Heya, it’s Uschi again! And let me tell you, my respect for ancient Rome's legionaries got so much deeper after our newest endeavor! But let me start at the beginning:
We want to make a game that is not only historically inspired but also fun to play - and one of the mechanics for that is fighting. Obviously, when you make a game where you play as someone from the roman army you HAVE to fight. And that comes with a few challenges as game developers. We have to make sure, fighting works smoothly, is fun and engaging but also kind of realistic. Now, we have meetings and discussions about combat design - maybe someone of us will make another post about it in the future. But one important factor in how fighting will feel is how it will look - what animations will happen when our players push a button.
One of the best ways to go with animations is to capture them with motion capture (mo-cap or mocap) - but none of us are proficient with a sword or a shield. But I do have a friend who fences, and somehow thanks to a friend of a friend of a friend he recommended the guys and gals of a gladiator school in Berlin. Funnily enough - they were the same ones Bat-El and Felix encountered at the Römerfest Augusta Raurica. So Jens reached out.
And somehow on one Friday evening Jens, Tim and I found ourselves amidst the fighters of Gladiatores Berolinenses. They were so kind as to invite us to visit one of their training sessions - and to train with them! Thus began a truly truly interesting three hour course - from different techniques on how to stab with a sword, to how to move forward, use a shield not only for defending but also attacking, all with great explanations and so much information. We got to experience firsthand how much a helmet can withstand if you’re brave and face towards the fight (Tim got hit on his head so hard - and hit back so hard it put a huge dent into one helmet, but not the other person's skull). The troupe has a huge variety of different weapons and shields we all got to see (and hold - some of them are HEAVY), they even had a shield that would have been used by the german warriors and I got more info on how they would have used that shield to their advantage.
Then we saw all of them in action as they actually fought against each other in battles! We made so many videos and photos for references, we saw so many different techniques on how to dominate in a fight, it was astonishing. They had different pairings that would have fought in ancient Rome, and we got to see how different weapons would have been used. And then it was time to experience it firsthand as we each stood our ground in our first real fight. And let me tell you, it was SO MUCH FUN!
Don’t get me wrong, it was hard, the shields are heavy and hitting an experienced guy who knew how to block was nearly impossible - but we all had our own way to at least try. And after trying to dribble, stab, feint, outmaneuver or leverage, we were pretty exhausted and truly understood how fit someone who fought for a living in that time must have been.
Now, we know - and they also told us multiple times, gladiators and legionaries fought differently and some of the things we saw would not have happened on the battlefield of the Teutoburg Forest. But it was soooo interesting and inspiring! I think we all will take some of the things we learned that evening and bring notes of it into our game, like how combat could work, little lore notes about equipment or even inspiration for characters. Also I think it won’t be the last time we will visit the Gladiator School - and maybe if you’re in the area or have a chance to see them at a festival you should too!
