Development Blog: Week #6

Characters & Lore

This week we were surprised with an invite to MetaHuman Early Access, big thanks to Epic! We have begun creating gladiators and NPCs, some of which will interact with the player. The characters below were all created with MetaHuman and are currently in-editor and will be implemented to our player character and controller soon. All of our gladiators and NPCs will be made with MetaHuman. With each character comes lore, we want you to be immersed in each gladiator’s and character’s life story. Characters won’t be the only thing with lore though. We plan to have lore for everything including armor, equipment, horses and more.

Tools: We acquired a new tool called Infinity Weather. This will allow us to have dynamic weather over Rome and in battles. The current weather conditions that we plan to have are Rain, Heavy Wind and even the extremely rare event of Snow. Players will be paid extra Denarius when they battle in the Colosseum during harsh weather conditions or at night. All weather will range from none to mild to extreme.

Animation: We have begun assigning specific animations to attacks and finishers for the Samnite class and plan to begin creating sound effects for character animations within the next few weeks.

GLADIATORS

  • Name: Tiberius Decius
  • Age: 43
  • Height: 5′ 11″
  • Weight: 163 lbs
  • Origin: Rome
  • History: Born into the average working class of society Lucius is a full-blooded third generation Roman. He’s a Centurion for the thirteenth legion of the Republic, and experienced with leading large groups of men into battle. He’s a religious man that lives a simple Roman life and tries not to anger the gods. He does not ask for more than what is needed to survive.

Lucius lives by two main values in life. Number one is honor, something he takes very seriously. He believes that his actions will be judged by the gods in the afterlife. Number two is Serving the Republic, Lucius would fight until his last breath for Rome and the Republic, and is what many consider to be a battle veteran and leader among men. Lucius won’t do anything that would bring shame to the republic or his name.

  • Name: Hanno Drusus
  • Age: 38
  • Height: 6′ 2″
  • Weight: 223 lbs
  • Origin: Utica, descendant of Carthage
  • History: Hanno is a 7th generation warrior whose family was in the Military of Carthage, and is known among his clan as ruthless with true discipline that only acts in times of great need. Wounding and torturing the enemy is not something Hanno believes in. He believes that when a warrior has to take action upon their enemy they should do so justly and swiftly with such force and precision that the threat is neutralized before they have time to react. With each kill Hanno submits the soul of his victim to Hawot, the goddess of death. Hanno believes that showing remorse and sorrow towards a slain enemy is a sign of weakness and would bring shame to his name.

Hanno’s clan was known for being the best throughout the Military of Carthage when it comes to taking out a target swiftly and with discretion. While they prefer a more stealth approach, they are fully capable of brute force aggression towards the enemy. They travel in small scouting groups of four to five men and usually strike at night. They always scout a hostile location for several days before attacking.

  • Name: Aeliana Cassia
  • Age: 36
  • Height: 5′ 9″
  • Weight: 144 lbs
  • Origin: Unknown
  • History: Aeliana’s story begins with a tragic childhood. Her village was raided and burned to the ground, only a few survived. She lost her entire family of two younger brothers, her mother, her father and both grandparents. She has never spoken to anyone about the night it happened. She was found while hunting in the woods 2 years later by a man named Fulvius who was a gladiator in training. He brought her back to his Ludus where she was put in the care of the other women there. She learned to cook, sew, and clean. And while she obeyed the rules and did her job she didn’t want to cook or clean and do proper jobs like the other women there. She wanted to learn how to fight. She wanted revenge on the men who killed her family and friends.

For years she was laughed at and wasn’t taken serious at the Ludus when seen training by herself. Then one day she challenged Magister Augustus Martinus. She bet him that if she could land a hit with her sword while he blocks with his shield then he has to train her like the other men. He laughed and without hesitation agreed to spar with her, eagerly waiting to be entertained. Everyone gathered expecting a laugh as they slowly began to duel. She quickly got knocked down several times but refused to concede the fight even though her face was bleeding and she was beginning to limp. She got up one more time and with the last of her energy attacked. She attacked with a rage unseen from her by anyone at the Ludus and that few possess. She was striking so hard and fast with her training sword that it shattered into pieces on the Magister’s shield. He stopped the fight impressed by what he just witnessed, she clearly had proven her point. While she might not have landed a hit on him he saw the fury in her heart, and knew she was a fighter. He told her that he would train her and not to expect him to go easy on her, she will be treated like the other men in the Ludus with no exception. From then on she spent the next 23 years living and training among the other men as they prepared to become gladiators one day. However at night she would sneak out of the Ludus to hunt down and get revenge on the men who killed her family and burned her village to the ground.

MERCHANT

  • Name: Servius Ovidius
  • Age: 65
  • Height: 5′ 6″
  • Weight: 116 lbs
  • Origin: Pompeii
  • Job: Jeweler
  • History: An immigrant that traveled to Rome for a better life, and grandfather to three girls and one boy. Servius has been a gem and jewelry dealer for over 40 years, and sells some of the finest quality jewelry Rome has to offer. He might look like a sweet old man but don’t let that fool you. Obtaining one of these unique pieces comes with a price that only the richest of men can afford. They are handmade by Servius himself and each piece can take him weeks to craft, not to mention the cost of the gems themselves.

Servius started making jewelry at a young age learning from his father. He saved all his money while growing up working for his father to buy a boat. He wanted to journey across the world and buy rare and unique gems so he could craft jewelry for royalty and maybe even Julius Caesar himself, which is now wearing one of Servius’ rings. Once he has collected enough gems and rare metals from his voyage he transports them back to Rome where he will spend months carefully cutting the gems in his workshop to make exquisite jewelry with the finest metals available. His attention to detail with ornate and decorative designs is unmatched.

Want to join the team?

Our team is growing and we are still looking to fill key roles. If you are interested in joining the team please visit the jobs page for more information. https://shadowsofglory.com/careers/

– Benjie