and never returned. A few years later she became a servant to Queen Cleopatra, and has been assisting the royal family for nearly her entire adult life. She served as the Queen’s personal assistant for several things over the years but was mainly in charge of her most prized possessions such as her wardrobe and jewelry. Layla would often help Cleopatra pick out the right outfit for any particular occasion.

Because she was so close with Cleopatra she frequently interacted with the Madjay giving them simple orders at the Queen’s request. The Madjay, mainly Tau Zuberi trained her how to fight and kill in order to protect Cleopatra should it ever be required. And what started as a friendship between Tau and Layla became more than that over the years as they spent so much time together. Tau would often say that she is as deadly as she is beautiful. Even though relationships between the Madjay and servants was strictly forbidden Layla would sneak out at nights to meet Tau in secret. They would always meet in the fields and and watch the stars for hours dreaming about their future together. On the eve of her 29th birthday they met in their usual spot, however things quickly turned bad when the Queen was robbed due to Tau not being at his guard post. They were both caught together shortly after the robbery, and while Tau was sent to prison for abandoning his post Cleopatra loved Layla like a sister and wanted to show her mercy. Layla was exiled from Alexandria and ordered to never set foot in Egypt again under the threat of death. She traveled to Rome looking to start a new life, but not as a servant this time. Trained to kill and with nothing left to lose she signed up to become a gladiator. She has never seen Tau since the night of the robbery and wonders every day if he is still alive.