When we were designing Citadelum campaign we wanted the player to experience the expansion of Rome, in different years and biomes. Our goal was not only visiting several locations of the Peninsula Italica, but also Hispania and Egypt. To do so we also had to keep in mind the actual timeline of events.
That’s why we chose the late Republic and early Roman Empire. This era allows the player to have an impact on several events, such as roman civil wars, conquest and even some conspiracies. Remember these events also have to fit our city building mechanic.
For example, if you could play our first level in the demo. That level is set during the Perusine War fought by Lucius Antonius and the forces of Octavian (who would become emperor). We also wanted to give the campaign some sense of continuity. To give you an idea, we wanted to give the same feeling you get when watching the Band of Brothers series, in which you follow the 101st Airborne Division, from Normandy to Germany through different European battlefields.
For us, it was not so easy, as you will have to create different settlements, which later will become cities. But we found the events around Octavian first, later Augustus, were a great History background for the variety and depth we were looking for.
But, now you are thinking, if this is a historical game, what about the gods? This is a question we asked ourselves a lot. There are some elements in the game that maybe not true to ancient History, because they serve gameplay and fun over accuracy. First, Citadelum is a videogame, keep that in mind. As for the gods or other licenses we took, what we did was doing them the best we could, so we went back to the classical works by Ovid or Virgil to understand their personality and behavior.
We want everyone to “feel Rome” when they see our characters. And sometimes this means not to be accurate but to show something that is already imbued in our culture, such as statues without painting, some uniforms… or the looks of our gods in the pantheon.